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TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE THOUGHTS ON THE UK RAIL NETWORK

The comments presented here are based on over 20 years of real-world experience and discussion with passengers.

UPDATED: 30 April 2012

0. CONTENTS

1. NEWS BLOG

  • April 2012: ‘Difficulty in obtaining compensation’ section added, including link to a recent news story.
  • November 2011 Following our suggestion, The National Rail Enquiries website no longer times out, allowing you to continue to work with a timetable without needing to re-enter your journey details if you take a while trying different options.
  • 19 September 2011 Following on from the last blog entry of 19 August (exactly once month ago), the National Rail enquiries website now provides immediate notification of changes to a rail journey, such as the replacement of a train with a bus – and associated increase in journey length. Prior to this change, the traveller had to click through at least once or twice to find out. The remaining flaw is that some cancelled or delayed trains still appear as on time – causing the commuter to waste time travelling to the station with the assumption that all is ok, only to have to wait another 30 minutes to an hour, when they could have delayed departing home.
  • 19 August 2011 More ideas suggested here are implemented, including improved electronic signage at smaller stations. Much more to do however, in particular notifying the customer at the time of ticket purchase of any disruptions to their return journey.
  • 14 July 2011 Video of incomprehensible station announcements added (Fig 3)
  • 30 June 2011 (Moderated) commenting system added to base of this page. Feel free to add your thoughts.
  • 19 May 2011 Rail Network Needs Radical Overhaul says the The McNulty review (C) 2011 Sky News
  • 10 May 2011 Network Rail workers receive groundbreaking pay deal. Assuming this is linked to performance then it should improve the morale of the staff and in turn lead to better services.
  • 13 April 2011 New ‘Misc’ sub-section added to ISSUES. Added photo of closed toilets at Reading Station.
  • 18 March 2011 Following the publishing of this guide, Network Rail agree to clarify station posters that warn of disruption to journeys. Typographical errors corrected. Minor updates to content.
  • 17 March 2011 Positive response from Fair Fairs Now and others.

2. OBJECTIVE

Motivate the government to overhaul the British rail network in order to benefit the economy and passengers alike.

3. ISSUES

The majority of these problems are due to the recent de-nationalisation of the railways combined with a drop in investment several decades ago.

Unreliable services

For decades now, delayed, cancelled or overcrowded trains have caused long suffering commuters stress and inconvenience. An inefficient rail network is detrimental to the economy. Working professionals and job seekers may miss important meetings or appointments. It could be argued that passengers should allow extra time, however, time is money and many travellers plan their journeys and appointments in advance. Frequent unpredictable disruption is costly to all parties.

Fig 1 – Only 7 minutes late, but for those connecting elsewhere, this could be problematic, March 2011

Constant rail works

Rail replacement buses are constantly being used to replace trains, leading to elongated uncomfortable journeys.

Overcrowded carriages

Standing room only is a frequent problem on trains running early morning and between 16:00 and 19:00 – with many seats marked as booked, yet a high proportion never occupied. This also applies to First Class carriages that are sometimes almost empty, whilst the remaining carriages are full. This is not only uncomfortable and potentially dangerous in the event of an accident, but mobile professionals are unable to work on laptops.

Antiquated information displays

The video displays at many stations are faulty and/or based on very old technology. For those without access to online resources, lack of accurate information can be stressful and confusing.

Blank information display

Fig 2 – Blank railway information display, March 2011

Incomprehensible station announcements

The butt of jokes for decades, but as much a problem today. Due to poor acoustics, in particular at Paddington Station, mind numbingly loud but unclear voice announcements are made. These often deliver important information, such as a change of platform or departure time, yet frustrated passengers are unable to understand all or a portion of the message. Further, the extreme volume is an annoyance for those working on the premises.

Fig 3 – Incomprehensible station announcement at Paddington Station, London

Flawed online timetable site

The site located at National Rail.co.uk suffers the following problems:

  1. Overly complex and therefore too fiddly to navigate
  2. Times out if left open for longer than a few minutes. There is no technical reason why this need be done.
  3. Does not provide any clear warning (such as red text) that a journey may involve rail replacement buses unless the end user specifically clicks on the [Details] link.

Rude unmotivated staff

  1. Staff have been known to vanish from platforms the moment a major delay or cancellation is announced. Passengers are left clueless. This has been observed on various occasions at Reading Station, but it may well occur elsewhere too.
  2. There is a general lack of enthusiasm or sense of pride by railway workers – very different from the past when a clean pressed uniform was worn with a sense of duty.

Confusing ticket pricing

In most European countries, there is a uniform pricing system. The UK rail ticket pricing is confusing and often leads to passengers accidentally breaching the terms and conditions of travel. Further, the cost of a single (one way) journey is often the same or close to the cost of a return trip. Why are passengers expected to pay full price for half a journey? When traveling by other modes of public transport, such as by bus, each journey is priced according to distance traveled.

