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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Ridiculously overcrowded train

60 replies

dodobookends · 05/12/2015 21:27

On a busy Saturday lunchtime three weeks before Christmas (and on a day when Arsenal are playing at home) and there are thousands of extra passengers, AIBU to expect the train between Peterborough and Kings Cross to have more than FOUR sodding coaches?

OP posts:

IamCarcass · 05/12/2015 22:09

Of course YABU, you should be grateful it's running at all.

febreeze · 05/12/2015 22:13

The trains have been cancelled all day due to the weather. That means that there are less trains in the places that they need to be as it knocks on.

Did you not notice the storms going on? Do you live in a wonderful weather free environment?

The East Coast Trains cover routes from Scotland and the North.

ComposHatComesBack · 05/12/2015 22:13

Depends. The length of the train is sometime determined by the length of the platforms, some stations can't physically accommodate eight car trains.

Marilynsbigsister · 05/12/2015 22:15

How are they going to make money for their shareholders by making the journey comfortable for the passengers ? ( and Jeremy Corbyn is a loony , who wants the railways nationalised and run for the benefit of those using them....complete madness..)

abbsismyhero · 05/12/2015 22:23

we are crowded over here i nearly landed in a random blokes arms today we were rammed in two carriages we normally get three! yes we have a windy day but there were no transport issues in my area none? we were actually running early/on time to the second!

Clayhead · 05/12/2015 22:24

YANBU, have been on a few trains in the last week, all completely rammed with people swished down the aisles. Sometimes I've had reserved seats but can't actually get to them

Sighing · 05/12/2015 22:26

There's a fair bit of engineering going on along there, weekends are generally quieter railway times (less service).
Engineering (as it's a long term upgrade not remedial work); time of year; arsenal; all of these are facts that could have been checked out when journey planning.

Pseudonym99 · 05/12/2015 22:30

YANBU. They should cancel somebody else's train to provide more carriages for yours.

Noofly · 05/12/2015 22:34

Try travelling between Fife and Edinburgh right now!

But to be serious, no, I see your point. Train travel shouldn't be as bad as it frequently is.

febreeze · 05/12/2015 22:42

yes we have a windy day

You must not be in the North! It is rather more than a Windy day!

Fuckitfay · 05/12/2015 22:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

madwomanbackintheattic · 05/12/2015 22:50

I had to stand on one leg from Birmingham NS to Oxford one day. There literally wasn't enough room to put the other foot down. (Disclaimer. My feet are size 4, not huge plates of meat...) I had come from Glasgow and had a seat the rest of the way though... That hour was enough to persuade me to fly next time.

abbsismyhero · 05/12/2015 22:52

we have been blown off our feet in the midlands we have had some huge trains from virgin but for some reason all our local ones have been cut down in size for the last couple of weeks not a clue why

ouryve · 05/12/2015 22:58

There's only so much rolling stock to be had - for "local" trains, that'll be out of a set number and if you caught a long distance train, well, as someone mentioned at the start of the thread, many of them have been delayed in that grim bit called the North because of a bit of a breeze and a few puddles. Someone I know on another forum ended up taking 6 hours to cover the 100 minute journey from Edinburgh to Newcastle, earlier today.

thecapitalsunited · 05/12/2015 23:03

One of the reasons is likely to be rainy autumn weather causing train wheels to slip. That causes the wheels to wear unevenly so they develop flat bits which can then damage the tracks. This means that in autumn wheels they have to be repaired more often than they would do in summer - wheel maintenance is a regular thing and they do it elsewhere too. They can't do that during the week because commuters (i.e. the people who actually pay for the service) wouldn't be able to get to work so it has to be done at the weekend.

Regular maintenance will also be scheduled to take place at the weekend for the same reason. The trains will all have a set number of miles they are allowed to run so it's not always possible to put on extra carriages if the train company have already had to plan their maintenance schedules around major events like the Rugby World Cup this year.

SistersOfPercy · 05/12/2015 23:10

You must not be in the North! It is rather more than a Windy day!

Funny thing, I'm in the north and not a whisper of wind can be heard or felt at my house, which is the highest point of our city and usually gets hit badly.
Dh went out an hour ago and thought the car was going over at the bottom of the street. 200 yards away it was gale force. Strange stuff indeed

BankWadger · 05/12/2015 23:23

Ah, it's like Central Scotland trains into Edinburgh in August. This year they put on 4 carriages. We were as in previous years it's been 2. It's still a squash with 4, but having only two was like trains in India - people hanging off the roof (okay not really, but they would have if they could).

Original poster

dodobookends · 06/12/2015 01:39

The East Coast trains cover routes from Scotland and the north

This one is a local train and only starts at Peterborough.

Some stations can't physically accommodate eight car trains

All of ours can take 12 and normally have 8.

There's no engineering work, and no reason other than sheer cussedness for them to cut the service from 8 to 4 on one of the busiest journeys on one of the busiest saturdays of the year.

It has been a bit windy round here but nothing like the awful weather so many of you are having (and news of which hadn't reached me when I posted the OP so sorry to anyone who thought I was being trivial)

OP posts:

ComposHatComesBack · 06/12/2015 01:45

Sorry should have looked where you were travelling to

Original poster

dodobookends · 06/12/2015 01:55

No worries, it was the local service, perhaps I didn't make clear that it wasn't the intercity.

OP posts:

Bumdance · 06/12/2015 08:29

Yes, sheer cussedness will be why they've done it

Abbs at least one operator in the Midlands is struggling with the fact that they had a unit fire recently and I believe another unit still out from the last unit fire.

bustraintram · 06/12/2015 08:38

As a pp said, wheel flats caused by leaves on the line is the most likely reason for a four car unit - other units will be in the depot for maintenance. To refer to it as sheer cussedness is rather unfair really - we in the public transport industry don't choose annoy our passengers for the fun of it - lets face it, it's easy enough for us to annoy passengers without going out of our way to!

Fuckitfay · 06/12/2015 09:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

londonrach · 06/12/2015 09:13

Yanbu. Sounds like my normal evening journey. Usually im sitting on the floor next to the toilets reading. Seeing the empty first class makes us corridor seaters and standers smile. If im one of the first one when it stops at my station ill get someone to move a bag and sit but no point if im not quick through the door.

treaclesoda · 06/12/2015 09:16

I recently travelled on a very overcrowded train, standing room only, it was a struggle to even get onto the train as there just wasn't enough room for people to budge up and let others on. What added insult to injury was that there were three empty carriages that no one was allowed to use.

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