Guard closing the door before a passenger has got off.

[JetStream]

I find it more irritating when people get up and crowd around the doors awkwardly 20 minutes before the next station.

Just wait until the announcement/if one is not made until a couple of minutes before the scheduled stop. Unless you've got lots of kids and luggage.

Basically use common sense.

 

[sheff1]

I've been asked by an elderly woman who was blocking the aisle to get her case out from under a pile of them, despite being loaded with my own luggage. Some people don't think ahead.

Someone puts their case in the rack as they board. Being a bit unsteady on their feet, they wait for the train to slows down before going to retrieve it only to find their case is underneath a pile of others, some/all of which are too large or heavy for them to move. Beginning to panic, they ask the nearest person for assistance which just happens to be someone getting off with their own luggage.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

 

[sheff1]

Or sometimes the lights surrounding the door open button don't light up, and by the time you realise that they're broken the door has locked again

You clearly travel on pacers as well . Not only do the buttons often fail to light they are also hidden away from where people wanting to alight are most likely to be standing. Regular users tend to jab at the buttons until something happens, others only realise the doors are unlocked when someone opens the door from the outside or they see/hear the door at the other end of the carriage open - tough if no one is boarding !

 

[trainophile]

Someone puts their case in the rack as they board. Being a bit unsteady on their feet, they wait for the train to slows down before going to retrieve it only to find their case is underneath a pile of others, some/all of which are too large or heavy for them to move. Beginning to panic, they ask the nearest person for assistance which just happens to be someone getting off with their own luggage.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

Except that I'm no spring chicken myself and also female. By sheer luck a guard appeared just at the right moment and took over the situation, otherwise more than a couple of us would have been taken beyond Crewe against our intentions.

 

[sheff1]

There is a similar problem at Bicester Village, probably cultural, with overseas visitors. Despite pre-arrival announcements being made in three languages, very few visiting shoppers make any attempt to leave their seats until the the train has come to a stand. This leads to extended dwell times.

It's the complete opposite when the same visitors come to make the return journey. Impoliteness would be an understatement - passengers alighting from the Oxford direction often have to develop very sharp elbows and loud voices. On some services to Marylebone, if you are not standing by the door when the train comes to a stand at Bicester Village, there is a real possibility of you ending up in London!

This is definitely a cultural thing. Exactly the same happens on Supertram with the large numbers of Chinese students studying at Sheffield University. As they do not get up to alight until the tram stops I can only assume that when they rush on as soon as the doors open they are not expecting anyone leaving to be anywhere near the doors at the time. I am guessing, perhaps, that the aisles on transport in their homeland are wide enough for people going in opposite directions to pass.

Talking about cultural difference, I noticed that on the Madrid Metro passengers often remain seated until the doors open and then saunter off. Naturally, the station dwell times are much longer than on the London Underground.

 

[sheff1]

Honestly speaking, if a person can't make it out of the door in the required amount of time upon the train coming to a halt ...,

Required by whom ?

 

[sheff1]

Except that I'm no spring chicken myself and also female.

Someone in a panic is not going to be thinking clearly. As I said, they most probably will ask the nearest person, regardless.

 

[Shell]

Required by whom ?

Required by the simple fact that the timetable doesn't change through telepathy. The train has a time it's meant to leave each station - if you can't consistently leave before the train begins to depart, there's no requirement that it wait for you unless you have an impairment or disability and request an accommodation.

 

[roversfan2001]

You clearly travel on pacers as well . Not only do the buttons often fail to light they are also hidden away from where people wanting to alight are most likely to be standing. Regular users tend to jab at the buttons until something happens, others only realise the doors are unlocked when someone opens the door from the outside or they see/hear the door at the other end of the carriage open - tough if no one is boarding !

The instance I refer to was actually on a 158 at Lostock Hall on Northern's strike day in April; cue me being carried to Preston with no onward trains to either of my local stations.

 

[Wolfie]

Because many times it is not a smooth stop, but a sudden jerk. I could speculate why, but I won't.

Anyway if you are a little unsteady on your feet that isn't very helpful. So far more sensible to stay seated until the train, tube, or bus has come to a halt.

Now if some people don't like that, sorry but tough.

And as for the risk of being carried on, sure there is a problem *IF* the train company has not planned their schedule correctly and trained their staff.

So basically the frequency of trains should be reduced (because in many cases the timings are stations are tight because they have to be, the track utilisation is that high) to accommodate your foibles (I do have sympathy for those who are unsteady on their feet) and who cares about all the passengers who actually can't board a train as a result?

Try taking your attitude in the rush hour in London and you will be walked through!

 

[Wolfie]

It certainly does.

In the situation of someone getting off and someone getting on, if the person gets on before everyone has got off then their aim is met. Meanwhile the people getting off, as has been mentioned here, are at risk of being taken on to the next stop. Therefore it seems good manners that the person boarding makes it as easy as possible to allow those who want to leave to do so. And if this means stepping out of the way, or even back onto the platform, that is what is needed. Even if they step back onto the platform, the driver/guard will have seen them and will not allow the train to leave whilst someone is trying to get on.



You don't get the delays you suggest, because the train company will have recognised they are serving customers with a range of different needs, so the 'wait' after the doors have opened will have been designed to allow for seated passengers to get up and leave the train.

Of course this means the train drivers also have to follow their training and not try and cut short the 'wait', as doing so would obviously impact on the customers on board.

I have no idea where you normally use trains but in terms of busy metropolitan services you either really don't have a clue or are the most obtuse self-obsessed individual I have encountered in a very long time.

To give a very simple example, try operating the 32 trains an hour and still absolutely heaving Underground Victoria line in the way you describe....

 

[bb21]

I think we are done.