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Post by orienteer on Dec 17, 2013 20:47:24 GMT
Uxbridge to Aldgate train last night (7pm, 16th December); after standing in the station for a short while, this announcement was made at HoH, but it was only when the next station was announced as Finchley Road that passengers realised it had not changed destination, but had become a fast train. When some tried to get off to catch a slow train instead, the doors had already been locked shut. Surely operators should have the common sense to give people time to react when making such a change. This kind of thoughtlessness really makes me despair.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 21:32:34 GMT
Uxbridge to Aldgate train last night (7pm, 16th December); after standing in the station for a short while, this announcement was made at HoH, but it was only when the next station was announced as Finchley Road that passengers realised it had not changed destination, but had become a fast train. When some tried to get off to catch a slow train instead, the doors had already been locked shut. Surely operators should have the common sense to give people time to react when making such a change. This kind of thoughtlessness really makes me despair. Almost the same thing happened to me about 10.30 this morning. Departed West Harrow and destination change announcement came (Aldgate to Aldgate!) but by the time the train arrived at Harrow the semi fast message was given as well. |
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Post by domh245 on Dec 17, 2013 21:51:36 GMT
In situations like this, when going from an all stations to a fast service, a manual PA must surely be a lot better than using the automated announcements. At least the information might be given to the passengers at a useful time...
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Post by causton on Dec 19, 2013 2:22:42 GMT
Wonder how easy it would be to add a line repeating the destination after this announcement, presuming it isn't already there...
i.e. "Please note, the destination of this train has changed. This is a *Semi-Fast* *Metropolitan line* service to *Aldgate*. Please listen for further announcements."
(would include "now" but the word might have not been recorded, and the wording of the middle sentence is the same as an existing announcement so could be easier to program in!
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Post by uzairjubilee on Dec 19, 2013 10:39:37 GMT
Wonder how easy it would be to add a line repeating the destination after this announcement, presuming it isn't already there... i.e. "Please note, the destination of this train has changed. This is a *Semi-Fast* *Metropolitan line* service to *Aldgate*. Please listen for further announcements." (would include "now" but the word might have not been recorded, and the wording of the middle sentence is the same as an existing announcement so could be easier to program in! |
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Post by orienteer on Dec 19, 2013 13:24:17 GMT
Didn't say that on this occasion.
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Post by metrider on Dec 19, 2013 18:45:22 GMT
Since the new timetable came in just over a week ago, I've noticed a fair amount of late running which I assume is causing these late changes. However not doing a sufficient PAs at suitable times is very poor.
Recently I boarded a train out of London which I knew should (by design) be a semi-fast. The automatic announcements were "all stations". I think there was also a manual PA for "all stations to Watford" at one point. As we passed over the points into Platform 1 at Wembley, the penny dropped with the driver who quickly made an announcement that we'd been diverted and the next stop would be Harrow!
How long does it take for staff to become properly familiar with the ins and outs of new timetables inorder to run them efficiently?
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Post by superteacher on Dec 19, 2013 20:24:58 GMT
No excuse for not doing a manual PA. The problem with the automatic announcements is that people block them out subconsciously due to hearing them every minute or so.
I've also often wondered how long it takes control staff to become familiar with the timetable in terms of what trains can be turned short easily and which ones can't due to crew reliefs. Will be interesting to see whether this new timetable will settle down, or if there are other issues which are causing the late running mentioned earlier.
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Post by metrider on Dec 19, 2013 21:44:04 GMT
My thought were more about working junctions efficiently than learning the best tricks for turning trains short or reforms. I'd imagine that for a short time after a timetable change, much more reference to the actual timetable paperwork is required, but once the new patterns get burned into the brain, and 'tricks' get worked out to work efficiently (and be ready for what should come next), then things run more smoothly. Is this so?
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Post by Alight on Dec 19, 2013 22:51:55 GMT
I've had this happen to me before at Baker Street and so I sympathise - they give you no time to register and before you know it the doors have locked.
RE: the use of auto announcements, this is preferable as it triggers a corresponding message on the on-board DMI for customers who have a hearing impairment. I agree though, it is very tempting to just block out Sarah as she is particularly irritating/patronising on the S stock.
