johnnychips
Established Member
^ Thank you again. So it evidently varies between different companies.
A few years ago I was waiting for a northbound train (I can't remember where to) at Temple Meads, scheduled to depart from platform 7. However about 5 minutes before it was due to arrive an XC service terminated on platform 8. Realising that was going to be there a while I asked station staff where my train was now going to depart from, they radioed someone (station control or signallers, I guess) to ask and it was clear I was the first person to spot the issue. Fortunately on that occasion they were able to put the train I was waiting for on platform 5 (same island) and so the alternation was made with plenty of time but it would have been touch and go had we needed to move to a different island.
If the software was more intelligent then in some cases it could work things out ahead of time, such as a train being on the fast line once leaving Potters Bar going north. From this moment, anyone on platform 4 at Welwyn Garden City could be told their train will now call at platform 3. There's no way for the train to get over to 4. In reality, you'll likely see the train when the announcement is made.
They can at staffed stations but only if the signaller tells them. I don't know what is the process at London Bridge but there ought to be one, given the long walk from platform 4 to 3 or 5 to 6.In the absence of intelligent software, could a human being not perform this function?
Considering how close Blackfriars & London Bridge are, there is no reason at all as to why the London Bridge platform can't be set before the train leaves Blackfriars.
That would give 5minutes notice.
For those of us who aren't familiar with the railway's systems, can someone explain the chain of events when a platform alteration occurs? Is it a case of the signaller deciding that an alteration is necessary, pushing some buttons (or pulling some levers or whatever) and the information is automatically propagated to downstream systems, triggering an update to the passenger information systems and an announcement?
The reason I ask is that I'm curious about the time interval between the signaller deciding that an alternation is required, and the consequent change being made known to passengers. If the answer is not "A few seconds" then perhaps there's an opportunity to improve the situation without causing operational problems.
Signallers don’t operate the CIS equipment.is the time that the CIS was changed recorded as a signaller action
Signallers don’t operate the CIS equipment.
Afaik the third delay minute at any timing point, i.e. station stops, becomes a recordable delay automatically.Is it really a delay, or just good customer service?
As in, will that service then be delayed enough at all the next stops to be recordable as a delay?
I saw a lady in a wheelchair over carried past her intended stop. Peterborough put her on the train but there was no one at Huntingdon to get her off. So she had to go to St Neots and go back. Hopefully they got her a taxi.As a passenger with a mobility impairment, last minute platform changes are one of the biggest stresses of train travel, and I always appreciate when a train is held. I've had particularly good experiences when I've had passenger assistance booked, with a massive effort to not only wait but also create a safe route to move through a crowd of passengers transferring to the new platform.
A hypothetical I'm wondering about is what would happen if there wasn't enough time for people (including passenger assistance staff) to change platforms, and a passenger requiring ramps, was disembarking at that station? Do platform/ passenger assistance staff find out about changes prior to general passengers? Is there a risk of the passenger being left on the train? I'm thinking especially at smaller stations where platform staff on every platform is not standard.
No, trains should not wait. Also, passengers missing trains with train specific Advance tickets should be forced to buy a new Anytime ticket.
Not sure that is reasonable, perhaps your post was tongue in cheek. I've claimed delay compensation in this scenario in addition to having the advance ticket accepted on the next reasonably available service.