We know that train passengers want timely and accurate information when services are disrupted. And while sometimes we are very good at providing it, we acknowledge that at other times we are not. On 3 August last year, for example, severe storms and flooding in South West London affected every service to and from London Waterloo during the evening peak and we know we could have done a better job of getting information to our passengers. Nevertheless, we have made huge progress to speed up the provision of accurate information to passengers in recent times by introducing the following measures:
CIS at stations
We have installed a new £17m Customer Information System (CIS) at all our stations to provide up-to-the-minute information. The CIS is programmed with the complete planned timetable and the routing and identification details of each train. It “feeds off” a national train-running database so that, as the train moves across the network, the system identifies its location. If there is any deviation from the planned timings at each point, the CIS will be updated with the new expected time of arrival.
We have recently added new software to our CIS so that when a train is due to terminate late at its destination it automatically recognises that there may be a knock-on delay to its next journey. Previously, this had to be manually input into the system.
We have had some problems with the CIS during periods of disruption. The reason is that while the server controlling it has coped well with small-scale disruption, it has had problems handling the high numbers of “transactions” during severe disruption. We are working with our supplier to improve this element of the CIS.
Wessex Integrated Control Centre (WICC)
The Wessex Integrated Control Centre (WICC), a major initiative aimed at improving our ability to manage disruption, is the integrated South West Trains and Network Rail Operations Control Centre at Waterloo. It opened in early 2004 and replaced the separate structures that had existed since 1994. It has helped to streamline decision-making and improve communication between both organisations, which is especially helpful in times of disruption because it helps us get service alteration details to passengers more quickly.
Keeping employees informed
Our employees play a key role in keeping passengers informed about what is happening, from making public address announcements to face-to-face contact. We have provided many of our front-line employees with pagers or mobile phones to support them in their role. In addition, we are investing in our communications infrastructure to enable us to upgrade our IT systems at many more stations to provide employees with better access to train-running information.
More online information
The same train-running database feeds in to many of the industry websites, including the new Journeycheck service on South West Trains’ website at www.southwesttrains.co.uk. This provides up-to-date information about train disruption and gives passengers expected arrival and departure times of services at any selected station. National Rail Enquires also provides information by telephone on 08457 48 49 50 (24 hours) as well as on its website at www.nationalrail.co.uk, which contains details of disruption and alterations to train services.
Improving the communication of passenger information during disruption is one of our top priorities over the coming months, and we are looking at every aspect of getting information to employees and passengers in a consistently reliable way. We will report its progress in future issues of e-motion.