LNER app (and its notifications)

[enginedin]

I'm pretty impressed with the LNER (Android) app, and the notifications it provides - what platform your train will depart from, notification if you're running late, etc... But I was slightly amused to get a notification that the train I was on was late, despite getting the notification after we arrived into King's Cross, and we were 6 minutes early! I wonder if they've just logic something like

if time_diff(arrival_time, timetable_time) > 2 mins:
announce("we're sorry you're late!)

Without accounting for the fact this would alert early trains too?!

 

[Retorus]

I find the relentless updates irritating; I don’t care if my train is 2 minutes late!

 

[YorkRailFan]

I often get 10 notifications telling me which seat and carriage I'm in for the same service.

 

[Sealink]

I didn't get any updates on LNER app. Used Real Time Trains and manually going into app (to discover my trains had been cancelled). Notifications are enabled

 

[D1537]

I've never had an issue with the notifications - I almost always get a single one about seat and carriage, together with if it's running late. And I have to say I was very impressed with the one I got just before Xmas that my train the next evening had been cancelled, enabling me to book tickets on the next one instead with no issues.

 

[sheff1]

I find the relentless updates irritating; I don’t care if my train is 2 minutes late!

Same here. especially when they are telling me it is an ever changing number of minutes late literally hours in advance - I was getting notifications of a southbound Thameslink 'delay' before my booked train had even left the platform at Sheffield.

Heading north I kept getting notifications that the train I was on was late (I know, I was on it !!) but received no advice at all about alternative onward connection times once it became clear the booked connection would be missed.

I have only been booking via LNER recently due to the generous cashback offer on vouchers. Once I have used all the credit I can't see me continuing to use LNER unless I can stop the notifications - I unticked a box which I thought would stop them but it didn't so then deleted my mobile number but that didn't work either - plenty of other less intrusive booking options are available.

 

[enginedin]

unless I can stop the notifications

Delete the app?

 

[sheff1]

Delete the app?

Quite, but as I said I need to use the credit up first.

 

[enginedin]

Quite, but as I said I need to use the credit up first.

Block notifications in android settings, rather than the app settings

 

[TUC]

I find the relentless updates irritating; I don’t care if my train is 2 minutes late!

Then ignore the message. For the rest of us it's useful if we're a few minutes late getting to the station and it lets us know we still might catch the train we want.

 

[Retorus]

Then ignore the message. For the rest of us it's useful if we're a few minutes late getting to the station and it lets us know we still might catch the train we want.

Ignore all 7 of them sent in quick succession every time the amount delayed changed? Silly suggestion.

 

[LickeyIncliner]

I had a good moan about irritating, unhelpful and downright misleading notifications from the LNER app (on iPhone) here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/improving-lner-app-notifications.257448/ Others joined in...

 

[Roast Veg]

The LNER app is the best of them, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Adam Williams]

Sending notifications every single time the delay minutes change is just dumb.

The logic used for the TrainSplit app (which will work with bookings made on the forum's site too) is to only send a push notification if there's a material difference which is enough to actually break a subsequent connection, and to only send the notification if the connection was not previously at-risk. This strikes a balance between information overload and giving you a heads-up that there might be a problem, and you might want to check the forecast arrivals in-app throughout the journey / come up with a plan B.

 

[Roast Veg]

Sending notifications every single time the delay minutes change is just dumb.

It doesn't do this.

 

[Adam Williams]

It doesn't do this.

Certainly the screenshots (Jan 2024) I've seen do point to something like this and suggest it's a very naive implementation, sending two notifications like the below within 60 seconds of each other which serves no real purpose to a passenger:

Train Delayed
We're sorry, your train from London Kings Cross to York is 2 minutes late. It's now due to depart at 14:32.

Delay update
We've made up some time, your train from London Kings Cross to York will now depart at 14:31.

Perhaps it doesn't do repeatedly it once the journey has begun, but the criticism is still legitimate.

 

[AlastairFraser]

The LNER app is the best of them, as far as I'm concerned.

Agreed, the interface is the easiest to use of any UK TOC's app, I usually use their website to book and the tickets popping up in the app is pretty useful on the occasions I need to use e tickets.

 

[robbeech]

Sending notifications every single time the delay minutes change is just dumb.

It doesn't do this.

