Trivia: the railway's most bizarre box-ticking exercises

[py_megapixel]

By a box-ticking exercise, I mean something which has no or little purpose, or otherwise creates some kind of oddity, for the reason of fulfilling a formal requirement or following a policy.

An example would be the addition of extra fold down seats in vestibules, which block the doors when unfolded. Since they are often of little use to passengers, and only there to bring the seat count of rolling stock in line with a franchise commitment or contractual obligation.

Any others?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Operating infrequent "parliamentary" services would seem to be an obvious example.

 

[Hadders]

The covid inspired one way system at Kings Cross station.

If one way systems are so important to prevent the spread of covid then how come the neighbouring St Pancras and Euston stations don't have them.

The additional security guarding costs at Kings Cross to monitor the one way system will be around £1 million pounds a year.....

 

[High Dyke]

Network Rail HR.

 

[36270k]

BR In the 1970's / 1980's , spending days compiling statistics that were filed on a shelf and never used for anything and eventually dumped.

 

[sem34090]

Step-Free platforms at stations with no Step-Free access to get to the platforms from the entrance?

 

[DorkingMain]

Step-Free platforms at stations with no Step-Free access to get to the platforms from the entrance?

Still incredibly helpful to those with luggage, pushchairs, the elderly, etc

The covid inspired one way system at Kings Cross station.

If one way systems are so important to prevent the spread of covid then how come the neighbouring St Pancras and Euston stations don't have them.

The additional security guarding costs at Kings Cross to monitor the one way system will be around £1 million pounds a year.....

The thing I like most about that one way system is that it takes you in a huge circle only to end up in a large open two way area

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

On a train in Germany
The doors are locked and the train moves off, then comes an announcement, 'this train is going to soandso'
It would be much better to make the announcement before departure in case anyone was on the wrong train

 

[gnolife]

On a train in Germany
The doors are locked and the train moves off, then comes an announcement, 'this train is going to soandso'
It would be much better to make the announcement before departure in case anyone was on the wrong train

Northerns auto announcements seem to do the same thing - the current stop is announced when the doors are released, then the destination and next stop when the guard closes the doors

 

[Efini92]

Northerns auto announcements seem to do the same thing - the current stop is announced when the doors are released, then the destination and next stop when the guard closes the doors

Or it just announces oxford road as every station

 

[AM9]

Step-Free platforms at stations with no Step-Free access to get to the platforms from the entrance?

No not a box-ticking exercise at all:
a) it reduces disruption on the platform and helps reduce dwell times
b) it provides one of the main components on the way to a fully step-free station.

 

[Royston Vasey]

By a box-ticking exercise, I mean something which has no or little purpose, or otherwise creates some kind of oddity, for the reason of fulfilling a formal requirement or following a policy.

An example would be the addition of extra fold down seats in vestibules, which block the doors when unfolded. Since they are often of little use to passengers, and only there to bring the seat count of rolling stock in line with a franchise commitment or contractual obligation.

Any others?

You've obviously never seen them fully occupied on a 225 on a Friday evening. It's a pragmatic use of space, there may be hours between stops anyway and it's better than nothing. They are the opposite of box ticking! In fact I've seen plenty of people choose them on quiet services.

They were designed long before franchise commitments, and BR specified and designed them from scratch so weren't scraping together seat counts - the high percentage of airline seating provided that already when compared to a BR spec Mk 3.

 

[py_megapixel]

You've obviously never seen them fully occupied on a 225 on a Friday evening. It's a pragmatic use of space, there may be hours between stops anyway and it's better than nothing. They are the opposite of box ticking! In fact I've seen plenty of people choose them on quiet services.

They were designed long before franchise commitments, and BR specified and designed them from scratch so weren't scraping together seat counts - the high percentage of airline seating provided that already when compared to a BR spec Mk 3.

Sorry, I was talking about commuter rolling stock such as class 195. Here, the seats actually get in the way of passengers boarding and alighting, and I rarely have seen anyone using one.

On intercity stock they probably make more sense

 

[Royston Vasey]

Sorry, I was talking about commuter rolling stock such as class 195. Here, the seats actually get in the way of passengers boarding and alighting, and I rarely have seen anyone using one.

On intercity stock they probably make more sense

Gotcha. I guess in commuter stock it provides flexibility to accommodate maximum crush loading (tipped up) and luggage or wheelchair space whilst adding a bit of extra seating for full but not standing services. Not ideal to be directly in the doorways; those on the Northern or Victoria lines for example, or the 385s, 345s or 717s are near but not at the doors and are specifically labelled priority seats for wheelchair or pushchair, or bike space, which is very sensible.

