Rail staff using 'unofficial' information sources

[AlterEgo]

CCLDB is a really handy web based way of quickly checking all arrivals/departures for a station or a particular journey, it shows platforms when confirmed, ECS moves, updates and uses Darwin as a feed to display actual services during disruption.

I believe it was initially designed for National Rail Enquiries Call Centre, but couldn't confirm. I look it as an easier on the eye version of Location Enquiry on TRUST.

CCLDB = Call Centre Live Departure Board. There's also Historic LDB which can show you historical info on departure screens. Very useful in disputes.

I always preferred RTT or equivalent as you can send the link to the passenger and show them how it works.

 

[tsr]

sussextrains.co.uk is particularly good on my patch. OpenTrainTimes and RTT are also regularly found on my phone. Much of the rest of what I use is probably deemed "official", eg. emails, TyrellCheck, witterings of Control... and I've had my hand forced into only communicating via a driver and GSM-R during at least one protracted stranding of a train, which was fun.

Other than that, I just sit out of the way eating biscuits and hope my passengers read RailForums. /sarcasm

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I remember the old days before mobile phones and the Internet existed. We used to ring stations up or down the line to pass messages on. Ticket office staff would even go out onto the platform to inform conductors what was going on so passengers could be informed.

I also recall 'Newsrail Express' for retail staff, every four weeks, telling all the changes to retail things that were about to happen, were happening and, in some cases, had just happened, but we don't get much like that anymore either.

 

[Lincoln]

I also recall 'Newsrail Express' for retail staff, every four weeks, telling all the changes to retail things that were about to happen, were happening and, in some cases, had just happened, but we don't get much like that anymore either.

Indeed. That along with the retail manuals part 1 and 2 - which required updating periodically.

Not to mention pages of APTIS barcodes which began to proliferate in order to retail all the new fangled Advance tickets!

In some ways I really miss those days, as it meant that everyone was so much more involved and therefore had greater interest and understanding.

 

[Skoodle]

As a driver, I use OTT maps when I'm in messroom so I can see when my next working is arriving. RTT when out and about and Traksy.uk for areas that aren't covered by OTT.

 

[Townsend Hook]

I frequently use Realtime Trains and the Railcam.uk diagrams when I'm at work on test trains, easiest way to see where my train has got to.

 

[theironroad]

I use ott maps a lot and RTT for details of trains and train running lateness etc out of the cab and off duty when travelling.

In the cab, I'm usually in a info vacumm apart from the odd signaller or guard update. Tbh, I could be sitting at a signal at Vauxhall inbound to Waterloo and waterloo could be on fire and the first I'd know is when the smoke signals start rising.......

In my toc the provision of real time info to drivers is absolutely abysmal.

 

[RJ]

I mostly use the internal Genius Mobile and TyrellCheck systems to keep tabs on what's going on, though during disruption OpenTrainTimes Maps/Traksy really come into their own.

Not that internal - hundreds of illicit users also access it through leaked logins. The IP whitelisting the likes of Web Gemini uses would flush most of them out, which would be appropriate given people's personal data appears on Genius. Given train running data is open nowadays, maybe some information on formations can also be shown, which might reduce the external demand for access to sites which hold sensitive information.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Hopefully they'll learn the lesson of CCLDB, which had so many leaked passwords it wasn't even funny. If you give people public access to what they needt to see then they don't care about the private stuff.

I only ever used CCLDB as a passenger because it was otherwise impossible to work out what was happening. Now there's an open feed I'm happy with that.

 

[LowLevel]

Our work phones connect to CCLDB without a username or password so I use that. We also have logins for our own TOC and XC Tyrell control messages. Our phones also spew out our own control messages in an app. We also have access to Genius.

I use Open Train Times maps all the time to see what is going on, and also Realtime Trains to see if my jobs are going to be amended in advance.

 

[janb]

I also recall 'Newsrail Express' for retail staff, every four weeks, telling all the changes to retail things that were about to happen, were happening and, in some cases, had just happened, but we don't get much like that anymore either.

Sadly missed. I asked RDG about reinstating it, suggesting an electronic version via email or published on The Manual so that we didn't have to find stuff out by reading Barry Doe in WHSmith or reading these forums. I got the sense that there was support there but it would require all the TOCs to agree.

In terms of the OP if I am in an office that has access to TRUST and P2 I will use those, if not then I will use RTT, and other similar websites.

 

[Egg]

Forgive my ignorance, where does OpenTrainTimes get its information from? Really useful!

 

[Jonfun]

Our work phones connect to CCLDB without a username or password so I use that. We also have logins for our own TOC and XC Tyrell control messages. Our phones also spew out our own control messages in an app. We also have access to Genius.

Does your TOCs TyrellCheck app/webpage not give you the option of looking up other operators Tyrell feeds anyway? Ours do, useful for keeping up to date with off-route service disruption for when passengers have connections etc.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

.... I got the sense that there was support there but it would require all the TOCs to agree....

And therein lies the problem. I believe most of the reason they stopped having the online version was lack of use (from TOCs). Perhaps worse still is that some TOCs, mentioning no names, can't even tell their own staff what is going on, nevermind anyone else's.

 

[LowLevel]

Does your TOCs TyrellCheck app/webpage not give you the option of looking up other operators Tyrell feeds anyway? Ours do, useful for keeping up to date with off-route service disruption for when passengers have connections etc.

It does but has far fewer TOCs on it than XCs. XC also get the Network Rail messages which are very useful when you're stuck due to an infrastructure problem and trying to get information. We have quite a few TOCs we only interface with at a few points but whose information is quite useful but for whatever reason our Tyrell doesn't feature them. London Midland are a prime example.

 

[Trackman]

Forgive my ignorance, where does OpenTrainTimes get its information from? Really useful!

datafeeds.networkrail.co.uk

 

[Jonfun]

It does but has far fewer TOCs on it than XCs. XC also get the Network Rail messages which are very useful when you're stuck due to an infrastructure problem and trying to get information. We have quite a few TOCs we only interface with at a few points but whose information is quite useful but for whatever reason our Tyrell doesn't feature them. London Midland are a prime example.

You learn something new every day! I assumed every TOCs Tyrell was able to view everyone else's.

It does grate that we're constantly being told as an industry to improve on disruption communication and yet they put seemingly arbitrary barriers in the way of the traincrews finding out information to pass on!

 

[Solent&Wessex]

I find the maps on the Traksy webpage good as they cover a lot more of the network than the Open Train Times ones. They don't show signals though, but at least you get a lot better coverage. Genius is used a lot to find out things, especially of impending unit swaps or alterations which nobody has told you about.