What makes for a good interchange between trains?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I've changed trains at many stations ... Reading, Didcot, Venlo, Newton Abbot, Bath, Swindon, Westbury, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Paddington, Salisbury, Koblenz, Newport, Bristol Temple Meads, Rotterdam, King's Cross, Manningtree, Twyford, St Pancras, Chester, Ealing Broadway all come to mind from the quite recent past ... some good experiences and some less than brilliant ...

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[Electric train]

I was going to tick "Short walk to next train" I ticked other short walks are not always feasible what should be in place is easy access (lifts escalators) with wide stairways and walkways even with travelators if need be. 

For me information is key at interchanges - where do I need to go and how do i get there

[Tim]

Key is information on the platform as you get off the first train.  having to walk to the main concourse / ticket office area to find out whrere your next train goes from is a waste of time

[Worcester_Passenger]

"Same platform" doesn't appear on the list but is an important special case of "short walk" and "no stairs".

Crosscountry promote Wolverhampton, Derby, Leamington and Cheltenham as being better places to change than New Street. And they try to get their trains on the same platform at Wolverhampton and Derby. But Cheltenham is a dreadful place to do a same-platform change northbound - no buffet, no toilets and a windy platform.

[eightf48544]

ICE rolling down one side of an island platform with an IC^▸ (Inter City) rolling down the other. I've got the video to prove it!

Each train having printed "Ihr Fahrpaln" on board which gives details of the stopping places and all onward connections with their platform numbers.

The conductor also  often makes an announment of onward connections just before the stop with time and platform. Sometimes in English particulary on the Brussels ICEs. It even happens on REs^▸ (Religious Education) and RB where you don't get a printed Fahrplan.

[Brucey]

Toilets are very important for me.  As a lone traveller with luggage, I don't always feel confident enough to use the toilet on the train whilst my luggage sits unattended.  Of course this isn't the case on newer stock (e.g. Southern's Class 377) where I can take my luggage into the disabled toilet.

Information on the platform is essential.  Walking to the ticket office to be sent back to the same platform isn't my idea of fun.

[Rhydgaled]

The wait for the ongoing train (or bus) has to be reasonable, calling any wait longer than 30mins 'a connection' is a discrace, ideally such a term shouldn't be used for waits over 15mins either. Where the wait for the ongoing train is not really short a proper waiting room is needed, a bus shelter is not sufficent if it is windy. I also checked availability of seats on the connecting service and availability of toilets at the interchange station. That's 4 already, but it must of course also be made clear which platform to use for a connection.

[onthecushions]

My best and worst are both in France.

The worst was the change (from boat train) at Amiens and Longeau (next stop) to catch a TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) by-passing Paris. No explanation that the first train doesn't stop at Longeau so two changes needed... result, unplanned journey across Paris with kids and cases. This was even worse than "passengers make their own way between Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria Stations"

The best was the change from Eurostar at Lille into TGV also missing Paris, via CdG to Lyon and St Etienne. The ES arrived ahead of time so no panic, not only is departure platform advised in advance but also the letter (18 of them) so you can be opposite your reserved seat carriage when it pulls in..fancy a full 18 car FGW^▸ (First Great Western) TGV arriving "in reverse formation" and you were booked in coach A !

What's need in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) is logic (in short supply). Clear exit/interchange signs not hidden by ads/crowds/clutter with large clear departure boards/monitors with platform indications above head height.

A common standard of signage across the network so that the interchange station is talking the same language and style as the originating and destination stations....back to BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) Corporate Image?

Thoughts,

OTC

[Bob_Blakey]

On my most recent journey back to Exeter, from Paddington, the Train Manager made a point of announcing interchange details for both Exmouth & Paignton services including EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) platform numbers and departure times.

This is not, AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know), standard practice but should be done whenever possible - the information is readily available.

[bobm]

I can remember in the days before automated announcements at Reading the details of all interchange points were given to those awaiting the train. Quite an impressive list when a service to Penzance was approaching.

[grahame]

Voting remains open until Friday Morning.   I'm not going to comment about how voting's going at the moment, to allow newcomers to vote without an initial view of what others have selected.    But since I started the thread I have changed at Cambridge (intermodal), King's Cross, Paddington, Chippenham (intermodal), and sort-of-Westbury. As well as leaving / joining at Swindon, Weymouth and Melksham ... and have been tempted to go back and add "somewhere to sit" to my list 

[grahame]

Concluding in the morning ... any final votes 

[bleeder4]

Information about the connecting train is key. Best example I've seen is on the OBB Railjet trains in Austria - the TV screens in each carriage update 10 minutes before arrival at the station with a list of all the connecting trains due to depart and the platform number they'll be departing from. Means you can get off the train and instantly know what platform you need to go to and whether the connecting train is running on time.

[grahame]

Results:

35 - Ongoing train in a reasonable time
34 - Information about next train easily available as I get off incoming train
19 - Getting a seat on the new service
13 - Able to board new service when it arrives in station
13 - Dry and well lit route between trains
13 - Short walk to next train
12 - Availability of toilets
12 - Waiting room or other shelter
8 - No need to do lots of stairs
8 - Availability of buffet
3 - Something interesting to look at while waiting
3 - Something else

I'm not greatly surprised at any of those results.    People are concerned at overall journey time, and a long wait is part of that journey - so ongoing timimg is naturally top.  And a cocoon of confidence in knowing where to go and whether to rush is required as you leave one train looking for the next.  Sometimes it does happen - but there are some awful examples where it doesn't.