Rail industry ignorant of extent of overcrowding, claims union leader

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Telegraph:

The rail industry has no idea of the extent of train overcrowding, a union leader has claimed.

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport and Salaried Staffs Association, has accused train operators of being ignorant of the how many people use their train as they inflict what he described as ^cattle truck^ conditions on their commuters.

Mr Cortes seized on remarks made by Anna Walker, the head of the Office of Rail Regulation, to the Transport Select Committee earlier this year when she admitted that she had no real figures on overcrowding.

^There are estimates but that is all they are," she told the Committee. "One of the things that is really crucial on the question of crowding is the need for investment in ticketing machines so that we have real information in the way we do not at the moment about the numbers on each service.^

The issue of overcrowding is particularly sensitive with the Government considering proposals to impose even higher fare rises for the busiest rush hour services.

Such is the extent of overcrowding on the busiest services that, as previously disclosed by The Daily Telegraph, some commuters are being carried in conditions which would be in breach of EU^» (European Union - about) animal welfare laws.

Mr Cortes said he was writing to the Transport Secretary urging her to instruct companies to collect overcrowding data. "They have to travel in cattle truck conditions with no limits on overcrowding while cattle travel under regulations which restrict overcrowding,^ Mr Cortes said. "Every Transport Secretary says they want to end overcrowding, particularly in the South-East. How can they even begin to do this until they known the exact size of the problem?"

However the Association of Train Operating Companies disputed the claim by Mr Cortes. ^It^s nonsense for the TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about) to suggest that train companies ^have no idea^ how many people are travelling on peak hour services,^ a spokesman said. ^We are collecting more and more information on passenger numbers to identify the busiest commuter lines, using data from ticket sales, carrying out regular passenger counts and using load weighing equipment on trains to calculate how many people are on board.^

According to the latest figures released by the Department for Transport, the 7.44 am service from Henley-on-Thames to Paddington is the most overcrowded service in London and the South East. The train, which only had three cars when the survey was taken, carried 373 passengers - 148 more people than it was designed to hold.

First Great Western was identified as running the three most overcrowded services in the London commuter belt with the 7.28 from Bourne End to Paddington coming second and the 7.31 service from Oxford to Paddington coming third.

A spokesman for Passenger Focus called for action to deal with the problem. ^Overcrowding is a daily struggle for many commuters, so it^s important that the rail industry appreciates just how busy their services are,^ he said. ^Significant, sustained, long-term investment is necessary to not only reduce overcrowding, but to ensure that it doesn^t get worse if passenger numbers increase as predicted.^

(My highlighting: Chris.)

[Electric train]

In the 5 years I have (re started) commuting to London by train it has become very obvious that passenger numbers have been increase, I would say that in the last 12 months the increase has be even greater than in previous years, this despite a recession the cost of driving may be a key.  It is still going to be 5 years before any major capacity increase will arrive in the inner TV route

[JayMac]

Surely "cattle truck" is ^Bob Crow?

As for "being ignorant of the how many people....".  Sub-editor fail from the Torygraph. 

[Electric train]

The main thing news papers are interested in is selling copy they do this by pandering to their readership "oh the trains are so overcrowded yet Network Rail (the evil Network Rail) and the Train Operators (they who rip the commuters off for profit) are doing nothing about it, the Government need to do more" however the paper misses the fact that part of the B^16 Crossrail project will have a direct impact of capacity certainly Maidenhead in wards and the B^1 GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) electrification will mark the biggest change to service patterns since the change from stream to diesel in the 1960's

I would not even wrap my fish and chips in paper of the article

[paul7575]

...and unless the TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about) can seriously alter human nature, (or insist on 100% reservations), there will always be some sort of peak overcrowding issue anyway, because people will always trade off time over comfort.  If everyone wants to be walking into their office at exactly 0900, all I can see is a narrower peak, with trains running around carrying more fresh air an hour or two either side.

Paul

[Electric train]

...and unless the TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about) can seriously alter human nature, (or insist on 100% reservations), there will always be some sort of peak overcrowding issue anyway, because people will always trade off time over comfort.  If everyone wants to be walking into their office at exactly 0900, all I can see is a narrower peak, with trains running around carrying more fresh air an hour or two either side.

Paul

Exactly ........ its also why the M4 & A40 in the same area has queues ......... now there is a lot of tin boxes lugging a lot fresh air

[autotank]

The 0744 from Henley is a problem as it would be hard to lengthen due to the Twyford bay. The set that forms this service operates the first two branch services of the day (and often services the previous night if works are taking place on the Relief lines). It then waits in the bay at Twyford whilst a 5 car set goes to Henley and back forming the 0709 through service to Paddington. A simple fix to solve the overcrowding problem on this service would be to omit the Maidenhead stop, but I suspect this wouldn't go down well with commuters there.

I think the bay at Twyford can take 4 cars, but I think services of this length require dispatching because of the curve in the platform - someone with more knowledge please feel free to correct me.

[johoare]

A simple fix to solve the overcrowding problem on this service would be to omit the Maidenhead stop, but I suspect this wouldn't go down well with commuters there.

Hello.. If you mean omitting the Maidenhead stop in the 07.44 from Henley I don't think it would overly affect Maidenhead as it's usually full before it stops there and so hardly anyone gets on.. I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) wouldn't remove it however as there would be one less non-stop service that they can mention that they have going from Maidenhead (even if it's not much use to us)   

[Electric train]

A simple fix to solve the overcrowding problem on this service would be to omit the Maidenhead stop, but I suspect this wouldn't go down well with commuters there.

Hello.. If you mean omitting the Maidenhead stop in the 07.44 from Henley I don't think it would overly affect Maidenhead as it's usually full before it stops there and so hardly anyone gets on.. I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) wouldn't remove it however as there would be one less non-stop service that they can mention that they have going from Maidenhead (even if it's not much use to us)   

Quite ........... and FGW would not want to invite the wrath of the Home Secretary

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

You could have a 15 car train every 5 mins everyone would still pack out the first one