Passengers' experiences during engineering works

[merlodlliw]

I have received the following information today from Passenger Focus, which makes interesting reading about engineering works on our railway, which I pass on for your comment & information.


Passenger focus header reads:

"Passengers recognise the need for engineering works on the railways. However, many have negative perceptions and experiences of the way that planned engineering works are handled by the rail industry. We have carried out new research into passengers' views and experiences of using the railway when engineering works are disrupting the timetable. We will be working with the industry to ensure these findings are understood and acted on.

Key findings from the report include:

• 85 per cent of passengers want a discount if they have to use a replacement bus;
• 55 per cent of passengers would not travel by train at all if part of the journey was by bus;
• online retailers should improve websites so disruption is obvious to passengers;
• train operators need to improve transfers between train and bus.

The full report looks at this in more detail and provides some key recommendations to the industry on how to manage planned engineering works."

The full report can be found here
http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/re...es+during+engineering+works&utm_content=24507

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Selfishly - I do not like bus transfers either.

During the 80s I was travelling south from Glasgow to home in Preston and there was engineering work between Carlisle and Preston - so what a terrible shame I was diverted via the Settle and Carlisle line behind a pair of non-boilered class 31s. Getting off the train you could here all the grumblings from passengers about the 2.5 hour journey extension. I also overheard a spotter on Platform 3 at Preston say "Some people are never grateful -they have just had a ride at no extra cost down the Settle and Carlisle behind a pair of NB goyles -what more do they want. ?"

Anyway, in all seriousness, fairly recently, I was travelling back to the USA and needed to get back to Manchester Airport. I was advised there would be a replacement bus service. So rather than endure that I got my wife to take me by car from Broughton to Manchester Airport.

I hate replacment buses with a passion!!

 

[ainsworth74]

This is hardly surprising is it? I thought it had been common knowledge for quite a while that passengers, when they buy train tickets, prefer to travel by train even if that means adding some time to their journey.

 

[Bevan Price]

One problem is that rail replacement buses cannot be relied upon to make connections, or alternatively allow unnecessarily long waiting times. More than once, I have seen a replacement bus depart just as a train is arriving. And, instead of allowing a bus to depart as soon as all the passengers have left the connecting trains, they issue full bus timetables and you have to wait 10 to 15 minutes before the bus departs.

Also, on some lines, instead of running some of the buses as "express" between the two busiest stations, they send every bus via every intermediate station, hugely increasing journey times. For example, a few years ago, when Metrolink was upgrading the Manchester - Bury line, their replacement buses followed a very convoluted route to call at all stations, such that it was quicker to use the "all stops" 135 "First" service bus than the rail replacement bus services.

 

[D365]

In Germany (at least on suburban rail systems) replacement buses (SEV) are well advertised, so that people know what to do during disruption or engineerig works. Not as comfortable or as quick as regular service, but it's well thought out.

Britain, however...

 

[Greenback]

This is hardly surprising is it? I thought it had been common knowledge for quite a while that passengers, when they buy train tickets, prefer to travel by train even if that means adding some time to their journey.

This is probably another report that just states what most people realise anyway. It's little more than common sense that when people buy a rail ticket they would prefer to be conveyed by rail to having to transfer to another mode of transport (and probably back again later) in order to complete their journey.

The restrictions on taking cycles, large items of luggage and dogs, although not always enforced, are another drawback to replacement buses.

 

[p123]

I hate to say it, but a lot of the time I've noticed people don't pay attention to the right places which generally advertise planned engineering works.

A few weeks ago on my line, trains were terminating at Partick and then there was a replacement bus onwards to Exhibition Centre/Glasgow Central/Rutherglen.

This was advertised:
- Weeks in advance, via JourneyCheck.
- On station posters, on the entire Argyle Line and North Clyde Line towards Balloch.
- On the National Rail Enquiries website.
- On electronic information screens on the entire Argyle Line and North Clyde Line towards Balloch (along with some other North Clyde Line stations out towards Airdrie too!) a week in advance
- Using pre-recorded announcements at set intervals at stations on Argyle/North Clyde Lines a week in advance.

Yet, despite this plethora of information, on arrival at Partick on the Sunday in question, there was plenty a person in my carriage saying to the TE "Well, I wasn't told that there was engineering work"!

Maybe people do just need to be educated on where to find the information, but my personal experience suggests that my local TOC excels in trying to get the message across to allow people to make alternative travel arrangements if necessary.

 

[Greenback]

Regular passengers like myself are very adept at not reading screens and blocking out announcements as we are so used to travelling the same route all the time!

 

[steevp]

Regular passengers like myself are very adept at not reading screens and blocking out announcements as we are so used to travelling the same route all the time!

Too true and most people ignore posters anyway as they are just part of the advertising "noise"