18-03 on Friday December 20 going to be busy ?

broadgage

Transport Scholar
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18-03 on Friday December 20 going to be busy ?

« on: November 25, 2013, 11:02:57 »

I will be going West on the Golden Hind on 20/12/2013, the last Friday before Christmas.
Is it likely to be unusually busy ? or will most have already left London ?

I shall buy a first class ticket and book a dining seat, so in theory it matters not how busy the rest of the train is, but in practice I do not want to fight for my seat, or find that first has been declassified, or that no dining can be provided due to overcrowding.

And what about my return to London on Monday January 6 , also liable to be busy ? I usually only buy a steerage ticket and hope to get into the Pullman.
If severe crowding is likely, perhaps I should buy a first class ticket ? and hope they dont declassify it.

At least one respected member has cast doubt about the Pullman actually appearing on that day.


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A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU^▸ is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.

bobm

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Re: 18-03 on Friday December 20 going to be busy ?

« Reply #1 on: November 25, 2013, 11:17:38 »

Advance tickets for the 19th are more expensive than the 20th so that might be a clue - also the ones for the 19th have gone up since last Friday. So possibly more demand for the Thursday (which I am aiming for). Traditionally Thursday is the busier of the two on a normal week.

As for the 6th, my confidence is increasing after a conversation last week.


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broadgage

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Posts: 5632

Re: 18-03 on Friday December 20 going to be busy ?

« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2013, 13:52:43 »

It was busy, but not exceptionally so, probably no worse than a normal Friday.
The restaurant was well patronised but not oversubscribed, with 2 vacant seats I think.

Hoping that my return on Monday January 6 goes as well.


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bobm

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Re: 18-03 on Friday December 20 going to be busy ?

« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2013, 14:26:03 »

Glad you had a good trip.

The 19:03 on Thursday had 24 taking dinner, however several who had reserved seats did not appear but it seems there may have been problems on the Underground.

One person I spoke to made the train with 60 seconds to spare after taking over an hour to get from Liverpool Street.


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John R

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Re: 18-03 on Friday December 20 going to be busy ?

« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2013, 16:22:34 »

Quote from: bobm on December 22, 2013, 14:26:03

One person I spoke to made the train with 60 seconds to spare after taking over an hour to get from Liverpool Street.

To pick up on another thread, the recommended time from Liverpool St to Paddington is 55 minutes. More than enough in most circumstances, but you can see why fairly long connection times are given across London.


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dzug

Jr. Member

Posts: 20

Re: 18-03 on Friday December 20 going to be busy ?

« Reply #5 on: December 24, 2013, 15:08:27 »

Yep - severe problems on the District/Circle lines on Thursday at that sort of time. Signal failure at Aldgate (??East)


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