Greater Anglia makes it easier for passengers can see how busy trains are
It's to give passengers the option of choosing a less full service.
Last updated 6th Jul 2021
Greater Anglia has launched a service which allows passengers to see how busy train services are, so they can pick a less full one if they wish.
The company says it's improved its 'less busy trains' tools on its website, so passengers can see how full the services are the whole way along the route on selected rush-hour journeys.
Passengers will see a 'journey heat map' which indicates at a glance whether a train is quiet, moderate, busy or crowded.
By clicking for more details, passengers can then see how busy the train is at every station along the route.
They can then compare data for the same journey but at different times to decide which they'd feel most comfortable travelling on.
The tool uses passenger numbers from the week before, with staff at Greater Anglia stations counting how many people get on at each station.
The data is then uploaded once a week.
Martin Moran, Greater Anglia commercial, customer service and train presentation director said: "We're seeing increasing numbers of people travelling on our trains as Covid restrictions have been gradually lifted.
"We wanted to make it as easy as possible for passengers to choose a less busy train if they do not feel comfortable catching a train with many other people, which is why we've made these improvements to our less busy train tool, following its launch last year.
"If you're at a station and you want to find out which is the least busy train, you can also ask a member of staff or press the help button on a ticket machine to go through to an assistant at Norwich who will be able to help you.
"I would like to reassure people that you can travel with confidence on our trains - and many people are doing just that. Often you'll find fewer passengers if you move down the length of the train."
"On the busiest trains - described as "crowded" on the less busy trains tool - it will not be possible to socially distance - but we still have many measures in place to keep passengers safe, including enhanced cleaning and sanitisation of trains, either air conditioning which replaces air inside the train every six to nine minutes or opening windows - as well as doors which open at stations. In addition, the vast majority of passengers are wearing face coverings for all of their journeys."