C2C use of festive themed station names

[Class800]

C2C have been using festive themed versions of some of their station names in the days running up to Christmas.

While some news outlets have seen it as for example "a bit of Christmas merrymaking" https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/traffic/c2c-stops-get-a-christmas-makeover-8581078,
other outlets have claimed that for example "the changes made the service less accessible and incomprehensible to many" https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/london-trains-passengers-slam-confusing-22551019.

Departure screen images shown the the latter article show Tinselbury Town, Elf Tilbury and Santaford le Hope on the 16.22 to Pitsea. Not being a line I know that well, I had to check the C2C route map to confirm these as being Tilbury Town, East Tilbury and Stanford-le-Hope.

The image also shows the 16.28 to Snowburyness including stops at Upmincepiester and Sleigh on Sea. I expect these are Shoeburyness, Upminster and Leigh on Sea.

There are probably 2 camps of opinion on this - the harmless fun viewpoint and the viewpoint that this may cause serious issues for customers. I am in the latter camp, having written previously about accessibility issues on the railway.

I would be interested in whether there is a requirement in any relevant rail agreements (NRCoT, management contracts, etc) for station departure boards to show stations using the official approved names.

I would also be interested in what rights customers would have if their journeys were delayed by this confusion over station names. https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/london-trains-passengers-slam-confusing-22551019 included a quote asking "If you missed your advance ticket train because of this would they let you get another without paying extra?" As it's such an unusual case, maybe it's hard to tell.

But it would be worth reminding C2C that stations should be referred to by their approved names surely.

 

[Elecman]

Absolutely nothing wrong with the practise, indeed it should be encouraged

 

[Class800]

Absolutely nothing wrong with the practise, indeed it should be encouraged

Could confuse people who are not locals or who do not speak English as a first language

 

[Wolfie]

C2C have been using festive themed versions of some of their station names in the days running up to Christmas.

While some news outlets have seen it as for example "a bit of Christmas merrymaking" https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/traffic/c2c-stops-get-a-christmas-makeover-8581078,
other outlets have claimed that for example "the changes made the service less accessible and incomprehensible to many" https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/london-trains-passengers-slam-confusing-22551019.

Departure screen images shown the the latter article show Tinselbury Town, Elf Tilbury and Santaford le Hope on the 16.22 to Pitsea. Not being a line I know that well, I had to check the C2C route map to confirm these as being Tilbury Town, East Tilbury and Stanford-le-Hope.

The image also shows the 16.28 to Snowburyness including stops at Upmincepiester and Sleigh on Sea. I expect these are Shoeburyness, Upminster and Leigh on Sea.

There are probably 2 camps of opinion on this - the harmless fun viewpoint and the viewpoint that this may cause serious issues for customers. I am in the latter camp, having written previously about accessibility issues on the railway.

I would be interested in whether there is a requirement in any relevant rail agreements (NRCoT, management contracts, etc) for station departure boards to show stations using the official approved names.

I would also be interested in what rights customers would have if their journeys were delayed by this confusion over station names. https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/london-trains-passengers-slam-confusing-22551019 included a quote asking "If you missed your advance ticket train because of this would they let you get another without paying extra?" As it's such an unusual case, maybe it's hard to tell.

But it would be worth reminding C2C that stations should be referred to by their approved names surely.

I'm normally supportive of those with accessibility issues. However, ye Gods, can't we have a laugh about anything anymore?

 

[Class800]

I'm normally supportive of those with accessibility issues. However, ye Gods, can't we have a laugh about anything anymore?

I suppose departure boards are not the place for it though?

 

[driverd]

I'm all in favour of this type of thing, however, as someone who isn't a c2c local, it did take me a little while to work out where those places are. If, for whatever reason, I was making a long/new journey and had a tight connection, it could prove a little irritating (though not much more than that - I'm not going to make out it's a total disaster).

A very simple solution would just be to have the real name in brackets next to the Christmas name, or perhaps have the screens repeat in normal mode, then festive mode. Keeps everyone happy then?

 

[The exile]

I'm normally supportive of those with accessibility issues. However, ye Gods, can't we have a laugh about anything anymore?

I’d go the other way. Normally I’m against the strait-laced puritans who can’t see what is serious and what is at worse a misplaced attempt at humour. However, information on departure screens etc should be exactly that: factual ( and accurate) information that the public need to know now! Festive humour has its place / but it’s not there.

 

[scragend]

...information on departure screens etc should be exactly that: factual ( and accurate) information that the public need to know now! Festive humour has its place / but it’s not there.

I agree.

Although I've never found these festive station names funny in the slightest.

 

[Flange Squeal]

I’d go the other way. Normally I’m against the strait-laced puritans who can’t see what is serious and what is at worse a misplaced attempt at humour. However, information on departure screens etc should be exactly that: factual ( and accurate) information that the public need to know now! Festive humour has its place / but it’s not there.

This is the view I share. I remember when South West Trains changed a whole host of station names on boards for Valentines 2015. One in particular changed was ‘Chessington South’ to ‘Kissington South’. I remember passengers wanting Kingston ending up on ‘Kissington’ trains, while those not familiar with the network wanting to travel to Chessington for the theme park being confused about which train to catch. Perhaps this wasn’t helped by being a Saturday, so arguably more people out who may not be regular rail users compared to if it was a weekday.

