The 07:44 service from Henley to Paddington - worst for overcrowding?

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Henley Standard:

Video: Our trip on SE's busiest train

Commuters from Henley travel to work on the most overcrowded train in the South-East.

Nearly four in 10 passengers have to stand on the 7.44am service from Henley to Paddington, according to statistics from the Department for Transport.

This means the First Great Western service regularly operates at 166 per cent capacity.

A survey carried out on one day found the three-carriage train was carrying 373 passengers, 148 more than it was designed to hold.

Passengers from Henley, who pay nearly ^4,000 for an annual season ticket to London, say that more carriages should be introduced.

Mark Hanson, of Greys Road, Henley, described the service as ^abysmal^. ^It is far too busy,^ he said. ^It is far too cramped and there is no consideration for health and safety.^

Dennis Rocks, who works at Network Rail and travels to London every day, said he had seen a pregnant woman faint because the train was so overcrowded.  He said: ^The service before this one has five coaches and that gets quite full as well. It is when you get to Maidenhead that it gets very overcrowded. If you get on at Wargrave, Shiplake or Twyford, then you are pretty much guaranteed to get a seat. There should be an extra carriage ^ this is down to the operating company.^

Julian Thurston, 56, of Queen Street, Henley, who has commuted to London for 25 years, said: ^A lot of people at Henley get on that train and it is packed by Wargrave. Often there is not room for people at Twyford to get on ^ it^s only a three-car train ^ and by Maidenhead people are standing up and it is really bad. ^People become annoyed and they obviously feel uncomfortable. The Henley guys are actually not too bad because they get on the train first but it is really unpleasant because there are so many people packed around you. It has been like that for two or three years now. They have said they will make it longer but they haven^t yet. They need a six-car train and they have needed it for a long time.^

Kris Adams, 36, of Niagra Road, Henley, who often travels on the 7.44am, said: ^By the time you get to Twyford and then Maidenhead there are a few arguments now and again. I get pretty frustrated. I come with a bike so it is not good for me and it is not good for other commuters when it gets too packed to get a seat and it is a long journey. We are not talking 20 minutes, we are talking 40 minutes to an hour so standing up is frustrating.^

A passenger from Shiplake said: ^I pity the people who get on at Twyford. I think it needs to not stop at Maidenhead as it then becomes dreadful. It is already full by the time it gets there. It is supposed to be a Henley train and Maidenhead has a train stopping every 15 to 20 minutes so why do they need ours?^

A First Great Western spokesman said: ^The train is a very attractive alternative to the car, particularly for customers travelling to and from London on a regular basis, and demand continues to rise. Additionally, there is a shortage of rolling stock across the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to allow many train operators to keep up with that demand. A great deal has already been done, including retiming and strengthening services with existing carriages where possible.

^However, we are in the process of introducing more than 4,500 additional seats in London and the Thames Valley before summer, which will have a further impact in the coming months.

^The 07.44 service from Henley to London Paddington will be strengthened from three cars to four cars when additional rolling stock becomes available September. Similarly, the 18.12 from Paddington to Henley will be strengthened from three cars to five.^

[adc82140]

the problems got worse a few years back when the 0800 from Maidenhead was reduced from a 10 car Adelante to a 7 car HST^▸ (High Speed Train)- more people gave up on the 0800 and tried for the 0804 (0744 ex Henley) with predictable repercussions.

[inspector_blakey]

Slightly surprised to see a Network Rail employee prepared to go on the record and criticize a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) publicly in a press article that gives their full name 

[paul7575]

Surely, however, any reasonably knowledgeable NR^» (Network Rail - home page) employee would realise that the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) remain responsible for rolling stock allocation policy - and under the current franchise regime the DfT insist on formal approval of every individual carriage move?

Paul

[TerminalJunkie]

Slightly surprised to see a Network Rail employee prepared to go on the record and criticize a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) publicly in a press article that gives their full name 

It might be a made-up name, of course. And the fact that there is an 'Information Management Delivery Manager' with the same name at Network Rail could be entirely coincidental...

[TerminalJunkie]

There are times I love Google...

http://www.logica.co.uk/we-work-in/transport-and-logistics/related-media/videos/2011/keeping-the-supply-chain-on-track-for-network-rail/

[IndustryInsider]

Well, it looks like he's going to get his wish of an extra carriage come late summer.  I'm not sure it will make too much difference though as a 33% increase in seats on a train that's already full to maximum will mean any extra space will soon be swallowed up by Maidenhead commuters.  As was previously discussed adding any more than one carriage would present operational problems given the length of the bay platform at Twyford.  Still, every carriage extra is good news I suppose.

[johoare]

the problems got worse a few years back when the 0800 from Maidenhead was reduced from a 10 car Adelante to a 7 car HST^▸ (High Speed Train)- more people gave up on the 0800 and tried for the 0804 (0744 ex Henley) with predictable repercussions.

As has been mentioned (by me) on another recent thread re this train.. Hardly anyone that I've seen gets on it at Maidenhead now as it's usually overfull before it arrives.. To be honest the only reason they stop it there is so they (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)/NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) can boast about the amount of non-stop Services Maidenhead have.. Even if hardly anyone can get on it, it still counts in their "number of trains" statistics... I do hope FGW will realise the extent of the overcrowding on all our lines soon.. I won't hold my breath though..

[autotank]

Good to see the 0744 formed of 4 coaches this monring - I assume this is thanks to the 180's?

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, there's three 180 diagrams starting today, so extra Turbo coaches will have been released.  I'd imagine a North Downs service has been strengthened from 2 to 3 cars and the spare 2 car is now allocated to that Henley service.  That also means, as well as that service, and the early morning Henley shuttle service, the 08:38 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-TWY^▸ (Twyford station), 10:48 RDG^‡(resolve)-PAD, and 11:57 PAD-OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) are all also benefiting from an extra carriage.

[BerkshireBugsy]

I'd imagine a North Downs service has been strengthened from 2 to 3 cars and the spare 2 car is now allocated to that Henley service. 

I may be wrong but thought the Reading to Gatwick diagrams on the North Downs line were normally 3 cars and the slower Reading-Redhill diagrams were normally 2 cars.

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, and more of those 2-car stopping services will be 3-car services using the displaced Turbos with the 2-cars strengthening services such as the 07:44ex Henley.

[BBM]

The 06:53 from Twyford (06:20 from Didcot Parkway) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) was 6 cars instead of 5 this morning so at last everyone at Maidenhead could get a seat!

[Southern Stag]

I'd imagine a North Downs service has been strengthened from 2 to 3 cars and the spare 2 car is now allocated to that Henley service. 

I may be wrong but thought the Reading to Gatwick diagrams on the North Downs line were normally 3 cars and the slower Reading-Redhill diagrams were normally 2 cars.

Weekdays it was usually only one of the three diagrams on Reading-Redhill services that was a 2-car, and that has now presumably been replaced by a 3-car.

[johoare]

Good to see the 0744 formed of 4 coaches this monring - I assume this is thanks to the 180's?

Yes I noticed this whilst waiting for the delayed 8am departure from Maidenhead.. (and I think more people from my train would have got it had they known) as it looked much less overcrowded than normal..

What a difference an extra carriage makes. Was this advertised? FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are waiting to get back to me on where the extra carriages will be used currently when they find out themselves ;-)