"Too much information?"

[6Gman]

My pet hate is regarding the departure boards. They show the trains and platforms etc. But as you are taking in the information and working out which platform to go for, the information is replaced by a moronic message telling you to take all your possessions or similar. This message stays on the board for seemingly an eternity before the departure information returns. I missed a train at Motherwell last year because of this.

Keep the departure boards for departure information.

And departures in the next 40 minutes or so! Not in an hour's time.

At Crewe page 1 shows the next 8 (or so) departures. It then scrolls to page 2 showing another 8 (or so). It then scrolls to page 3 by which time you are onto the third potential Manchester train, the second (or third) potential Birmingham etc etc

 

[Tomonthetrain]

Departure board at Stourbridge Town is two pages long and shows the next 6 trains to Stourbridge Junction, as "a London Midland service consisting of 1 coach", taking up three lines.

Surely all that station needs is a "All trains to Stourbridge Junction, next in X minutes" display?

That may be but say hypothetically to New Street. How would your All trains to Stourbridge Junction display work then?

Or even a hypothetical double 139 formation?

 

[dvboy]

That's not going to happen though, is it?

 

[tsr]

That's not going to happen though, is it?

Not in the near future. Is it even possible to work passenger services with PPMs in multiple? Is it allowed? Would the traffic of any line where they are used or will be considered for use be variable enough - and sufficient, full stop?

 

[dvboy]

The high frequency of trains on the Stourbridge Town branch means only one is needed. I used it Friday night and I was the only person on it. I'm surprised it doesn't just run on request with the use of a call button, as there must be times it runs back and forth empty.

If the demand was high enough, it'd still have a DMU, surely?

 

[EM2]

Why do we even need notices? It is a criminal offence to smoke in an enclosed public place. There are no signs saying 'Assault is not permitted on this train' nor are there signs advising people that theft isn't allowed either, so why constant smoking announcements?

Because some people still seem to think that it is legal to smoke on an open-air platform (there are some exceptions where this *is* the case). Or that a train doesn't count.

 

[jon0844]

And departures in the next 40 minutes or so! Not in an hour's time.

At Crewe page 1 shows the next 8 (or so) departures. It then scrolls to page 2 showing another 8 (or so). It then scrolls to page 3 by which time you are onto the third potential Manchester train, the second (or third) potential Birmingham etc etc

If you are going to have summary of departures that far ahead (and that could be useful for those with advance tickets, wanting to make sure that their future service isn't cancelled) then at least think of doing something like having the next 3-4 departures remaining on-screen all the time, then having the rest scrolling/page flipping below.

 

[ert47]

One announcement I hate is the one telling me to mind the gap...

The problem is, I've travelled by train so often that I don't actually mind the gap any more.

 

[PHILIPE]

Obviously a gap. Surely everybody knows that trains are not wedged up against the platform.
Another annoying and nanny state announcement can be heard at Glasgow Queen St (Low Level) and which is continuously non-stop. It alternates between each of the two platforms but you can still hear it from both platforms. "Please keep hold of the handrail at all times especially on the stairs".

 

[30909]

As instructed I spent half an hour “minding the gap” at Clapham Junction and gave up when no one came to reclaim it

 

[Goatboy]

Obviously a gap. Surely everybody knows that trains are not wedged up against the platform.
Another annoying and nanny state announcement can be heard at Glasgow Queen St (Low Level) and which is continuously non-stop. It alternates between each of the two platforms but you can still hear it from both platforms. "Please keep hold of the handrail at all times especially on the stairs".

Plymouth is even worse for this. Above each stairway is a speaker not connected to the main PA system. It loops 'When on the stairs, please take care and use the handrail'.

Continuously.

Madness.

 

[sheff1]

On this theme, Sheffield Supertram has recently intoduced a 'hold tight please' announcement which is played at random times for no obvious reason. What one is supposed to hold tight and for how long is unclear. :cry:

 

[sarahj]

Oh god. I was traumatised by the length of one of those announcements when I visited. It must have been nearly five mins on the same train! Ore & Littlehampton... 12 car train. Funny thing was, the PIS at East Croydon was convinced it was splitting... twice!!! Perhaps the middle unit was simply being taken out of service somewhere?

It does split twice.

Eg 12 cars

front 4 splits at haywards heath and goes to littlehampton
rear 8 heads to eastbourne
at eastbourne the front 4 are detatched and wait at eastbourne, but the rear 4 head off to bexhill and ore

 

[Ferret]

As well as the Plymouth one which I've just seen has already been mentioned, there's one in the northeast regarding not crossing the tracks. Argh!

 

[GodAtum]

There is an "escalator ending" annoucement on the the escalators leading down to the FCC platforms at St Pancras!

 

[Goatboy]

As well as the Plymouth one which I've just seen has already been mentioned, there's one in the northeast regarding not crossing the tracks. Argh!

I don't get it, why do they exist? I have never seen another station with the same bizarre system as Plymouth. Why is Plymouth so special that it needs constantly looping announcements about how to use stairs? Are people from Plymouth always falling over? Why not people from Totnes?

 

[Ferret]

The Plymouth one seems to be controlled by a motion sensor too! Seems to be a lot of expense to pander to the 0.0000001% of customers who might just lack the necessary intelligence to climb a flight of stairs.

 

[GodAtum]

A train company will cut the amount of "tosh" announced on board after passenger research deemed it irrelevant.

First Great Western (FGW) said 40% of content was not useful, according to its survey of rail users.

"Mind the gap" will go, followed by no smoking announcements and informing people where first class is.

It comes after Transport Minister Norman Baker urged train operators to curb "excessive" announcements.

The changes will come into effect in May.