Difficulty in obtaining compensation

The process required to request a refund or part refund on a journey involves filling in a lengthy form – deterring many from seeking compensation. The onus should be on the rail operator to compensation the customer there and then, just as a restaurant or other business would do.

Customer entrapment

Beyond the confusing ticket pricing, there is another common problem that leads to passengers being treated unfairly and paying additional fees without their intent. On some journeys from stations without ticket offices or machines, conductors are also missing. Therefore when passengers arrive at their destination without a ticket, they are penalised. Station staff sometimes ask passengers why they didn’t purchase a ticket at a connecting station. The answer is often that there was not time due to the small time difference between the connecting trains. This can be made worse if the arriving train is late.

Abuse of authority

  1. Exhibit A

Further examples will be added in due course.

Poor quality facilities

  1. The toilets on most trains are often filthy.
  2. In some carriages the windows will not close, creating a constant draft.

Closed waiting rooms and toilets

The waiting rooms at many stations are often closed after about 7pm. With trains often late, travellers are forced to stand outside in the cold without access to toilet facilities.

Closed waiting room
Fig 4 – Closed waiting room, March 2011 – 22:04
Toilets closed at Reading Station
Fig 5 – Closed toilets (external to platform facilities)
Reading Station, April 2011 – 21:39

Drinking on trains

On many routes, in particular weekends or late evenings, passengers sometimes have to contend with inebriated (and often intimidating) fellow passengers. Discarded cans are left on the seats or floors, some with their contents spilled.

Overpriced food and drink

The monopoly held by the railways leads to exploitative pricing of the on train food and drinks. Prices are often 30% more than off train.

Misc

Virgin train door button
Fig 6 – Sliding door control button on Virgin Pendolino train, April 2012

With reference to the photo above, the sliding door that passengers are required to open in order to exit each carriage on UK Pendolino trains is inconvenient to operate when carrying bags or luggage due to the fact the button is located on the actual sliding door, not in a fixed location, making it hard to reach. Further, once the door is open, the delay before the door slides closed again automatically is too short, often trapping passengers or their luggage in the doorway. Often, another passenger is required to locate and press the button to ‘release’ the passenger.

4. SUGGESTIONS

Imagination is all it takes.

  1. Learn from others – Visitors to Germany, Spain, France, Japan and other nations often comment on how efficient, streamlined and affordable the rail networks are. Just as we import and praise quality cars from (for example), Germany or hire foreign football managers, so can the UK consider bringing over experienced managers from abroad?
  2. Full nationalising of the railway system, with one central efficiently run command centre. It is quite simply impossible for a connected network to operate efficiently if run by various private bodies.
  3. Complete overhaul of the public information display system, something O’WONDER can assist with due to our experience in human factors and display systems technology.
  4. Network command lead by someone inspiring who blends management skills with an appreciation of aesthetics.
  5. Incentives and profit sharing for staff to ensure they remain motivated and project pride and good manners when going about their work.
  6. Check in check out and/or pay as you go ticketing system based on the Oyster card concept.
  7. Passengers automatically receive discounts proportionate to any delays to their advertising arrival time. The rail network then has a financial incentive to operate a reliable service.
  8. GPS transponders on each train to allow passengers and the rail network operator to track trains. Passengers can achieve this using mobile phone apps.
  9. Real-time delay notification system built into wireless device apps. That is, if a service is delayed or cancelled, the traveler is notified instantly via their iPhone or other device. To enable this the traveler would need to log their planned journey in advance and/or have this done automatically when the journey was booked or the ticket purchased.
  10. Depending on passenger levels, use a rota system to ensure (on train) toilet facilities are cleaned periodically throughout the journey. Several fast food restaurants have adopted this policy and the difference is noticeable.
  11. Replace audible voice announcements with a chime, followed by a display of the information in a large typeface on strategically placed electronic signage. The large text will benefit those with poor eyesight. To draw attention to the message for those who are unable to hear the chime or may have only just arrived at the station, we suggest displaying a red time stamped exclamation mark above the message.
  12. Re-design the National Rail website for efficiency and accuracy
  13. A re-examination of the drinking policy.
  14. Waiting rooms open 24 hours a day – To deter misuse by the homeless or jobs, limited to passengers using a electronic ticket.
  15. Re-design internal sliding doors on Pendolino rail stock.
  16. Simplify all rail travel pricing, including charging half the price of a return trip for one way tickets.
  17. Re-arrange rail work to take place overnight during a period when trains are not running.
  18. Fair on train food and drink pricing – perhaps by allowing a high street brand aboard.

5. RESOURCES & LINKS

6. YOUR VIEWS & CONTACT POINT

If you have any further suggestions, remarks or experiences to share, feel free to comment below, or for private communications, submit our universal contact form.

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