Station and on board train announcements - merged topic, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[phile]

Surprises me that Passenger Focus is taking that stance.   Some are vital and with which I agree, but there are too many useless and nanny state ones.    Many passengers regard them as a background noise due to the number of them.   There is already a thread on this topic on "The Wider Picture" Board  which had been moved from here due to it being a UK^▸ (United Kingdom) issue.

[broadgage]

Good, far too many announcements IMO^▸ ('in my opinion'), some of which are useless, pointless or simply wrong.

On HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) at least, the location of first class is fairly clear and does not need anouncing. First class is already equiped with signs warning that a first class ticket is needed, it would a simple matter to replace these signs with ones that state in which direction standard class is to be found.
All areas of all trains have been non smoking for years, continual annoucments to this effect are not needed. A simple sign reading "no smoking in any part of the train" is all that is needed.

And on my favourite subject of dining, I can understand the desire to drum up trade for the restaurant if spaces remain, but what is the point in advertising it when already full ?

[mjones]

The article makes no mention of the pointless safety announcements (available in Braille upon request  ). If this 'important information' really needs to be communicated, then surely the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) has a duty to ensure that it is communicated effectively, and endlessly repeating a message that people simply switch off to is unlikely to fulfill that requirement. Which rather suggests that they don't really think it is important that people pay attention to it and are only doing it as a box-ticking exercise...

[Chris from Nailsea]

There is already a thread on this topic on "The Wider Picture" Board which had been moved from here due to it being a UK^▸ (United Kingdom) issue.

Fair comment, phile.  I've therefore moved this topic and merged it with that existing discussion, in the interests of simplicity and continuity.

[inspector_blakey]

My impression is that this is very much a matter of personal preference, and whatever a train company does they'll always be on the receiving end of criticism.

As part of my training on the railway I've made my share of on-board announcements: the point I realized that the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) can never win was on one particular train when after an announcement leaving the originating station, as I was walking through the train a couple of passengers thanked me for the helpful information. Then, a little further down, the passenger comment was "Was it you making that announcement?". "Yes," I answered, in the full and certain expectation that a compliment was on my way. "A f&*%ing deaf person could have heard that rubbish, turn the volume down or shut up next time." Charming...

[Chris from Nailsea]

For the benefit of those who haven't met him, our inspector_blakey can be rather noisy sometimes ... 

[inspector_blakey]

*cough*

[inspector_blakey]

A passenger could turn up at 12 29 and 50 seconds to catch the 12 30 because that is the time the train is ADVERTISED to depart.   The timetable does not tell them they must be aboard by 12 29 and 20 seconds.

1230 is the advertised *departure* time. Departure time means wheels rolling. 40 seconds it probably verging on the excessive, but starting the train despatch procedure at T-30 seconds so that doors are closed and "rightaway" given in order that the wheels do start rolling at the advertised departure time is now virtually standard procedure.

[phile]

There is already a thread on this topic on "The Wider Picture" Board which had been moved from here due to it being a UK^▸ (United Kingdom) issue.

Fair comment, phile.  I've therefore moved this topic and merged it with that existing discussion, in the interests of simplicity and continuity.

Thank you Chris.   I think this the second time it has been moved due to the UK wide issye.

[grahame]

A passenger could turn up at 12 29 and 50 seconds to catch the 12 30 because that is the time the train is ADVERTISED to depart.   The timetable does not tell them they must be aboard by 12 29 and 20 seconds.

1230 is the advertised *departure* time. Departure time means wheels rolling. 40 seconds it probably verging on the excessive, but starting the train despatch procedure at T-30 seconds so that doors are closed and "rightaway" given in order that the wheels do start rolling at the advertised departure time is now virtually standard procedure.

Indeed the timetable does state the departure time.  But it might be more logical to publish the last time that people can board, as is common practise with airline flights.  The time the wheels start to role is an operational matter, just as takeoff time with an aircraft is.

[Southern Stag]

But what if tomorrow we decided that instead of all trains departing at the advertised time, that would be the time that doors were closed/locked. Effectively at the moment the process starts at 30 seconds before advertised departure time, and trains will leave as soon as the process is complete, even it is isn't quite on the minute exactly. If the whole process started 30 seconds later on all trains what would the difference be?

[phile]

Unfortunately, the lay person may not be aware of the doors closing before departure time.   Should there not be a blanket warning on Timetables ?

[The Tall Controller]

As a train dispatcher in Cornwall I can say that 40 seconds is certainly needed on HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) and especially Voyagers as it is the driver that has to close the doors so you need the time for the TM^▸ (Train Manager, or possibly Ticket Machine, depending on context) to buzz through.

For the smaller trains, I wait for 30 seconds before departure as the process is slightly quicker.

[trainer]

I'm not the most frequent of travellers, but I have seen clear announcements at all the main stations on posters on the platforms, scrolling displays and at barriers.  It is true that having arrived at the station it may be a bit late to read that you should have been there 40seconds ago, but another exhortation many seem to ignore is to arrive in plenty of time. 

I wonder if the time given for connections at stations should also be extended to include the time you should arrive at the station if starting there.  It can take quite a while to get from the bus stops or car park outside the two big Bristol stations to the relevant platform, especially if a ticket needs to be purchased.  Even Yatton needs an allowance if arriving in the car park on the opposite side from the departure platform.

[TerminalJunkie]

As a train dispatcher in Cornwall I can say that 40 seconds is certainly needed on HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units))

Nobody's disputing it takes time to close the doors; there's just no need to do it before the advertised departure time.