 

[SteveM70]

1 - Northern’s contract security stormtroopers stood watching customers buy tickets and then five seconds later demanding to check them

2 - the Ordsall Chord

 

[pdeaves]

You've obviously never seen them fully occupied on a 225 on a Friday evening. It's a pragmatic use of space, there may be hours between stops anyway and it's better than nothing. They are the opposite of box ticking! In fact I've seen plenty of people choose them on quiet services.

My anecdote for those seats, around 1993-ish. I decided to sit there. The train approached Peterborough so I stood up to see the yards and things. Meanwhile, people started moving to get off the train. The yard passed, I sat down again, unaware that the seat had raised itself to the stowed position (as it was supposed to, of course). The very embarrassing collapse on the floor had plenty of witnesses!

 

[Bletchleyite]

1 - Northern’s contract security stormtroopers stood watching customers buy tickets and then five seconds later demanding to check them

To be fair, they don't know what they actually bought. Could have been a child single to the next stop.

2 - the Ordsall Chord

Would have been fine if 15-16 had been done first.

 

[AM9]

You've obviously never seen them fully occupied on a 225 on a Friday evening. ...

What's a "225"?

 

[Ianno87]

You've obviously never seen them fully occupied on a 225 on a Friday evening. It's a pragmatic use of space, there may be hours between stops anyway and it's better than nothing. They are the opposite of box ticking! In fact I've seen plenty of people choose them on quiet services.

They were designed long before franchise commitments, and BR specified and designed them from scratch so weren't scraping together seat counts - the high percentage of airline seating provided that already when compared to a BR spec Mk 3.

On the budget 'Izy' High Speed services in Europe (using former Eurostar Class 373s), the tip-up seats are sold and the cheapest available if you're *really* on a shoestring!

They're also handy if you want to have a phone call in the vestibule and sit down whilst you do it.

 

[Efini92]

Would have been fine if 15-16 had been done first.

Unless they 4 track the castlefield corridor I don’t think 15-16 would have made any difference

 

[TheSeeker]

I always sat on the vestibule jump seat on Eurostar, usually in the first carriage. Although the train manager comes and sits there in the tunnel and would ask me to move. Get's you away from the screaming kids and noisy tourists. Either that or stand in the bar coach.

 

[DB]

All the pointless announcements and signs - wet platform announcements, mind the gap, don't leave your luggage. Stickers on luggage racks telling you to 'take care' when stowing your luggage.

And those ridiculous bars at the bottom of the Leeds escalators to make the gap too narrow, which they added a few years ago. They fails at their intended purpose of stopping people taking luggage on the escalators (the designer seems not to have considered that wheelie suitcases can be wheeled through sideways), but does create an annoying bottleneck at what was already a pinch point.

All with the aim of ticking a 'safety' box, of course.

 

[CBlue]

All the pointless announcements and signs - wet platform announcements, mind the gap, don't leave your luggage. Stickers on luggage racks telling you to 'take care' when stowing your luggage.

And those ridiculous bars at the bottom of the Leeds escalators to make the gap too narrow, which they added a few years ago. They fails at their intended purpose of stopping people taking luggage on the escalators (the designer seems not to have considered that wheelie suitcases can be wheeled through sideways), but does create an annoying bottleneck at what was already a pinch point.

All with the aim of ticking a 'safety' box, of course.

I think perhaps another announcement to add to that list is "See it, say it, sorted"

They use it to the extent saturation sets in, and I couldn't even tell you the text message number now I've heard it so many times!

 

[ainsworth74]

I noticed that there was some confusion above regarding the term "225" and a request for clarification was made. To be clear whilst it's safe to assume a certain level of knowledge considering this a forum intended for people interested in railways the Forum Rules do ask that people clarify terms in the first instance. Now whilst it may not always be practical (for instance we don't expect someone to type out High Speed Train (HST) every time they bring them up) we do expect that if someone asks for clarification over a certain term they be given a polite explanation of the term. Whilst you may consider something obvious that does not necessarily mean that it is.

Many thanks,
ainsworth74

 

[ainsworth74]

What's a "225"?

It was a brand name (specifically Intercity 225) used by BR to describe a rake of Mk4s hauled by a Class 91 locomotive.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

It was a brand name (specifically Intercity 225) used by BR to describe a rake of Mk4s hauled by a Class 91 locomotive.

Specifically referring to the max operating speed (in kph) that the trains were designed to run at, but never actually reached in service!

 

[2L70]

1 - Northern’s contract security stormtroopers stood watching customers buy tickets and then five seconds later demanding to check them

Selling a ticket and punching a hole/stamping it has always seemed a bit desperate to me, unlikely it would get used again.

 

[43096]

2 - the Ordsall Chord

That’s not really box ticking is it, though? There’s plenty of other words that could be used.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That’s not really box ticking is it, though? There’s plenty of other words that could be used.

"White elephant"?

 

[43096]

"White elephant"?

“Typical British half-baked implementation”?