Perhaps it doesn't do repeatedly it once the journey has begun, but the criticism is still legitimate

It can do it repeatedly all through the journey. A trip up to Edinburgh before Christmas we were many hours late, after booking seats on a later train as per the advice I was updated by text message every few minutes about how late the train was. This was before we boarded at Doncaster and then for the remainder of the journey too. It was mostly incorrect too which is a shame.
It’s worth pointing out I’m not complaining about this, just pointing out that it does happen, I can just ignore or silence alerts from certain things if I want.

The automatic announcements at stations updating delay times are frankly ridiculous though. At Retford and Doncaster on that very same day it was constant. Particularly at Retford in the morning, delay announcements for trains were just queued up to play. At one point we had 3 announcements back to back saying the train was delayed by 74, 81, 72 minutes all played back to back, and all wildly inaccurate as the train was stationary in a queue of 6 behind a tree and ended up 230L. An appalling system and I wonder if the push notifications on apps or by text uses a similar approach.

 

[Roast Veg]

An appalling system and I wonder if the push notifications on apps or by text uses a similar approach.

The push notifications are similar but subject to their own rate limiting. It wouldn't be possible to send as many push notifications as there are announcements.

 

[185143]

I was greatful for the alerts a couple of years ago when I was travelling on a later train, through no fault of my own, and was given an apology for the delay. Disregarded the first one as we were flying along at 125.

Then checked the maps and saw a 91 had failed in Welwyn Tunnel and everything was diverting via Hertford.

 

[800001]

It can do it repeatedly all through the journey. A trip up to Edinburgh before Christmas we were many hours late, after booking seats on a later train as per the advice I was updated by text message every few minutes about how late the train was. This was before we boarded at Doncaster and then for the remainder of the journey too. It was mostly incorrect too which is a shame.
It’s worth pointing out I’m not complaining about this, just pointing out that it does happen, I can just ignore or silence alerts from certain things if I want.

The automatic announcements at stations updating delay times are frankly ridiculous though. At Retford and Doncaster on that very same day it was constant. Particularly at Retford in the morning, delay announcements for trains were just queued up to play. At one point we had 3 announcements back to back saying the train was delayed by 74, 81, 72 minutes all played back to back, and all wildly inaccurate as the train was stationary in a queue of 6 behind a tree and ended up 230L. An appalling system and I wonder if the push notifications on apps or by text uses a similar approach.

For situations like that when trains are queued, stations should be disabling the auto announcer and doing manual announcements.

Once line reopens with trains on the move with some sense of normality in movement, then they should turn it back on.

 

[LickeyIncliner]

Two further oddities from the LNER app notifications today.

(1) I booked an Advance ticket on the app for the 2058 TP Manchester Piccadilly - Leeds; it notified me of the platform for that and for the 2058 Northern departure to Leeds (for which my ticket wouldn't have been valid, even if I'd wanted a slower journey).

(2) For each of the three trains I've taken today, it has notified me of a one or two minute delay to departure - in each case, after the train had departed on time.

Notifications like (2) are merely annoying. (1) could have put me on the wrong train with an invalid ticket if I hadn't known which platform to expect and hadn't seen the other notification.

 

[kkong]

(2) For each of the three trains I've taken today, it has notified me of a one or two minute delay to departure - in each case, after the train had departed on time

I've seen (2) on several occasions after departing from Edinburgh... and with a new notification each minute for several minutes.

Some sanity checking should be incorporated into the app's code.

 

[LickeyIncliner]

Some sanity checking should be incorporated into the app's code.

I strongly agree! Though today it isn't reporting phantom delays (nor the real delay I'm currently caught in). Instead it sent me notifications of platforms for Leeds-York and York-Edinburgh trains, which were perfectly correct, except it described Leeds-York as Leg 2 and York-Edinburgh as Leg 1. I'm struggling to imagine how the code could actually get that wrong...

 

[enginedin]

it described Leeds-York as Leg 2 and York-Edinburgh as Leg 1

I've reported that to them several times - although I've only ever seen it happen where one of the legs is a different train company

 

[Swanley 59]

I've had delay notifications from the app when the train has been less than one minute late leaving Morpeth. I read the first notification and then ignore the rest.

 

[kez19]

It was handy for me last Friday when my return to Dundee (from Newcastle - Leeds points failure was the problem) was delayed.

The only thing I thought it got wrong was at time about 0730-0745 it told me to go to Platform 7 and wait (in notifications) but on their app and other sources it said Platform 2 in the end train departed platform 2.