Joe Paxton
Established Member
- Joined
- 12 Jan 2017
- Messages
- 2,959
Edit - some of the 'facts' presented in my post below no longer make sense, because the 'facts' have now changed (again!) i.e. train diversions that were showing as having been cancelled in the timetable have subsequently re-instated, as several posters who've replied have helpfully pointed out.
However The points I made about resultant passenger confusion remain, indeed I'd suggest they are reinforced by whatever planning shenanigans have been going on! I do appreciate planning and running a railway is a mind-bogglingly complex feat of co-ordinating a multitude of moving parts (both metaphorical and literal), but in this case it feels as though there was a bit of somewhat premature tinkering with the 'production database' so to speak (i.e. the live timetable) which resulted in journey planners changing to show everything was 'back to normal', before later going back on themselves and once again showing the engineering works timetable plan!
Checking this morning for a longer distance SWR journey on Sat 14 March on the London-Weymouth services, got a bit confused as previously planners showed the longer diverted journey via the Portsmouth Direct line (Havant and Guildford etc) but now they show trains running normally up the South West Main Line.
However on the SWR website, under Plan my journey -> Planned improvements / Engineering Works -> March engineering works, it still states under the "Altered train services and buses replace trains in the Woking area Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March" heading:
On the NRE website, the text (though not the video) of the Engineering work page...
Buses replace trains in the Woking area on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March
...has been updated to omit the bullet point under the Saturday heading that "Buses replace trains between: [...] Woking and Winchester" - compare with this archived version of the page from Jan 16.
Looking at the Timetable History website, it appears as though changes to the timetable database were made today.
It's absolutely to be welcomed that at least some trains will now be running as normal, but the lack of clear information about what has changed is kinda infuriating.
People will have made plans based on the revised timetable and be left scratching their heads when the trains on the day don't match up with what they thought was happening - in particular those with Advance tickets (which I'm almost certain were on sale for the revised times), but also those making connections, or others whose journey will now be different - e.g. people who actually wanted to travel to say Guildford and were benefitting from a direct train because of the diversion.
What's needed is some straightforward way of conveying the information that explains the engineering work plans have changed, and provides advice regarding Advance ticket acceptance - and for it to be provided in an easy to find place. Too often information about engineering works is hidden away, and it takes some deciphering to work out exactly what is going on (e.g. looking at the info on both the TOC website and the NRE website). I hope that this is something GBR really tackles head-on, as it surely puts people off travelling by train - it shouldn't be mysterious and esoteric knowledge only available to the select few.
However The points I made about resultant passenger confusion remain, indeed I'd suggest they are reinforced by whatever planning shenanigans have been going on! I do appreciate planning and running a railway is a mind-bogglingly complex feat of co-ordinating a multitude of moving parts (both metaphorical and literal), but in this case it feels as though there was a bit of somewhat premature tinkering with the 'production database' so to speak (i.e. the live timetable) which resulted in journey planners changing to show everything was 'back to normal', before later going back on themselves and once again showing the engineering works timetable plan!
Checking this morning for a longer distance SWR journey on Sat 14 March on the London-Weymouth services, got a bit confused as previously planners showed the longer diverted journey via the Portsmouth Direct line (Havant and Guildford etc) but now they show trains running normally up the South West Main Line.
However on the SWR website, under Plan my journey -> Planned improvements / Engineering Works -> March engineering works, it still states under the "Altered train services and buses replace trains in the Woking area Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March" heading:
On the NRE website, the text (though not the video) of the Engineering work page...
Buses replace trains in the Woking area on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March
...has been updated to omit the bullet point under the Saturday heading that "Buses replace trains between: [...] Woking and Winchester" - compare with this archived version of the page from Jan 16.
Looking at the Timetable History website, it appears as though changes to the timetable database were made today.
It's absolutely to be welcomed that at least some trains will now be running as normal, but the lack of clear information about what has changed is kinda infuriating.
People will have made plans based on the revised timetable and be left scratching their heads when the trains on the day don't match up with what they thought was happening - in particular those with Advance tickets (which I'm almost certain were on sale for the revised times), but also those making connections, or others whose journey will now be different - e.g. people who actually wanted to travel to say Guildford and were benefitting from a direct train because of the diversion.
What's needed is some straightforward way of conveying the information that explains the engineering work plans have changed, and provides advice regarding Advance ticket acceptance - and for it to be provided in an easy to find place. Too often information about engineering works is hidden away, and it takes some deciphering to work out exactly what is going on (e.g. looking at the info on both the TOC website and the NRE website). I hope that this is something GBR really tackles head-on, as it surely puts people off travelling by train - it shouldn't be mysterious and esoteric knowledge only available to the select few.
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