David Crome, FGW general manager, said: "Some of the things we do not need to say anymore - we have been through the announcement guide to rid it of all the tosh, the redundant, the irrelevant and the repetitive."

Research suggested passengers had psychologically trained themselves to tune out to all announcements.

"Change here for connecting services to ..." will be replaced with relevant information on departure times and platform numbers.

Mr Crome said: "Some of our colleagues have been saying the same thing for 20 years. It may take a little while for them to change habits."

But David Sidebottom, director at Passenger Focus, said the announcements were "vital".

He said: "On board announcements are important to many passengers to ensure, for instance, that they are aboard the correct train, have a valid ticket, or know when to prepare to alight.

"This repetitive information may be annoying to some passengers, but it is nevertheless vital for others."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-21847099

i agree that some annoucements should go but some a important, for example where 1st class is.

 

[Captain Chaos]

DELETED - It's not worth the hassle.

 

[EM2]

There is an "escalator ending" annoucement on the the escalators leading down to the FCC platforms at St Pancras!

If you'd seen the number of falls on those escalators that I have, you would understand why.

 

[Goatboy]

i agree that some annoucements should go but some a important, for example where 1st class is.

On an FGW HST though its always in the same place unless something is wrong, in which case you'd probably still get an announcement.

 

[Ferret]

If you'd seen the number of falls on those escalators that I have, you would understand why.

Were those falls what I'd call 'user error'?

 

[Starmill]

It does split twice.

Eg 12 cars

front 4 splits at haywards heath and goes to littlehampton
rear 8 heads to eastbourne
at eastbourne the front 4 are detatched and wait at eastbourne, but the rear 4 head off to bexhill and ore

Aye, I'm sure you are correct I'm just saying the onboard PIS said "Littlehampton and Ore" Travel in front 4 coaches for Stations to Littehampton, travel in rear 8 for stations to Ore. The announcement at VIC certainly said "Ore & Littlehampton". and that really long announcement "Customers for IJKLMNOPQRSTUVXYZ should travel in the front FOUR coaches, furthest from the ticket barrier" ect ect.

So... does it reverse and the middle 4 just get taken out of service at Eastbourne? That explains it.... I think.

If not gimme a break, it was the first time I've ever been on a 12 car train, and us Mancs apparently cannot even cope with simple 6-car splits at Preston!

 

[HowardGWR]

It does split twice.

Eg 12 cars

front 4 splits at haywards heath and goes to littlehampton
rear 8 heads to eastbourne
at eastbourne the front 4 are detatched and wait at eastbourne, but the rear 4 head off to bexhill and ore

What amazes me with the SR info on 12 car trains and announcements is that they expect that pax will know where Haywards Heath is, for instance. As a substantial number are getting out at Gatwick, how is one supposed to know whether the splitting matters or not to Gatwick pax? (That is also of course nothing to with the fact that a good proportion of pax don't speak English, let alone have an intimate knowledge of British railway geography -ah, but that's their fault for being foreign I suppose). Still it's nice to know that Eastbourne is somewhere further on when you get out at Gatwick and relieved to know you did not go off in a different direction at Haywards Heath because that was further along anyway. :roll:

 

[A-driver]

What amazes me with the SR info on 12 car trains and announcements is that they expect that pax will know where Haywards Heath is, for instance. As a substantial number are getting out at Gatwick, how is one supposed to know whether the splitting matters or not to Gatwick pax? (That is also of course nothing to with the fact that a good proportion of pax don't speak English, let alone have an intimate knowledge of British railway geography -ah, but that's their fault for being foreign I suppose). Still it's nice to know that Eastbourne is somewhere further on when you get out at Gatwick and relieved to know you did not go off in a different direction at Haywards Heath because that was further along anyway. :roll:

There's no shortage of network maps on the stations and trains and you don't need to speak English to understand them.

 

[ert47]

There's no shortage of network maps on the stations and trains and you don't need to speak English to understand them.

The splitting announcements on SWT services confuse me and I usually only travel as far as Clapham from Waterloo.

Probably because Im not too familiar with the South West...

 

[D1009]

Is it even possible to work passenger services with PPMs in multiple?

How on earth could Parry People Movers work in multiple?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I don't get it, why do they exist? I have never seen another station with the same bizarre system as Plymouth. Why is Plymouth so special that it needs constantly looping announcements about how to use stairs? Are people from Plymouth always falling over? Why not people from Totnes?

Thank God they haven't done it anywhere else.

 

[Tomonthetrain]

D1009, I believe the PPMs did a trial on the Stourbridge branch when they were setting it up when both PPMs were coupled together. I'm not exactly sure if this is true however but I remember one of their drivers saying about it.

 

[sarahj]

Its amazing the amount of people ask if this is the right coach for clapham junction when they are getting on at victoria....

As a guard upon leaving victoria and east croydon I make a anouncement along the linbes of 'this train is formed of 8 coaches and all 8 coaches will call at clapham junction, east croydon, gatwick airport and haywards heath. At haywards heath this train will divide, with coaches 1,2,3 and 4 heading to A and calling at B,C,D,E,F while coaches 5.6.7 & 8 will continue to Z and call at Y,X,W. If you also hear a 3 language one just before Gatwick, thats me as well.

The problem is, for the regular traveller, all anouncements are anoying, but if its your first time, you will want to know. Have none and you soon get people saying, but there were no anouncements.

As for safety ones, when you read the accident reports for the railway you soon find out that the first thing people say is, there was no warning, be it verbal warnings, signs put up, etc etc

As for gaps, come into platform 1 at Brighton on a 313 and you will hear, mind the gap. In coach 1 or 3, you wonder, what a fuss, get out of coach 2, its a biggy.

 

[EM2]

Were those falls what I'd call 'user error'?

Most of them, in my opinion.