I'm sorry but...

[JamieLei]

I was at Euston Station 15 minutes before scheduled departure
Most of the train was at Euston Station well before scheduled departure
The platform was announced FOUR minutes before scheduled departure
Virgin trains have a poilicy of closing train doors 2 minutes before scheduled departure
Blowing the whistle to hurry people up when old ladies and Chinese tourists with heavy luggage are still struggling halfway down the platform towards coach A is quite frankly, an insult.
The man behind me only narrowlly made it into Coach B before the doors locked shut
And yet... The train left bang on time.

Is this the price to pay for punctuality at all expenses?

End of Daily Mail rant.

Written on a Virgin Pendolino, just having passed Harrow and Wealdstone

[Badger]

Didn't you know common sense died years ago?

[jvassie]

Similar story to King's Cross, though not quite as extreme at KGX. Rather annoying having the train announced 10 mins before departure.. especially if its an Aberdeen train for example, and there is only one HST125 at the station, 15 minutes to go.. yet they still don't let you wait on the platform..

[XeryusTC]

What is there not to complain about on your rail system. Even the Dutch network and its operators are way better than that. Although I did just start liking the Nederlandse Spoorwegen because of their proper transfer times and punctuality on most routes I take.

The most annoying thing about your rail operators is that they don't always have the same platform they're leaving from it seems. I can find my way home from certain destinations without even looking at a shedule at all. Trains over here always leave from the same platform at the same time (unless there is a delay ofcourse).

[FHS]

I am personally very satisfied with the Swiss railway system, the trains are always* on time, the stations are neat and tidy, they have finally three years ago prohibited people from smoking on the trains and the ticket prices are very low E. G. single adult fare return second class from Basel to Zurich on an InterRegio train costs me only 62.00 francs. I dont mind that some of the rolling stock is up to 60 years old and none is equipped with automatic door-locking and nobody else seems to mind either.

* Except the Services that are run by: Stadler FLIRT, ICN, Pendolino. They are usally 5 to 20 minutes late.

[Redirect Left]

The platform was announced FOUR minutes before scheduled departure

Interesting, all the times i've been at Euston, it's been quite well planned. Usually with it being announced as far away as 20 to 15 minutes away, at least with Virgin trains anyway.

[audigex]

Xeryus - it's only really the big hub stations which have this sort of platform confusion. Usually where's it's a terminus station, too. At most stations you know exactly which platforms are heading in each direction, every journey I ever make I know which platform I need.

It seems strange to have so much confusion at Euston though, since most of the Virgin platforms are dedicated. It's not got the same departure rate as Victoria, for example. That's an untidy station.

Just for reference, it's very easy to hold open a Pendolino's door if people are in a rush behind you. I hate the way that Virgin do this though. Every other TOC seems to wait until 30 seconds before, then close the doors as soon as all the entrances are clear. Virgin just start shutting them 2 mins before, regardless.

[Kevo00]

Well, I guess this is a consequence of having a system that penalises companies financially for late trains.

[Ameecher]

What narks me about the doors closing 2 minutes before departure bollocks is that as far as the passenger is concerned that train has left. Might as well have a public timetable that runs two minutes before the actual operating timetable otherwise people are going to turn up a couple of minutes before their train and be on time as far as the timetable shows yet miss it because the doors close early.

As for the regular platforming, I agree, it is a bit silly. Trains across Europe are timetabled to specific platforms like they are in the UK but the difference being that Europe decides to display this on printed timetables and announce alterations via tannoy. Even at Norwich which you can predict that the London trains will go from platform 1 & 2 all day, Cambridge trains from p3, Sheringham trains from p4, Yarmouth from p5 and Lowestoft from p6 they still don't display it on printed timetables but on the PIS screens and tannoy announcements you get something along the lines of "please note that the xx45 to Sheringham will today leave from p6" before it has even arrived and customers informed of the platform on the screens! MADNESS.

[61653]

What is there not to complain about on your rail system. Even the Dutch network and its operators are way better than that. Although I did just start liking the Nederlandse Spoorwegen because of their proper transfer times and punctuality on most routes I take.

Of course, NS run the vast majority of services in the Netherlands, so there's more opportunity for integration. NS's two franchises here both do pretty well. Of course, Merseyrail is mostly segregated from other services and thus fairly simple operations-wise. Northern aren't perfect but they (mostly) do their best. Virgin are idiots, of course, and Euston seems to have been inspired both operationally and architecturally by Dante's Inferno...

[JamieLei]

It's also a consequence of Virgin's VHF timetable where they're running many many more services with the same number of trains. Therefore turnaround times are much shorter, as little as half an hour to empty the train, clean it, restock the shop/kitchen, load the reservations, and then load all the passengers again. Sounds like Ryanair!

[audigex]

I think northern do fantastically considering they're the last priority in virtually every circumstance. Anything short of a freight train is getting routed in front of them.

