VIRGIN TRAINS OVERCROWDING Wednesday 21st July 2010 08:23 from Rugby to Euston Having embarked at Rugby at 08:25 (2mins late; left station at 08:33) I wriggled through the already packed train from coach D to the train manger, Noormohammad, in first-class (coach J). 1st CONTACT ME: Are you going to deregulate the trains?  There are no seats in Standard and lots of people standing in the vestibules.  There’s a health and safety issue. NOORMOHAMMAD: I will take a look but first-class is very busy too. ME: first-class is half empty – I’ve just been through it. NOORMOHAMMAD: I’ll look into it.  [walks away to make announcement] ANOUNCEMENT: Train from...to...If you have baggage on your seat, please remove it to make room for other passengers. At this point I spoke with a couple of fellow passengers, also in the vestibule.  They stated that other services had been cancelled due to overhead-cables having been stolen.  I made the point that the train operators should, therefore, have been able to anticipate overcrowding and should have taken appropriate action, like instructing staff to deregulate first-class. 2nd CONTACT ME: So you’re not going to deregulate?  There are no seats in Standard. NOORMOHAMMAD: I’ll take a look. ME: well I’m going to go through the train and count how many ...

VIRGIN TRAINS OVERCROWDING Wednesday 5th May 2010 08:23 from Rugby to Euston Train arrived at 08:45 (22mins late). I ran from coach A (the last coach) down the train looking for vestibules not already crowded with people.  The first clear one was at coach H (second coach from the front) – a first-class coach. Very good announcement from train manager: apologies for overcrowding; reason given (cancellations of other services); remedy (deregulation of 1st-class). Very atypical but exactly as it should be.

VIRGIN TRAINS OVERCROWDING Tuesday 16th March 2010 07:23 from Rugby to Euston I embarked on the 07:23 pendolino non-stop service from Rugby to Euston. Due, perhaps, to an earlier train cancellation, or delay, the train was unusually busy. This resulted in ALL the seats in standard class being taken, forcing 30-40 people to stand and perch in the corridors, links, and vestibules. Some people, including myself, moved to seats in first-class. First class had plenty of spare seats and, as the train would be making no further stops, these seats would remain unoccupied. Just prior to arriving in Euston the train manager (Mohammad) asked to see my ticket, which was for standard class. He then charged me the excess to upgrade my ticket to first-class (note: I did not take any of the food/drink offered as part of first-class). I questioned him regarding his reasons, arguing that the train was overcrowded and unsafe. He stated that there were seats and that there were only around five people stood in the aisles. This was such a palpable lie (I’d negotiated all the carriages to get to first-class) that I was roused enough to ask him (calmly, politely, reasonably) to define when a train was deemed ...

DOCUMENTS & OTHER GUIDANCE It is interesting to note that passenger safety is given a nod in the Virgin Passenger Charter and the National Rail Conditions of Carriage but never defined explicitly.  So, no mention of overcrowding or how this might be defined and responded to.  However, there is, of course, plenty of attention given to defining and dealing with passengers who travel first-class on standard-class tickets.  Clearly a more important issue than passenger safety and defining the obligations due to the passenger by the operator.  Both documents are badly weighted in favour of the operators and against the passengers. THE VIRGIN PASSENGER CHARTER 2007 (yes this is the most up-to-date version) states: 1.1 '...our commitment to give you the safe [my bold], high quality service you have the right to expect.' '...clean and safe trains...' 1.2 '...make every reasonable effort to deal effectively with customer problems on the spot.' 2.3 ‘We will make every effort to match seats to demand...’ 5.0 ‘...[Virgin] will do their best to ensure that the service meets and, we hope, surpasses expectations and Passenger’s Charter standards.’ ‘...most importantly we promise always to treat all our customers with care and respect.’ NATIONAL RAIL CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE 2009 (p.16) 39. Travelling in first class accommodation with a standard class ticket ...

Overcrowding is unpleasant for everyone.  The actions of the train manager can either alleviate, or worsen, the experience.  Unfortunately, although overcrowding does not happen very often, when it does the manner with which it is dealt with (on Virgin Trains) is almost always shabby. Apart from the unpleasant experience, there are also genuine safety issues but nowhere can I find any guidance (see below) with regard to defining overcrowding (let alone how the definition is arrived at); ensuring overcrowding doesn’t become a danger; monitoring passenger volumes.  It is most likely that train managers are responsible for managing the passenger volume on their trains but nowhere is this made explicit.  Moreover, when I did ask a train manager about this (see related blog entry) he refused to answer me. I struggle to imagine a train manager risking their job over the chance that someone will get hurt on their train through overcrowding.  So, whilst a train manager may, or may not, have the power to stop more passengers getting onto his train, clearly, the pressure on them from the train operator would make such an event highly unlikely.  What is infuriating, and worrying, is the reluctance of train managers to deregulate first-class and ...

The following text is from an email I sent (10th March) to a friend explaining an idea I had.  His response?  It's already been done!  Check out these funky and beautifully functional maps - damn shame they aren't being developed/used everywhere! Just had another 'idea': I'd kill for a site that was able to graphically show all the places one could get to within 60mins of point X. So, I want to know where I can buy a house within 60mins of central London?  I want to know what area I can explore for interesting walks within 45mins of Winchester?  Etc. I'd imagine a shaded 'stain' bleeding out from the x-point (obviously an irregular shape depending on access and the mode of transport used). Lots of sites will plan your route and allow car, bus, train, foot, modes but only ever for one A-B journey, which is fine of you already know where you're going but crap for folk who are exploring. Probably a rather tough nut to crack even with the pre-existing linear route-planners.