Are we fully back?

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Leaving the political/ideological rhetoric to one side, if the railway was being truly run in accordance with "the needs of the business" one of the first things to be done would be to cut costs by closing the majority of ticket offices to reflect the shift in customer behaviour to online/automated transactions, in much the same way as High Street Banks are disappearing in smaller towns, which ironically is what the Government is seeking, but is being resisted at every step by the Trade Unions.

It would be helpful if the government/DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) were clear on how many ticket offices they plan to close.  Is it all of them?  Is it the large majority (90+%)?  Is it a small majority (60%)?

That's a very good point.

[Surrey 455]

But High Street Bank branch closures are not actually meeting the needs of customers.  Therefore they are not meeting the needs of the business.  Small businesses and others who need to bank cash now have to travel miles to do this.  I bank with one of the big four banks and I am fortunate that I have a branch within 3 miles, but the next nearest branches are 15 to 20 miles away.  There is much talk of banking hubs to provide for customers needs, but there are none anywhere I have been.  I can pay in a cheque using the app up to a certain value, but beyond that I need to find a branch.

For most banks, you can pay in cheques and cash and make withdrawals at your local post office.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/everydaybanking

If you click on your bank on that link, you should get a bit more detail.

[ellendune]

But High Street Bank branch closures are not actually meeting the needs of customers.  Therefore they are not meeting the needs of the business.  Small businesses and others who need to bank cash now have to travel miles to do this.  I bank with one of the big four banks and I am fortunate that I have a branch within 3 miles, but the next nearest branches are 15 to 20 miles away.  There is much talk of banking hubs to provide for customers needs, but there are none anywhere I have been.  I can pay in a cheque using the app up to a certain value, but beyond that I need to find a branch.

For most banks, you can pay in cheques and cash and make withdrawals at your local post office.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/everydaybanking

If you click on your bank on that link, you should get a bit more detail.

If you are a business with significant amounts of loose change then Post Offices are not so accommodating. 

[TaplowGreen]

From Rail Advent

During the month of April, national rail passenger figures reached a record for post-Covid with a daily average of 98.3%.

The figures were published by the Department of Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) last Wednesday, 10th May. They also showed that on 14 days in April, passenger figures were at 101% to 106%, pre-Covid, and on only four days, which were the first four days of the month, were they less than 90% (88%).

Are we, really, fully back

We have lost some things ... should we be looking for them back, or has this been a correct opportunity to refactor?
* Though daytime trains from Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge to London
* Counter service from a fixed location of coffees and snacks on long distance services
* Services that are not subject to near-total cancellation a couple of days each month due to industrial disputes

One question on this......do these figures include the Elizabeth Line?

Presumably it has picked up a lot of passengers who'd previously have used the Underground or other means?

According to The Economist almost one in six Rail journeys are now made on this line.

[TaplowGreen]

From Rail Advent

During the month of April, national rail passenger figures reached a record for post-Covid with a daily average of 98.3%.

The figures were published by the Department of Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) last Wednesday, 10th May. They also showed that on 14 days in April, passenger figures were at 101% to 106%, pre-Covid, and on only four days, which were the first four days of the month, were they less than 90% (88%).

Are we, really, fully back

We have lost some things ... should we be looking for them back, or has this been a correct opportunity to refactor?
* Though daytime trains from Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge to London
* Counter service from a fixed location of coffees and snacks on long distance services
* Services that are not subject to near-total cancellation a couple of days each month due to industrial disputes

One question on this......do these figures include the Elizabeth Line?

Presumably it has picked up a lot of passengers who'd previously have used the Underground or other means?

According to The Economist almost one in six Rail journeys are now made on this line.

