[Archive] Northern (Arriva Rail North)

[knutstransport]

RE: Northern (Arriva Rail North)

(09/02/2017 21:36)Dentonian Wrote:  20 minutes standing: I don't know for sure as this would take the train three stops further down the line. I would suspect there are still standees, but not many.

Difficult to tell if its a typical number, I suspect again the average is a bit less (maybe 40-50), but the journey is usually operated by a 150, which is off course a more claustrophobic type with restricted views beyond the door area, and similarly restricted movement options.

If passengers choose to remaining standing rather than sit in a middle seat when the train has 3+2 seating then they wouldn't be counted. Obviously on a 150 it's impossible to see if the other carriage has emptied out faster than the one you are in without actually going through in to the next carriage. Once on a 185 I was sat in the standard class bit in coach C, where there were a few unoccupied seats and went through to coach B to use the toilet and noticed around 20 people were standing in that carriage.

Northern don't diagram 150/1s and 150/2s differently so I think TfGM use a fixed figure of 137 seats when deciding if a service is overcrowded or short formed (if they pay for it to be strengthened.) Then if you get an ex-FNW 150/1 you get 13 seats less than that or if you get an ex-LM 150/2 you get 12 seats more than that.

Quote:The service IS the only evening peak journey booked to be operated by a single unit (irrelevant of Class), and this is the real issue as it is (just) the busiest.

What other services are part of the same diagram and whether services get busier later on also have to considered. I don't know a lot about loadings on lines going east from Manchester, but on the ones which go South towards Stockport and don't call at Levenhulme and Heaton Chapel, they generally leave Stockport with a higher loading than Piccadilly. The ones going towards Chester can be busier leaving Altrincham than Piccadilly.