News and Views

A capacity boost was provided for hard-pressed Southern commuters on 25 July 2016 when the first 10-car train ran on the Uckfield line. Network Rail has been performing a series of enhancemrnts on the route including platform extensions. Edenbridge Town, for example, has an extended platform, new passenger shelters and customer information screens (photo above by Roger Blake).

Thanks to a tramway building spree that has ended, Britain now has seven tram systems, all of which have substantial populations (apart from Blackpool – the only one that had never closed). Whilst extensions are being planned there are no new ones. In Denmark, where all of its tram system had closed (the last was Copenhagen, in 1972), it is now building it first new one, in Aarhus (tram vehicle and new tram bridge pictured – photos by Erland Egefors) for a population far smaller than the new systems in Britain. Is there a lesson here?

In 2016 there have been a series of strikes on Govia Thameslink Railway (which uses the Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Southern brands) because of a dispute about how on-board staff can be best utilised – see BBC tweet above. ScotRail trains have also been disrupted and, unless a network-wide agreement is reached or their franchise with the government is amended, Northern services will be in the future as well. Passengers are unclear why the disputes have arisen and what the issues are.

When 51.9% of those who voted in the UK’s referendum (37.4% of the electorate) opted for ‘Brexit’ the media focused on little other news for days on end. The decision could lead to a huge change for people in the UK but will there be any noticeable day-to-day impact for passengers on Britain’s railway?

The worst passenger experience is surely when there is a complete lack of information and they have no idea what is happening. This is a frequent complaint that Railfuture hears from passengers and passes on to train operator management. It is pleasing when operators such as Eurostar, which has faced lots of criticism in the past (including from Railfuture), seems to be rectifying its failings - and it is not alone. The graphic above shows how Eurostar made good use of Twitter to inform passengers of severe delays to a service and the options available but was it at the expense of face-to-face communications?

Prague has a reputation as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe (even if graffiti appears to be everywhere) but arriving in Prague on a long-distance train doesn’t give a good first impression of the Czech Republic’s capital city, especially if doing so at night. The above photo shows the view on a very dimly-lit platform.