Train Types showing at Stations

[Ridgeblog]

Hi all. Why do stations that I go to (I travel on the Bexley line) almost always show train types on the passenger information screens? AFAIK it is only not shown on termini stations? Is this to cater for train enthusiasts like some members on here, or do passengers genuinely care about that sort of thing?

 

[CarltonA]

SWR seem keen on mentioning certain services as "Arterio", not sure why they would trumpet that fact. "This train has small, uncomfortable seats" would be more helpful.

 

[dosxuk]

The names shown are the marketing names for the stock, as chosen by the marketing team at the operator.

My suspicion is that the marketing teams care more about advertising their new(er) stock than the passengers care about knowing the name. "8 cars" or "probably full and standing again" would be more useful to the average passenger. But marketing teams have got to keep themselves in a job...

 

[bramling]

Hi all. Why do stations that I go to (I travel on the Bexley line) almost always show train types on the passenger information screens? AFAIK it is only not shown on termini stations? Is this to cater for train enthusiasts like some members on here, or do passengers genuinely care about that sort of thing?

Regular passengers, especially commuters, do care about these sorts of things. It also allows people to know where to stand for facilities they may need, for example accessible areas or even toilets, or their preferred seat.

 

[ijmad]

The names shown are the marketing names for the stock, as chosen by the marketing team at the operator.

My suspicion is that the marketing teams care more about advertising their new(er) stock than the passengers care about knowing the name. "8 cars" or "probably full and standing again" would be more useful to the average passenger. But marketing teams have got to keep themselves in a job...

Nationalisation should surely sweep away all this nonsense, as the companies will no-longer be competing for brand recognition.

There must be pretty marginal gains, but I guess they do it so some people might choose their services on a competitive route...

 

[aaronspence]

Hi all. Why do stations that I go to (I travel on the Bexley line) almost always show train types on the passenger information screens? AFAIK it is only not shown on termini stations? Is this to cater for train enthusiasts like some members on here, or do passengers genuinely care about that sort of thing?

Passengers do care, for example in Glasgow the Aberdeen train can either be a tiny 158 or a 170 or a HST branded as 'Inter7City' which is far comfier and quieter with more carriages so likely to get a seat.

 

[Spartacus]

Nationalisation should surely sweet away all this nonsense, as the companies will no-longer be competing for brand recognition.

There must be pretty marginal gains, but I guess they do it so some people might choose their services on a competitive route...

It's not just competing against each other, the main competition is against road transport. BR found branding could be very useful indeed. Everyone knew what an Intercity 125 was, whether they were an actual or potential rail user or not, and the brand was shown to have benefits for the wider railway, not just HST, or Intercity, services.

 

[Mikey C]

If you need the toilet, then knowing that the service is Networker operated, rather then the toiletless 376s and 707s is fairly useful.

 

[Highlander1]

Scotrail do the same. It's all about branding. HST services are branded at Inter7City on screens. Edinburgh to Queens Street are branded as "Express." Whilst not traction related, it also distinguishes the service from others

 

[Ridgeblog]

Interesting, thanks for all the replies. I didn't think that most passengers even knew the names of rolling stock . So is this mainly so that manufacturers can market their stock at multiple stations so that they gain more recognition and value to other buyers? Honestly, just hopping on and off stations is enough to know for me rather than caring about the train type! The only reason I know now is from reading widely here and elsewhere after discovering these sites. I really thought it's quite geeky for commuters to know about.

 

[milooo]

The boards by the ticket machines at welwyn garden City just say 'class 387' or 'class 700'

 

[TFN]

Also for southeastern stations, each train may use a different type of ramp and in a different part of the platform. Useful for station staff.

 

[Stephen42]

Interesting, thanks for all the replies. I didn't think that most passengers even knew the names of rolling stock . So is this mainly so that manufacturers can market their stock at multiple stations so that they gain more recognition and value to other buyers? Honestly, just hopping on and off stations is enough to know for me rather than caring about the train type! The only reason I know now is from reading widely here and elsewhere after discovering these sites. I really thought it's quite geeky for commuters to know about.

None of the names used are manufacturer brand names, it's train operator brand names or the class number. Azuma is a LNER concept, City Beam a Southeastern one, Arterio a SWR thing, not Hitachi, Siemens or Alstom/Bombardier brand respectively. Depending on where it's either a promotion of new/newer trains or where there's a mix of stock types and people may find it useful.

As above staff can find it useful for double checking they have the right ramp on services where each service may be a different fleet. I believe it originated from a staff request on Southeastern for that sort of purpose rather than the marketing side.

 

[mmh]

Nationalisation should surely sweep away all this nonsense, as the companies will no-longer be competing for brand recognition.

It is largely nonsense, but nationalised industry isn't immune from branding.

InterCity, InterCity 125, Regional Railways, ScotRail, Pacer, Sprinter, SuperSprinter, Alpha line...