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Post by graeme186 on Dec 19, 2013 22:55:26 GMT
As a regular commuter on the Met, I have to say this is a genuine issue that can cause upset and confusion from time to time. When the stopping pattern of a particular train is changed but the destination remains the same, it is incorrect for the automated announcement to state 'the destination of this train has changed'. Its not the destination of the train that has changed, its the stopping pattern that has changed. Would it not be worth considering altering the S8 public address system software to give an automated message that better reflects what has actually changed in such instances?
Also with every NB Fast train now scheduled to stop at Wembley Park, it is only right for passengers to expect that a NB Slow train that is made into a Fast train between Finchley Road and Harrow will still stop at Wembley Park. Where the Line Controller has instructed a driver to run fast from Finchley Road to Harrow, in my view, drivers must make a manual announcement at Finchley Road advising that the train will not be calling at Wembley Park.
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Post by superteacher on Dec 24, 2013 13:02:28 GMT
As a regular commuter on the Met, I have to say this is a genuine issue that can cause upset and confusion from time to time. When the stopping pattern of a particular train is changed but the destination remains the same, it is incorrect for the automated announcement to state 'the destination of this train has changed'. Its not the destination of the train that has changed, its the stopping pattern that has changed. Would it not be worth considering altering the S8 public address system software to give an automated message that better reflects what has actually changed in such instances? Also with every NB Fast train now scheduled to stop at Wembley Park, it is only right for passengers to expect that a NB Slow train that is made into a Fast train between Finchley Road and Harrow will still stop at Wembley Park. Where the Line Controller has instructed a driver to run fast from Finchley Road to Harrow, in my view, drivers must make a manual announcement at Finchley Road advising that the train will not be calling at Wembley Park. Agreed, since the term "fast" is ambiguous. Just to emphasise the point, a late running Uxbridge service was made into a "semi fast" service. However, this semi fast service ran non stop from Finchley Road to Harrow! So we have the irony of some semi fast services that do not stop at Wembley and some fast services that do! The auto announcer can state on fast services that "this train stops at Wembley Park" to emphasise the point. However, this was designed to reflect that most fast trains never used to stop at Wembley, and to provide an additional reminder to passengers. Now that it is the norm for fast services to stop at Wembley, there does need to be an announcement saying "this train does NOT stop at Wembley Park." incidentally, is it possible to set up a semi fast train description that omits Wembley Park? How did they cope back in the days before the A stock had public address? Far more easily than now, you can bet your life! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2013 14:22:44 GMT
There was PA on the station platform.
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Post by superteacher on Dec 24, 2013 14:33:49 GMT
There was PA on the station platform. Maybe so, but did they always announce it? And if there was a last minute change, would they have known? I remember drivers and guards yelling down the platform from time to time! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2013 21:47:56 GMT
What about simply announcing at Finchley Rd : "Next stop will be Harrow on the Hill" ?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2013 9:37:08 GMT
At Rayners Lane during the morning peak there was always someone on the platform based in a ticket collector's type box with a phone. They announced which trains were going where and whether they were fast trains or not. So any changes could have been phoned through to him/her, Certainly other Met Line stations had someone on a PA in the morning rush hour but I don't know how many.
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Post by ruislip on Jan 1, 2014 18:59:09 GMT
What about simply announcing at Finchley Rd : "Next stop will be Harrow on the Hill" ? Or " Next stop will be Rayners Lane! |
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Post by orienteer on Jan 14, 2014 17:11:11 GMT
Yesterday I noticed that the announcement "There is a good service on all London Underground lines" is now being appended to the internal train announcements on departing stations - but not every station (travelling between Uxbridge and Wembley Park).
And car 22116 seems to have severe collector shoe deficiencies judging by how jerky it is under power.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2014 9:30:14 GMT
What about simply announcing at Finchley Rd : "Next stop will be Harrow on the Hill" ? I always do, the main problem with the destinations is that the train has to be at a standstill before it can be changed. The computer cannot be accessed with the train moving so to avoid any unnecessary delays we always try to get into a platform to do any changes. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2014 18:32:58 GMT
(...) The computer cannot be accessed with the train moving (...) Sound rather safe ! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2014 18:56:15 GMT
That is not great indeed. My opinion is: make the announcement a minute before you shut the doors. Then commuters and other customers have the time to get off the train.
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