In message , Richard J.
writes
Steve Fitzgerald wrote:

Last Thursday it was showing "Check front of train" for all trains,
which wasn't much use, especially if, as someone said earlier, even the
T4 trains say HEATHROW T1,2,3 on the front. Is that true? If so, it's
typical of the shambles that LU have made of the Heathrow change.

We've had discussions about this. Official instruction is that all
Heathrow trains are to display T123. We (the thinking drivers!) feel
that T4 trains should display just that, as that is the booked
destination for the train and passengers for T123 will get delayed.

Discussions continue...

The arrangement was quite well covered by the auto-announcer on the
trains. After leaving Hounslow West, it said that T4 passengers should
change at the next station, Hatton Cross, and wait for a train to T4.
This is sensible as it gives passengers a couple of minutes' notice
that they have to collect their baggage and leave the train. But this
plan was scuppered by the station assistant on the platform at Hounslow
West announcing that "this train will not call at Terminal 4.
Passengers for Terminal 4 should alight here ..." So all the T4
passengers are told this without any notice, having been kept in
ignorance until then and lied to by the line diagrams.

Assuming the DVA has been set up correctly by the driver, it will
correctly advise passengers on a T123 direct train to change at Hatton X
for the next T4 train. I always make an announcement when I'm driving a
T4 train to tell T123 passengers that we *will* call there on our return
to London but this will delay their journey by around 10 minutes and
they may wish to consider the following T123 direct train in about x (x
= the number of minutes I've noticed the following train to be) minutes.

Not all drivers set up their DVAs properly.

The thinking behind doing this business at Hounslow West is that anyone
who misses the announcements there has a second chance at Hatton X,
which I agree is a good thing.

I spoke to the SA at Hounslow West, who was reluctantly acting under
instructions but thought it was daft. He had been told to make the
announcement if the driver didn't. And he even had a sheet on which he
had to record which train drivers didn't make an announcement. This is
crazy, as the auto-announcer is set to make the announcement AFTER
leaving Hounslow West.

Now that's news to me. I now look forward to being summoned into some
manager's office to give an explanation as to why I failed to make an
appropriate announcement which wasn't needed and was perfectly addressed
by the systems they have provided - and cancelling a westbound train
into the bargain whilst we discuss this important issue!

I haven't got round to complaining to LU, having been distracted by
events above ground at Heathrow that day. Is all the above still true?
--
Steve Fitzgerald has now left the building.
You will find him in London's Docklands, E16, UK
(please use the reply to address for email)