Rail passengers can now be warned of busy trains and stations before they leave home as part of a UK industry system designed to help maintain physical distancing and safe travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
The technology will combine data on journey trends and live updates from station staff, to both inform passengers searching for journeys on the National Rail website and app, and alert those who opt in for updates on specific journeys, using their anonymised data to help predict how busy each train will be.
Train operators hope that a widespread sign-up to the service will mean passengers stagger journeys where possible. Keeping 2 metres apart onboard has reduced average train capacity to about 10% of normal levels. Passenger numbers on national rail services are about 5% of pre-crisis figures. But the industry expects numbers to increase from 15 June when more businesses reopen, including more retail and some domestic flights.
The app and alerts will inform passengers planning to travel whether a service is busy and suggest alternative departures and routes.
Station “peak times” – albeit with far fewer passengers – have been varying significantly between regions, according to rail data published on Friday.
Birmingham New Street and London St Pancras have been busiest between 6:00 and 6:30am, while Manchester Piccadilly has peaked at 7:00-7:30am, Leeds at 8:00-8:30am, and Cardiff and Bristol Temple Meads at 8:30-9:00am. London’s Stratford station has the earliest busy period, from 5:00-7:00am.
The government said it welcomed the new technology but still advised people to avoid train travel.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “With capacity reduced to about a fifth of that previously seen on our railways, it is important that people work from home if they can, stagger their travel times to avoid crowds, and use other forms of transport wherever possible.”
Robert Nisbet, the director of nations and regions at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said people should still only travel by train if journeys were absolutely necessary, aadding that passengers should wear face coverings.
He said: “The eyes and ears of thousands of frontline staff will let us know if stations or trains are getting busy while cutting-edge data analysis will help us predict spikes in demand, giving passengers the advice they need.”
The east coast operator LNER has already moved to reservation-only travel during the crisis, and Transport for Wales is considering a similar system for trains in Wales, and possibly even pre-booked buses too, according to comments from the Welsh economy minister, Ken Skates.
