The communication from Scotrail last night was awful - when the train arrived at Newton the previously stuck doors were opened and Newton and Cambuslang passengers got off. However as the train was for Coatbridge Central, all the remaining passengers didn't know if they had to wait or get off. We sat there for about ten minutes with no communication from anyone.
Eventually we were told to alight and after a few mins a train pulls in on Platform 1 and there is an announcement made that this train will go to Larkhall and call at all stations. So most of the passengers standing on platform 2 move to the stairs to go under the tracks to platform 1 (it is a slow process as it is very busy and badly lit and the steps are slippy) and literally five seconds after the announcement is made the train pulls away. giving passengers no chance to get it!!
Passengers understand that from time to time things go wrong, however the key issue for the CEO of Scotrail and the management team should be how they handle the issues when they arise communication needs to be accurate and frequent. If passengers are told of what is happening then they will be a bit more understanding, but to tell passengers to change platform and then the train departs within five seconds is a disgrace.
I sent a letter to Scotrail this morning - I did praise them as generally their services are very good, but when it goes wrong it is their poor communication (ie lack of it or inaccurate) that really hacks off passengers.