[Kevo00]

Well anything has to be better than the old RRNE/Northern Spirit/Arriva Trains Northern days. Its a difficult franchise because it will always rely on subsidy and be unlikely to come into profit (despite Rail magazine's love for it), as well as being made up of all the bits no one wants. So it seems they have done pretty exceptionally really.

[welshdragon]

Now I hate platform alterations, especially at unfamilliar stations:

Take the time I went to Liverpool
MerseyRail train arrived on time, and the next Serviec to Holyhead pulled in seconds later on the opposite platform, and it was packed, so I waited for the next train.
10 minutes before the train is due 'Passengers on Platform 3a awaiting the xx:xx (can't remember the time) service to Holyhead please be advised that this service is delayed due to a member of train crew requiring immediate hospital treatment'
(Groan)
2 minutes before train is due 'Passengers on Platform 3a awaiting the xx:xx service to Holyhead please be advised that this train will now depart on Platform 3b ON TIME without delay'
at this point the train is pulling to a stop at the other end of Chester station, so I swore, legged it and got on with a minute to spare!

[Ameecher]

I see that with the revamp of National Rail Enquiries journey planner now tells you which platform you arrive and leave from.

[JamieLei]

I see that with the revamp of National Rail Enquiries journey planner now tells you which platform you arrive and leave from.

That's exceedingly useful! - Although i doubt the platform would even be accessible before its announced... - Plus in the screenshot, there's one train departing in 17 mins where the platform hasn't been announced.

Screen shot 2009-12-14 at 18.49.12.png (78 KiB) Viewed 4536 times

(Out of interest the journey with 1 change is Change at Nuneaton)

[Dave]

In fairness the "train doors will be closed 40 seconds before departure" is such because the whole process takes 40 seconds, from the moment the doors start their closing mechanisms (which take ages on Voyagers and Pendos) to the moment train moves off.

Don't forget as well the actual procedure is longer, as the guard and driver have to communicate twice as opposed to once as on most other services, and the guard also has to communicate with the platform staff twice.

[audigex]

I don't understand why they don't just put the departure time as 2 minutes earlier in the timetable.... problem solved. Doors close at the departure time listed in the timetable, the train leaves when it's supposed to. Anyone who misses it, it's because they weren't there when the timetable said to be.

It doesn't take a genius, really.

[MjD]

I don't understand why they don't just put the departure time as 2 minutes earlier in the timetable.... problem solved. Doors close at the departure time listed in the timetable, the train leaves when it's supposed to.

Because the time taken for the doors to close, the dispatcher to carry out his/her station duties, the guard to close the local door then the guard and driver to acknowledge the ready to go signal then the train to leave could be about 30 secs or more, which would mean the train is already half a minute late leaving the originating station.

The reason the doors are closed early is so that the train leaves on time, the times in a passenger timetable is when the train should start moving off the platform, so if the train is due at 10:38, then it should be leaving at 10:38 not, 10:38 and a half or 10:39. Passengers seems to misunderstand this.

As for changes in platforms, or platforms not being announced with a great deal of time this is usually cos the platform hasn't been decided by the signaller yet, and due to many reasons the signaller may change the platform from the usual. It would make sense and be A LOT more user friendly if the same train every day left from the same platform, or the same platform is used for the same destination but this isn't always a possible.

Anyone who misses it, it's because they weren't there when the timetable said to be.

It doesn't take a genius, really.

(This may sound cheeky but I don't mean it to be so I apologise beforehand) It doesn't take a genius to read the a timetable will state departure time (very rarely arrival time). So.... One should presume that the time stated in the timetable is when the train will leave the station, so if you turn up for the aforementioned 10:38 at 10:38 and you miss it, you only have yourself to blame. The timetables will always list the departure time so that passengers know when there train will leave.

Rant over, and now to join the side of the ordinary punter, 2 mins before departure is a bit harsh, I'm sure 30secs would be enough time to ensure that the train is secured to leave but then again I'm sure its in the small print of buying your ticket.

MD

PS - Monday night drinking so I apologise if the tone of this post is wrongly adjudged.

[JamieLei]

As for changes in platforms, or platforms not being announced with a great deal of time this is usually cos the platform hasn't been decided by the signaller yet, and due to many reasons the signaller may change the platform from the usual. It would make sense and be A LOT more user friendly if the same train every day left from the same platform, or the same platform is used for the same destination but this isn't always a possible.

It's not the fact that the platform hasn't been decided by the signaller. The train is already in the platform but the train must be cleaned, prepared and have reservations loaded before passengers are permitted to board. I suppose that we could use NRE as Ammecher has said to find out what platform it would be, but because of the manual barriers we wouldn't be able to gain access to the platform, letalone board the locked train. If a train gets into Euston 20 minutes late (I believe the turnaround time is something like 45 minutes but do correct me on this...) then there's far less time for cleaning and preperation, resulting in platform announcements right at the last minute

In other news, I saw the Pendolino-liveried Mk3 set that day. Looks VERY smart!