The
number
of
people
travelling
on
National
Rail
and
the
London
Underground
is
continuing
to
rise,


with
the
demand
over
some
weekends
greater
than
it
was
before
the
Covid
lockdowns.

The
quietest
day
of
the
week
is
Monday,
with
more
commuters
travelling
on
Tuesdays,
Wednesdays
and
Thursdays.
There
are
also
fewer
commuters
on
Fridays,
but
their
absence
is
offset
by
the
increasing
number
of
people
travelling
for
leisure
purposes
on
a
day
which
is
increasingly
seen
as
the
start
of
the
weekend.

On
London
Underground
there
were
78
per
cent
of
pre-Covid
passengers
in
the
week
ending
28
October,
reports
the
Times.
The
figures
for
the
start
of
September
were
71
per
cent,
compared
with
45
per
cent
in
January.
At
the
weekends
passenger
travel
is
back
to
more
than
90
per
cent
and
sometimes
more
than
before
the
lockdowns.

On
National
Rail
the
recovery
is
also
continuing,
and
as
on
the
Underground
the
quietest
days
of
the
week
for
commuters
are
Mondays
and
Fridays.
Network
Rail
says
the
number
of
National
Rail
passengers
in
the
London
area
is
back
to
99
per
cent
of
pre-Covid
levels.

Again,
Fridays
are
busy,
but
mainly
because
of
the
large
numbers
of
leisure
travellers
rather
than
commuters.

The
news
on
revenue
is
not
quite
so
rosy,
because
fewer
passengers
are
travelling
on
First
Class
tickets
or
buying
classic
seasons.
It
is
not
clear
how
successful
the
new
‘flexible’
seasons
have
proved
to
be.

Southeastern
reported
recently
that
the
number
of
its
passengers
now
holding
full-time
seasons
has
fallen
back
to
15
per
cent
of
commuters.
It
is
also
abolishing
First
Class
on
its
mainline
trains,
reflecting
the
change
in
travel
habits
and
releasing
more
seats
for
other
passengers.

The
increases
are
being
recorded
in
spite
of
repeated
industrial
action
this
year.
A
strike
is
disrupting
West
Midlands
Railway
services
today,
and
it
will
be
followed
by
a
series
of
more
general
strikes
from
tomorrow.