Poor Information

[Spandau]

Yesterday I travelled on 1S69 the 13:05 London Euston to Glasgow Central service.

Realtime Trains correctly showed this to be a 9-car Pendolino. However the customer information screens at intermediate stations advertised 11-cars. Additionally PA announcements directed customers without seat reservations to the non existent Coach U. Confusion resulted!

How come an ‘unofficial’ source can get the formation of a train correct, yet the official information at stations is wrong?

 

[Johnny Lewis]

I'd hazard a guess that the "official" information is pre-programmed on the basis of the planned formation of the train from the unit diagrams, but that a late set swap took place and the information wasn't updated.

It's similar to TPE trains being advertised with First Class at one end of the train, but when the train arrives, First Class is at the other end.

Such little things to get right but something that can really affect the customer experience, especially for those who travel infrequently.

 

[Horizon22]

Yesterday I travelled on 1S69 the 13:05 London Euston to Glasgow Central service.

Realtime Trains correctly showed this to be a 9-car Pendolino. However the customer information screens at intermediate stations advertised 11-cars. Additionally PA announcements directed customers without seat reservations to the non existent Coach U. Confusion resulted!

How come an ‘unofficial’ source can get the formation of a train correct, yet the official information at stations is wrong?

Because many systems at the station are often manual / stand-alone and although official information will be there, it does require manual edits. It was likely a late-notice change which again might require manual amendments. It's difficult to know exactly when the change was made of course and how on the ball the various people involved were.