Most ridiculous things that passengers complain about.

[duffield]

Does seem late, to be fair. What heritage railway operation still has trains running at that time of the evening?

I think I've seen occasional late night services listed on some lines (maybe some of the "train of lights" services or some special evening ale services or something just about passing the 2100 mark?), but that would be a handful of services in a year!

 

[steamybrian]

Does seem late, to be fair. What heritage railway operation still has trains running at that time of the evening?

Evening dining trains also gala days

As a child I lived next to London- Brighton mainline. Imagine my parents complaining to BR to stop trains at 2100 so that I could sleep.!!!!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Imagine my parents complaining to BR to stop trains at 2100 so that I could sleep.!!!!

That's clearly different though. Weren't we talking about some heritage railway operation?

 

[Shimbleshanks]

A few years ago, I was travelling on a Eurostar from London to Paris. Opposite were a young-ish couple (two blokes) who had been meant to catch a Brussels service changing at Lille for a service to the south of France but had somehow contrived to get on the Paris train instead. The guard came round and said they were OK ticket-wise and as I had a Thomas Cook timetable with me I helped them plan their onward journey. However, they were not mollified and grumbled endlessly about how they'd been 'misled' by Eurostar into getting the wrong train etc etc. "And do you know the worst of it?" one of the said. "They didn't keep us our reserved seats!"

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

As both a trolley steward and a guard I've had complaints that I haven't been through when the train is full and standing with the aisles absolutely packed.
Another trolley steward one was when I wouldn't sell a cup of tea for the price a lady offered me- which was significantly less than the advertised price - apparently I "would never last in a business environment"?!

People have complained when the train hasn't stopped at a station that it wasn't booked to call at....a passenger once told me I was being"unhelpful " when I wouldn't allow her to get off the train onto a bridge girder that we'd happened to stop alongside... I've had several complaints regarding barrier staff asking to check people's tickets as they entered the platform...lack of first class on a 142...no buffet car on a 2-car 158...

Perhaps the best was a commuter who missed their train. Apparently it always ran 3 minutes late so they would sit in their car in the station car park for an extra couple of minutes... except the morning I encountered them when it had turned up on time and they missed it!!

 

[Ant1966]

Ah, if 10 and 10A are on different islands, I have 100% sympathy with the passenger.

For me 10 and 10a should be up/down the same stairs.

Tend to agree with this; very illogical numbering for a non enthusiast and I can see why people get caught out. Not even just the same island/stairs, pretty much every other station in the UK I can think of its the same actual platform! (the suffix letter variants are simply sub sections of the main numbered platform - Brum New St, Leeds, Reading etc.).
Can anyone think of any other UK examples where this isnt the case?
Good non UK example I learnt to my cost is Roma Termini, where 2Est is a VERY long way from platform 2...
I nominate Stratford, jointly with Edinburgh Waverley, as the most confusing platform numbering in the UK.
Europe, plenty of oddities. My favourite (albeit on a much smaller scale) is St Pierre Des Corps which has 4 main platforms, numbered (South to North) 1, Z, 2, 6. (with a West facing bay platform 4) Must have made sense to someone at one point.

 

[Western Gaffer]

I nominate Stratford, jointly with Edinburgh Waverley, as the most confusing platform numbering in the UK.

I know this has come up before but to me the Waverley platform numbering scheme is very logical, albeit perhaps more so when you know the rotary principle used! In the context of a large station with multiple through platforms separated by two different sets of bays, I'm not sure that there is a better more intuitive model?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Barring platform renumbering (very expensive and disruptive), Stratford could probably do with some extra special signs, something like a big red sign under the P10A sign saying "These stairs for P10A only NOT for P10, P10 is that way! >>" and vice versa. It is such a common assumption that P10 and P10A are on the same island or equivalent that it really needs people to be gently beaten over the head with the fact it's not true at Stratford!

Another thing they ought to do at Stratford is put up Paris RER style "back of short train" signs on platform 10. In English, obviously!!

Both the 5 and 10 cars stop at the same mark at the far end of the platform ( NB we don't need that particular debate again... ) with the result that the back of a 5 car is half way down the platform. Every single 5 car train that calls there, you will see at least a dozen people - often many more - running like hell along the platform to catch them; quite a few fail to make it in time.