A sense of humour is no bad thing, and indeed it can be a very welcome break from corporate boredom when done well, but I do feel that information screens have a purpose and should remain clear and concise.

 

[Watershed]

This is the view I share. I remember when South West Trains changed a whole host of station names on boards for Valentines 2015. One in particular changed was ‘Chessington South’ to ‘Kissington South’. I remember passengers wanting Kingston ending up on ‘Kissington’ trains, while those not familiar with the network wanting to travel to Chessington for the theme park being confused about which train to catch. Perhaps this wasn’t helped by being a Saturday, so arguably more people out who may not be regular rail users compared to if it was a weekday.

A sense of humour is no bad thing, and indeed it can be a very welcome break from corporate boredom when done well, but I do feel that information screens have a purpose and should remain clear and concise.

Agreed. There's a place for humour but departure screens isn't that - you don't want people ending up in the wrong place, or letting a train go because they think it doesn't stop at their station.

 

[Skie]

I find Upmincepiester to be pure genius.

Presumably any audible announcements will be the normal station names, too.

 

[fwsmVor]

I wonder what the people in favour of this would think if they were in Germany on Christmas Eve, needing to change trains in Baunach to catch a flight home, and found the departure board advertising "Weihbaunachten"? By all means have festive fun in ways that won't disrupt peoples' journeys: perhaps put the Christmas name on a tinsel-covered station sign next to the normal one? But don't screw over people who don't speak English, who are partially-sighted and count the letter-shaped blobs to know which station is theirs, or who just aren't very good at geography.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm normally supportive of those with accessibility issues. However, ye Gods, can't we have a laugh about anything anymore?

Speaking as a neurodiverse person (though not wishing to speak for all neurodiverse individuals) I find it extremely patronising when people object to things like this on my behalf.

 

[Wolfie]

Speaking as a neurodiverse person (though not wishing to speak for all neurodiverse individuals) I find it extremely patronising when people object to things like this on my behalf.

I fully appreciate that neurodiverse people vary and that your input may not be wholly representative but still appreciate it, TY.

 

[AlterEgo]

I suppose departure boards are not the place for it though?

Agreed. There’s plenty of scope to make the railway lots of fun at Christmas time without inventing plausible place names like Santaford.

 

[A Challenge]

I think there is quite a difference between departure boards, as changed here, and boards In stations, as I've seen changed previously, and possibly this one is more liable to cause confusion (though c2c probably has a lower number of unfamiliar passengers than elsewhere I'd guess).

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Agreed. There’s plenty of scope to make the railway lots of fun at Christmas time without inventing plausible place names like Santaford.

Santaford isn't plausible... if such a place existed in Britain, surely it would be called Fatherchristmasford?

 

[telstarbox]

Not a fan. Christmas sees more "once a year" passengers who may be less familiar with the network and they need clarity from the information displayed.

 

[Nym]

Every year this comes up and every year, for reasons above and others, "Don't mess with the information systems."

Lets confuse everyone for the sake of "Festivities". Not a helpful thing to do.

Doubtless thought up by someone who tries to shove the season in everyone's face in the office and has zero consideration for any one who betide them on the matter.

 

[DarloRich]

It is harmless fun. People need to lighten up a bit.

To be honest if you cant work out that Upminster and Upmincepiester are the same place you shouldn't be out alone.

 

[Jim Jehosofat]

It is harmless fun. People need to lighten up a bit.

To be honest if you cant work out that Upminster and Upmincepiester are the same place you shouldn't be out alone.

Where's the like button when you need it?

 

[py_megapixel]

Where's the like button when you need it?

Sorry, there is no Like button, you'll need to use the Misliketoe button instead

 

[NoOnesFool]

London Winterloo

 

[py_megapixel]

London Winterloo

I assume to properly winter-ise Waterloo it would have to be London Iceloo

 

[NoOnesFool]

I assume to properly winter-ise Waterloo it would have to be London Iceloo

Could end up with people getting stuck on it.

 

[londontransit]

Having disabilities too I'm in two minds about this. I can see there's a need for some light hearted stuff and I wouldn't want to be a spoilsport or anything.

The problem is the railways do have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 and while the provision of what should be their duties can be argued (I can go through a whole lot of things the railways dont even do and which they never ever do - not in a million years - even though they should) its also in this case difficult to justify any changing of station names etc especially where learning disabilities or autism, or indeed blindness, partial sighted, etc where clarity of information is absolutely essential.

Essentially its wrong because its not information that's accessible.

 

[RailAleFan]

Why does operational user level access to CIS control software allow the arbitrary changing of stations names as displayed?

 

[Mojo]

It's one thing to change station names that may perhaps rhyme or perhaps a letter changed in a long placename, but most of these don't fall into those categories and are somewhat downright bizarre. They lost me at "Elf Tilbury" which I only worked out what it meant because of someone above, it isn't clear at all.

 

[Jagdpanther]

I think it is utterly pathetic never mind misleading.

 

[TFN]

The only one I like is St Pancakes for Pancakes Day. It actually works as most people can’t say Pancras anyway.

What c2c have done with “Tinselbury” and “Santaford” is a bit much imo.