Amended timetable from 4 January 21

[whole diary]

[REVUpminster]

Paignton has lost it's London trains but still keeps a XCountry to Bristol and to Birmingham.

Last Penzance 1C92 is 30 minutes earlier stopping at all stations.

Plymouth at 1904 then 2104 so 2004 cut out.

[IndustryInsider]

Makes a lot of sense. I really don?t think Bristol to London needs a service every half hour at the moment.

Indeed not.  None of the long distance routes needs anything more than an hourly service IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).  Shorter distance services are probably best of staying as they are now for the time being.  Based on watching the numbers for a week, I would say that so far this lockdown is not being followed anywhere near as much as the first one.  That's probably to be expected. 

At a guess I would say that double the number of people are travelling on the longer distance services, and more, maybe double again, on the more local services. 

It is, as ever, a fast paced situation though, so could well be very different in a week or two.

[TaplowGreen]

Makes a lot of sense. I really don?t think Bristol to London needs a service every half hour at the moment.

Indeed not.  None of the long distance routes needs anything more than an hourly service IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).  Shorter distance services are probably best of staying as they are now for the time being.  Based on watching the numbers for a week, I would say that so far this lockdown is not being followed anywhere near as much as the first one.  That's probably to be expected. 

At a guess I would say that double the number of people are travelling on the longer distance services, and more, maybe double again, on the more local services. 

It is, as ever, a fast paced situation though, so could well be very different in a week or two.

That's interesting and worrying in equal proportions, and perhaps suggests that more policing of rail travel is necessary - all the science suggests that the new variant (s) are far more and easily transmissible and if we have moving petri dishes on the rails carrying it to and fro this is going to make the situation worse.

I can't believe that double the number of people as the last lockdown are suddenly essential travellers.

[IndustryInsider]

I should point out that we are still talking low numbers.  Instead of 5-15 people on long distance services, I am seeing 10-30.  But from my observations, more than the slight uplift you would expect given only a few more places are open for business than last time.

I?d be interested to see the numbers using the Underground at the moment.

The roads seem equally busier - not sure if that?s what others are experiencing too?

[TaplowGreen]

I should point out that we are still talking low numbers.  Instead of 5-15 people on long distance services, I am seeing 10-30.  But from my observations, more than the slight uplift you would expect given only a few more places are open for business than last time.

I?d be interested to see the numbers using the Underground at the moment.

The roads seem equally busier - not sure if that?s what others are experiencing too?

I was using the Underground once a week up until Christmas - Central Line from Ealing Broadway - I'd say it was at about 25-30% of normal loading (very early morning), but from what I understand the Jubilee and Victoria lines were still quite busy.

I don't see the roads much busier around here - less so in fact but as being alone in a car is by far the safest form of transport at the moment it may well explain any rise elsewhere.

[IndustryInsider]

Sounds like the government are worried about much lower compliance levels across the board.

[eXPassenger]

The roads seem equally busier - not sure if that?s what others are experiencing too?

During the first lockdown the M5 at Weston was practically empty; now I would describe it as reasonably busy.  The A38 is similar.

[old original]

Roads in mid Cornwall today are definitely quieter than yesterday. Mind you it's only 1 degree above freezing and very dull unlike yesterday's relative warm sunshine.

[grahame]

The roads seem equally busier - not sure if that?s what others are experiencing too?

During the first lockdown the M5 at Weston was practically empty; now I would describe it as reasonably busy.  The A38 is similar.

I have no evidence from the first lockdown, not having ventured out of town.  Essential journeys to Bath last week - roads far quieter than normal but certainly not empty.  Bath / London Road was NOT a moving traffic queue for once; it was ghostly in the city itself.  No more trips out for quite some while - I plan to be sitting it out at home.

[GBM]

The roads seem equally busier - not sure if that?s what others are experiencing too?

During the first lockdown the M5 at Weston was practically empty; now I would describe it as reasonably busy.  The A38 is similar.

The roads around West Cornwall are quieter but still busy.  Rush hour in our 'capital' is perhaps around a third as busy as peak, however, there are still many cars (not taxis) with 3 or 4 people, and a lot with 2 people.
Certainly not essential travel I feel.   

[IndustryInsider]

Services are set to be cut further from Mon 25th Jan.  looks likely to be broadly similar to the service provided during the first lockdown.

[grahame]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Covid-19: Passengers told to check train times as routes cut

People needing to travel by rail during lockdown are being urged to double-check train times, as services are being reduced.
Services in England are being cut from 87% of normal levels to 72%, industry body the Rail Delivery Group said.

It said the number of trains would reflect the drop in passengers, and provide better value for money for taxpayers who are subsidising services.

Peak services will be prioritised to help key workers, it added.

While some timetables have already changed, others will be altered in the next few weeks.

Since the early days of the pandemic, the government has spent billions of pounds covering the fall in ticket revenues for rail companies, owing to low passenger numbers.

Cutting some services will save public money, the government said.

Rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: "It is critical that our railways continue to deliver reliable services for key workers and people who cannot reasonably work from home, and that they respond quickly to changes in demand."

Rail usage has slumped, with passenger journeys falling more than 90% to 35 million journeys for the three-month period to June, according to the Office of Rail and Road.

The figures recovered a little to 134 million for the three months to September - the latest published.

"Train timetables must still meet the needs of those who have to travel, said Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith.

"Many key workers rely on the first and last services of the day so it's important that these are maintained. Providing enough capacity for those who are travelling to properly social distance remains vital."

Although timetables were restored when restrictions were eased over the summer, rail franchising has since been scrapped and replaced with a model which means the taxpayer is currently liable for the losses on the railways.

In September, the bill had run to more than GBP-3.5bn - and the Department for Transport has said "significant" support is still needed.

[grahame]

From National Rail via mailing list email

[Timmer]

New GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) timetables now available from 25th of January through to the 15th of May:
https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey/train-times