Did my own research on Graham's link/article and found this note in respect of the Elizabeth Line which was provided as a caveat;

Since services in the central section of Crossrail started running in May 2022, there has been a significant uplift in National Rail journeys counted in the LENNON^▸ (Latest Earnings Nationally Networked Over-Night ) database. Before May 2022, Crossrail services were operated under ‘TfL^» (Transport for London - about) Rail’ branding, which ran between Paddington and Reading or Heathrow Airport, and between Liverpool Street and Shenfield. These journeys were direct replacements for previous National Rail services and were counted in LENNON. Following the opening of the central section, when Crossrail services began operating under ‘Elizabeth line’ branding, these journeys started being recorded in LENNON, replacing some journeys that would have been taken on other modes such as London Underground and DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway). Given that other modes’ journeys are not included in LENNON, the number of journeys represented in the ‘Daily domestic transport use by mode’ statistics include the impact of these additional journeys taken on the Elizabeth line. A like-for-like comparison of rail demand would therefore show a lower recovery than stated in this publication.


- so it's not comparing apples with apples in terms of the post COVID recovery in passenger numbers.

[TaplowGreen]

From Rail Advent

During the month of April, national rail passenger figures reached a record for post-Covid with a daily average of 98.3%.

The figures were published by the Department of Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) last Wednesday, 10th May. They also showed that on 14 days in April, passenger figures were at 101% to 106%, pre-Covid, and on only four days, which were the first four days of the month, were they less than 90% (88%).

Are we, really, fully back

We have lost some things ... should we be looking for them back, or has this been a correct opportunity to refactor?
* Though daytime trains from Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge to London
* Counter service from a fixed location of coffees and snacks on long distance services
* Services that are not subject to near-total cancellation a couple of days each month due to industrial disputes

One question on this......do these figures include the Elizabeth Line?

Presumably it has picked up a lot of passengers who'd previously have used the Underground or other means?

According to The Economist almost one in six Rail journeys are now made on this line.

Did my own research on Graham's link/article and found this note in respect of the Elizabeth Line which was provided as a caveat;

Since services in the central section of Crossrail started running in May 2022, there has been a significant uplift in National Rail journeys counted in the LENNON^▸ (Latest Earnings Nationally Networked Over-Night ) database. Before May 2022, Crossrail services were operated under ‘TfL^» (Transport for London - about) Rail’ branding, which ran between Paddington and Reading or Heathrow Airport, and between Liverpool Street and Shenfield. These journeys were direct replacements for previous National Rail services and were counted in LENNON. Following the opening of the central section, when Crossrail services began operating under ‘Elizabeth line’ branding, these journeys started being recorded in LENNON, replacing some journeys that would have been taken on other modes such as London Underground and DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway). Given that other modes’ journeys are not included in LENNON, the number of journeys represented in the ‘Daily domestic transport use by mode’ statistics include the impact of these additional journeys taken on the Elizabeth line. A like-for-like comparison of rail demand would therefore show a lower recovery than stated in this publication.


- so it's not comparing apples with apples in terms of the post COVID recovery in passenger numbers.

This also helps to put it into perspective.....

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/150-million-journeys-elizabeth-line-popularity-b1082736.html

[TaplowGreen]

Some interesting figures here.....especially in terms of revenue.

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/passenger-rail-usage/#:~:text=In%20the%20latest%20year%20(April,issues%20in%20the%20data%20source.

[johnneyw]

Here's an interesting article in The Grauniad suggesting a few positives for the future of the railways.  I think it'll take rather more than what they've listed to turn things around and in fairness, they've not presented these as the magic wand that sorts out our trains.
Anyway, the article is on the link below.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/11/six-ways-to-get-britains-railways-back-on-track-and-six-reasons-for-cheer

[Electric train]

Here's an interesting article in The Grauniad suggesting a few positives for the future of the railways.  I think it'll take rather more than what they've listed to turn things around and in fairness, they've not presented these as the magic wand that sorts out our trains.
Anyway, the article is on the link below.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/11/six-ways-to-get-britains-railways-back-on-track-and-six-reasons-for-cheer

From the internal data I have seen the recovery is a bit erratic when compared to 2019 data, it does show 2023 is in a better place than 2022.  A factor which I feel is skewing the recovery is the industrial action.

It could be argued, cynically, that the Unions are playing into the Governments hands to cut funding due to low recovery of passengers post Covid and that is the main reason why the Government are not worried about settling the dispute.