by David Benton
Occupancy rates are always low on corridor and commuter services. Your peak hour services may be over 100% , but the offpeak services could be as low as 10 % .However , everything is sized to try and meet peak hour demand. So the actual avoidable cost of running the off peak services is pretty low. You've got trains ,rails and staff, sitting there after the peak. Those costs are largely fixed , wether you use them offpeak or not.
That's where your demand pricing comes in , to try to move people from the peaks to offpeak. As "Southern" says , the offpeak riders are pretty much pure profit, however the offpeak services would show low occupancy , and at first glance , running at a huge loss.
That's where your demand pricing comes in , to try to move people from the peaks to offpeak. As "Southern" says , the offpeak riders are pretty much pure profit, however the offpeak services would show low occupancy , and at first glance , running at a huge loss.
Moderator worldwide railfan , Rail travel & trip reports
The only train trips I regret are the ones I didn't take.
The only train trips I regret are the ones I didn't take.