The lack of a clear indication of where people should be to catch their train is not only a constant source of complaints about missing the train but it's also a very obvious safety hazard.

 

[Ant1966]

I know this has come up before but to me the Waverley platform numbering scheme is very logical, albeit perhaps more so when you know the rotary principle used! In the context of a large station with multiple through platforms separated by two different sets of bays, I'm not sure that there is a better more intuitive model?

Maybe we could have a go, I know the forum loves random geeky stuff like that!
My starter for 10 woud be to start at P1 either North or South, then move to the highest numbers at the other 'side'. With use of 'a' and 'b' ends
With the bays in between, iyswim.
So
1 > 1a
20>1b
2>2a
19>2b
Then 18-12 becoming 3 - 9.
3-6 > 10-13.
Then 7> 14a
11>14b
10>15 (or 15b)
9w>16b
9e>16a
10w>17b
10e>17a

 

[Peter Sarf]

Maybe we could have a go, I know the forum loves random geeky stuff like that!
My starter for 10 woud be to start at P1 either North or South, then move to the highest numbers at the other 'side'. With use of 'a' and 'b' ends
With the bays in between, iyswim.
So
1 > 1a
20>1b
2>2a
19>2b
Then 18-12 becoming 3 - 9.
3-6 > 10-13.
Then 7> 14a
11>14b
10>15 (or 15b)
9w>16b
9e>16a
10w>17b
10e>17a

I would go with having platform numbers as UNIQUE numbers with a suffix of East or West for the bay platforms so as to help people that need to get to the far ends. I would not have a 1East and a 1West, I would have a 1East and a 2West.

I agree Stratford is awful. I have got it wrong there once and still have to be careful subsequently. I have seen a lot of confused passengers. It would be better if 10A had a different number even if it meant the numbers were out of sequence. People just do not naturally distinguish between 10 and 10A and I think many (including me) tend to see something like 10A as part of 10 - which it is not at Stratford.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

Tend to agree with this; very illogical numbering for a non enthusiast and I can see why people get caught out. Not even just the same island/stairs, pretty much every other station in the UK I can think of its the same actual platform! (the suffix letter variants are simply sub sections of the main numbered platform - Brum New St, Leeds, Reading etc.).
Can anyone think of any other UK examples where this isnt the case?
Good non UK example I learnt to my cost is Roma Termini, where 2Est is a VERY long way from platform 2...
I nominate Stratford, jointly with Edinburgh Waverley, as the most confusing platform numbering in the UK.
Europe, plenty of oddities. My favourite (albeit on a much smaller scale) is St Pierre Des Corps which has 4 main platforms, numbered (South to North) 1, Z, 2, 6. (with a West facing bay platform 4) Must have made sense to someone at one point.

Sheffield platform 2C tends to catch people out. 2A and 2B are parts of a through platform with A the south end and b the north; 2C is a separate bay at the south end. So of course people run up and down the main platform 2 expecting 2C to be after 2B!

 

[duffield]

...
It would be better if 10A had a different number even if it meant the numbers were out of sequence.
...

As per previous discussions some of the platform numbers at Stratford are already wildly out of sequence; however, if you wanted to at least keep the National Rail platforms in sequence the following would do it (if you're not renumbering the whole station): 8->7, 9->8, 10->9 and 10A->10. This makes use of the fact that there is currently no P7.

This could be done as two separate exercises to avoid complex coordination issues. First, renumber the TfL/Elizabeth Line platform 8 to platform 7, and once that's sorted, renumber the remaining three platforms, all used by Greater Anglia services.

 

[PeterC]

The first time that I used the GA platforms at Stratford after it was remodelled I was caught out by 10A.

I don't use it very often and still need to think where I am going.

I don't know why they needed to renumber the low level platforms and then reuse the numbers at the far end of the station. That is almost as confusing as 10A.

 

[Ken H]

Sheffield platform 2C tends to catch people out. 2A and 2B are parts of a through platform with A the south end and b the north; 2C is a separate bay at the south end. So of course people run up and down the main platform 2 expecting 2C to be after 2B!

2b or not 2b