Taking the PIS
 

Last Friday, I was required to escort some people from Harrow to
Gatwick, and pick them up again at the airport on Sunday to take them
back to Harrow.

On my way to Harrow on the Friday morning, I arrived at Baker Street
(Met) to find an all-stations train set to terminate at Harrow, which
I boarded.

At Finchley Road, I looked out of the train to see the PIS advertising
the train as:
1. Harrow-on-the-Hill (All Stations)
Calling at: Harrow-on-the-Hill ONLY

I wouldn't really have minded either way, but in the event it did stop
at all stations.

At Wembley Park, the platform PIS was saying:
1. Harrow-on-the-Hill [Local]
2. Uxbridge [All Stations]
3. Watford [All Stations]

Why the difference? Perhaps "Harrow-on-the-Hill [All Stations]"
wouldn't have fitted on one line, but I bet there were some people
wondering if "Local" meant something different from "All Stations".
(Unlike at Finchley Road, the stops aren't listed on this display.)

On the way to the airport, we waited on the Marylebone-bound platform
at Harrow, where a train pulled in saying "Aylesbury" on the front.
A lady on the platform asked me if the train was going to Marylebone,
and I assured her it was. Inside the train, the internal PIS was
saying: "This is Aylesbury. This train terminates here. Please
remember to take all your belongings when leaving the train."
It repeated this message all the way to Marylebone.

On the Bakerloo platform at Marylebone, the left-hand part of the
dot-matrix display wasn't working, so all trains were advertised as
going to PHANT & CASTLE.

On the Sunday, I got a Southern 377 from Victoria to Gatwick. The
information systems seemed to be working OK, and I was feeling
slightly reassured about the state of the capital's ****, until we
left East Croydon, whereupon there was an announcement of "bing bong
The next station is East Croydon." The display repeatedly scrolled
this same message (minus SFX) all the way to Redhill, which was in
fact the next stop.

The trip to Harrow was uneventful in terms of PIS. But on my return
journey from Harrow, the London-bound 165 was again displaying
"Aylesbury" on the front. This time, the scrolling message
accompanying the trip to Marylebone was: "This train is for Aylesbury.
Calling at Rickmansworth, [etc], Aylesbury."


In a country where it can be ordered that trains be withdrawn and put
into store because of displays 3mm too short, just what is it with the
quality of information on our Passenger Information Systems?
Train companies seem to care an awful lot about liveries and colour
schemes, but don't they realise that wrong information creates a
greater, bad, impression? Fortunately for me I knew exactly where I
was going and what I was doing, but the systems are there for people
who don't. Even Chiltern, who are reputedly the best TOC we have,
appear to fall below par in this respect.

Taking the PIS
 

asdf wrote:
Last Friday, I was required to escort some people from Harrow to
Gatwick, and pick them up again at the airport on Sunday to take them
back to Harrow.

On my way to Harrow on the Friday morning, I arrived at Baker Street
(Met) to find an all-stations train set to terminate at Harrow, which
I boarded.

At Finchley Road, I looked out of the train to see the PIS advertising
the train as:
1. Harrow-on-the-Hill (All Stations)
Calling at: Harrow-on-the-Hill ONLY

I wouldn't really have minded either way, but in the event it did stop
at all stations.

At Wembley Park, the platform PIS was saying:
1. Harrow-on-the-Hill [Local]
2. Uxbridge [All Stations]
3. Watford [All Stations]

Why the difference? Perhaps "Harrow-on-the-Hill [All Stations]"
wouldn't have fitted on one line, but I bet there were some people
wondering if "Local" meant something different from "All Stations".
(Unlike at Finchley Road, the stops aren't listed on this display.)

On the way to the airport, we waited on the Marylebone-bound platform
at Harrow, where a train pulled in saying "Aylesbury" on the front.
A lady on the platform asked me if the train was going to Marylebone,
and I assured her it was. Inside the train, the internal PIS was
saying: "This is Aylesbury. This train terminates here. Please
remember to take all your belongings when leaving the train."
It repeated this message all the way to Marylebone.

On the Bakerloo platform at Marylebone, the left-hand part of the
dot-matrix display wasn't working, so all trains were advertised as
going to PHANT & CASTLE.

On the Sunday, I got a Southern 377 from Victoria to Gatwick. The
information systems seemed to be working OK, and I was feeling
slightly reassured about the state of the capital's ****, until we
left East Croydon, whereupon there was an announcement of "bing bong
The next station is East Croydon." The display repeatedly scrolled
this same message (minus SFX) all the way to Redhill, which was in
fact the next stop.

