Let the train take the strain

I saw yesterday in the news that apparently the route I use to get to work is a huge success, with 35% more passengers on it per year than originally predicted. Which is great in a number of ways – although not so great in a number of others.

Last year saw the route take 670,000 passengers, which isn’t bad for a fairly rural/provincial service.

But, if the route is so successful, and (if you average out the costs of travel at £10 per passenger – which I reckon is probably a conservative estimate) has already repaid the original investment would it be too much to ask to have trains of three or even four carriages, rather than the current standing-room-only rigid-in-peaktime trains of only two carriages? It’s not like the platforms can only cope with two carriages, and it would probably persuade a lot more people to use the service on a regular basis.

As it is, the service is OK – depending on when and where you get on the train. In the mornings, I’m lucky now to get a free table, although on the way back it’s not to bad (for me, anyway) as I get on the train as soon as it pulls in, rather than trying to jam myself in at the last possible second. But for many people that’s how they see the peak-time service – as one equivalent to a commuter train to London, jam-packed and standing room only.

If One Trains repaid some of the customer/passenger investment by adding an extra carriage or two, the service would be just as well used – and probably more so – but with a considerable lessening in the number of customer complaints.

You’d think that would make sense, wouldn’t you?