Northern printed timetables

[ainsworth74]

Today, nothing out in the racks at Keighley. Skipton however, had colour inkjet/laser printed copies of both the Airedale (40) and Settle Carlisle (7) line timetables in the racks. Maybe Northern should just admit defeat drop the paperless dogma. There clearly is a demand for leaflets if stations are going to the trouble to keep on producing their own.

Actually I would argue that this is probably the more sensible way of doing it. Rather than printing thousands of leaflets, the majority of which get pulped after the change of timetable, just have stations produce them to meet local demand. I imagine Skipton is only ever making enough to meet what is actually needed after all.

 

[Horizon22]

Actually I would argue that this is probably the more sensible way of doing it. Rather than printing thousands of leaflets, the majority of which get pulped after the change of timetable, just have stations produce them to meet local demand. I imagine Skipton is only ever making enough to meet what is actually needed after all.

An “on-demand” approach is probably a sensible solution.

 

[sh24]

On demand makes sense, but bulk printing something that the overwhelming majority of people won't use certainty does not. Printed timetables, beyond posters on a platform, are dead.

 

[Andyh82]

It’s clearly a cost cutting exercise though, you could hardly say that in March 2020 nobody had a smartphone but by March 2022 everyone had a smartphone

If it wasn’t for Covid providing that natural break I wonder if there would have been a gradual phasing out, rather than pretty much every line in the country having a printed timetable to pretty much every line not having a timetable in one go

 

[lyndhurst25]

The station produced A4 photocopies or inkjet printouts don’t look professional though. Smudgy printing and not proper booklets. Of course there is less demand for printed timetables than in the past, but there clearly still is a demand. And no, it’s not just “enthusiasts” (who can get much more comprehensive information from websites like brtimes and realtimetrains) or “old folk”. Surely the answer is to print and distribute the right number of timetables to each station, according to local demand. I don’t know what the cost of professionally printed timetable booklets is, but I bet that the railway is paying well over the odds for inkjet printers, photocopier maintenance contracts, paper and ink cartridges.

For something like the old West Yorkshire timetable booklet, I’d even be prepared to pay for a copy. A quid or two every 6 months wouldn’t break the bank.

 

[omnicity4659]

I think people will have to accept that the vast majority of people do not utilise them, as much as enthusiasts and people on this forum would like them.

I am ready to be shot down here for such an inflammatory (yet realistic) comment!

When bus timetables are supplied in places where you expect there to be timetables, they’re pretty well utilised, and even reasonable orders of printed stock are depleted.

In places such as libraries, tourist information centres etc (more common since the closure of travel shops) they’re not, usually because nobody associates bus information with those places.

It may be different for trains as information is easier to come by, though.

 

[route101]

Picked up a Esk Valley Timetable and Guide at Whitby. I do find printed timetables easier and quicker to use than peering into a mobile phone downloading or trying to locate that download.

 

[Llandudno]

Picked up a Esk Valley Timetable and Guide at Whitby. I do find printed timetables easier and quicker to use than peering into a mobile phone downloading or trying to locate that download.

Especially if there is little or no WiFi available…!

 

[lyndhurst25]

Picked up a Esk Valley Timetable and Guide at Whitby. I do find printed timetables easier and quicker to use than peering into a mobile phone downloading or trying to locate that download.

Was this a professionally printed booklet, or a station DIY photocopy/inkjet job on A4 paper?

 

[route101]

Was this a professionally printed booklet, or a station DIY photocopy/inkjet job on A4 paper?

Proper timetable of the Esk Valley Line and map on other side.

 

[Stevemca]

Was this a professionally printed booklet, or a station DIY photocopy/inkjet job on A4 paper?

The Esk Valley timetable is printed by the EVRDC (Esk Valley Railway Development Company), not Northern