The trip to Harrow was uneventful in terms of PIS. But on my return
journey from Harrow, the London-bound 165 was again displaying
"Aylesbury" on the front. This time, the scrolling message
accompanying the trip to Marylebone was: "This train is for Aylesbury.
Calling at Rickmansworth, [etc], Aylesbury."


In a country where it can be ordered that trains be withdrawn and put
into store because of displays 3mm too short, just what is it with the
quality of information on our Passenger Information Systems?
Train companies seem to care an awful lot about liveries and colour
schemes, but don't they realise that wrong information creates a
greater, bad, impression? Fortunately for me I knew exactly where I
was going and what I was doing, but the systems are there for people
who don't. Even Chiltern, who are reputedly the best TOC we have,
appear to fall below par in this respect.



For a good example of the importance of passenger information to
operators, the 465s had external displays which were invisible in
daylight from day one, and which rapidly disintegrated into illegible
mush. The displays in 465/0s and 465/1s were replaced by marginally
better ones (not often switched on though).

The 465/2s continued not to have any working display for over ten
years, and then many of them were converted to 465/9s with new seats,
new floors, extra toilets, first class areas etc, but they still
weren't fitted with external displays.

To take them out of service and do all that work on them, but still not
bother to fit any displays, really says it all.

Taking the PIS
 

As a regular user (victim) of Chiltern I have become more and more
convinced that they should have the strap line

"Chiltern Trains Not as good as we think we are"

They are bloody expensive, with lazy staff who can't be arsed to change
the destination on the front of the trains, or to give you information
when the service is crap, they have virtually no CCTV at their stations,
I could go on.

Taking the PIS
 

www.waspies.net wrote:
As a regular user (victim) of Chiltern I have become more and more
convinced that they should have the strap line

"Chiltern Trains Not as good as we think we are"

They are bloody expensive, with lazy staff who can't be arsed to change
the destination on the front of the trains, or to give you information
when the service is crap, they have virtually no CCTV at their stations,
I could go on.

I disagree with you about the CCTV, even Little Kimble has been fitted
with it recently, but I do agree that the standard of the majority of
their staff is quite poor and many don't act very professionally.

2 years ago when I used to travel High Wycombe to Aylesbury, an elderly
gentleman got off a Birmingham bound train at Princes Risborough
because the PIS was scrolling "This is London Marylebone, this train
terminates here, all change please" and went into the ticket office to
complain.

Taking the PIS
 

Joe Patrick wrote:
www.waspies.net wrote:
As a regular user (victim) of Chiltern I have become more and more
convinced that they should have the strap line

"Chiltern Trains Not as good as we think we are"

They are bloody expensive, with lazy staff who can't be arsed to change
the destination on the front of the trains, or to give you information
when the service is crap, they have virtually no CCTV at their stations,
I could go on.

I disagree with you about the CCTV, even Little Kimble has been fitted
with it recently, but I do agree that the standard of the majority of
their staff is quite poor and many don't act very professionally.

2 years ago when I used to travel High Wycombe to Aylesbury, an elderly
gentleman got off a Birmingham bound train at Princes Risborough
because the PIS was scrolling "This is London Marylebone, this train
terminates here, all change please" and went into the ticket office to
complain.


CCTV at Stoke Mandeville station car park consists of 1 camera that only
covers the entrance to the car park, given that the place is used (after
the car park staff have gone home) by the less evolved members of
society this is very poor, I no longer park there.

Taking the PIS
 

In reply to news post, which www.waspies.net wrote
on Tue, 12 Sep 2006 -
As a regular user (victim) of Chiltern I have become more and more
convinced that they should have the strap line

"Chiltern Trains Not as good as we think we are"

They are bloody expensive, with lazy staff who can't be arsed to change
the destination on the front of the trains, or to give you information
when the service is crap, they have virtually no CCTV at their
stations, I could go on.

I have to say Chiltern have slipped a lot.

I know Marylebone is a mess, but I am getting tired of bad or no
information. I have written twice about my particular problems, not had
a reply yet, second time I wrote to the MD
--
Matthew P Jones - www.amersham.org.uk
My view of the Metropolitan Line www.metroland.org.uk - actually I like it
Don't reply to it will not be read
You can reply to knap AT Nildram dot co dot uk