What is it about trains...

[hackbike 666]

I know the feeling, got it last time I was in London.

Ouch.

 

[Arch]

Can I join in the ranting?

The braindead idiot who designed the Virgin Trains electronic seat reservation display thingy is a criminal against usability. Instead of a clear display you can read at a glance you get a moronic scrolling message that you have to watch for about five seconds before it actually tells you whether the seat is reserved or or not. Infuriatingly stupid design.

That's my rant too! Go on a long trip and you get to watch the aisles get blocked by people reading the display at every station - and on a crowded train (which it always is), there gets to be a great long log jam...

 

[Kirstie]

Yes, absolutely true. And if you search from abroad the differences are even more extreme. Sometimes cheaper, sometimes more expensive. Sometimes greatly so. (Depending on the route, if I log in from the UK (on a virtual IP) or from here, it can make a big difference). Bizarre.

It's basically going to be down to a datamining algorithm which can attribute particular purchase patterns to particular IP addresses, both in terms of generic (ie whether its a business address or a private address) or specific (the activity from that particular address in the past and others like it). It will only display the options they think you're likely to buy, at the highest price they think they can get away with. I also think that live clickstream data determine what is offered too.

 

[Amanda P]

I used to get similar thing happen when I was at Kings Cross. The Kings Lynn trains were often 8 cars to Cambridge, and then the first 4 would go on and the back 4 would wait for the train from kings Lynn to arrive and the go back to the 'Cross. no matter how many anouncements were made there were always some people left at Cambridge on the rear part of the train.

Trouble is, when you're on the train, it may be far from obvious which part of it you're in. Unless you get up and fight your way to the front and then count cars back. If everyone on the train did that...

As for station announcements... if you can understand them, you're often doing well. And why are they always made in that sing-song, two-note intonation that somehow makes you stop listening after the first three or four words? - if you can hear what's being said at all?

 

[Paulus]

Trouble is, when you're on the train, it may be far from obvious which part of it you're in. Unless you get up and fight your way to the front and then count cars back. If everyone on the train did that...

As for station announcements... if you can understand them, you're often doing well. And why are they always made in that sing-song, two-note intonation that somehow makes you stop listening after the first three or four words? - if you can hear what's being said at all?

Hmmm. When the train comes in it is not beyond the bounds of common sense to see that how many carriages have passed you to realise which part of the train you are on. Plus the fact that there are on board announcements to say what is going on, plus the time it takes to uncouple part of the train from another, and still people don't know whats going on. To many passengers are now plugged in to their Ipods and are not listening. You could make a abandon ship announcement and some wouldn't know whats going on.

 

[hackbike 666]

The newer trains now and even some of the old trains have better P.A systems.It's some sort of ruling nowadays isn't it?

 

[cygnet]

I do all my online bookings through the train company websites now because they give you all the ticket options and all the services. They're still not perfect but they're better than the trainline.

Certainly still not perfect: I just tried to buy a ticket (from Virgin) for travel on a Virgin train. Their website said no fares at that price were available. I bought the exact same ticket I wanted from NXEC for a cheaper price than Virgin offered. (still traveling on Virgin)

So how do they make money selling a ticket for another TOC for a price cheaper than that offered by the TOC in question? Do they all work like gig ticket websites (e.g."sold out" means "tickets may still be available elsewhere")?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Hmmm. When the train comes in it is not beyond the bounds of common sense to see that how many carriages have passed you to realise which part of the train you are on.

How about if you get there with a minute or two to spare before the thing leaves? You've hardly got time to count the carriages then, have you?

 

[hackbike 666]

How about if you get there with a minute or two to spare before the thing leaves? You've hardly got time to count the carriages then, have you?

Get this at Liverpool Street all the time as when the Chingford train comes in it is generally 5 minutes before it's back out anyway.You are supposed to give yourself more time anyway.How many times have I seen people dash for a train and either slip over or drop some stuff all over the platform.If I arrive a minute or two before the train is due out I generally expect to miss my train.Especially at Liverpool Street and I generally do.

I think you answered your own question there.Give yourself more time although it's not going to happen is it?

 

[Andy in Sig]

The ticket thing is relatively easy to solve. Over here you get one bit of paper for the ticket, even if it is a return journey involving loads of stops. The ticket is about 4 x 9 inches so there is space to put all necessary info on it. Seat reservations come at the rate at one per reservation and are the same size as the tickets. You also get a letter sized bit of paper listing all the changes. I know what you're thinking: that sounds like a lot of paper. It may be, but it is not in a readily loseable credit card size and secondly they pop the whole thing in a sort of envelope for you, so you only have one thing to keep in your jacket pocket and only one thing to hand over to the guard (they seem to be quite happy to rummage their way through). Simple really.

 

[asterix]

Yes but they're Germans. We don't do things like that.

 

[Arch]

I think you answered your own question there.Give yourself more time although it's not going to happen is it?

And if you're pushing it for time because your connecting train ran late, turning a 10 or 15 minute connection into a mad dash across a footbridge? It's a sad fact that I'm always nervous of any connection of less than 15 minutes, since I easily expect a train to run that late...

And that stupid thing about locking the doors 30 or 40 seconds before the train leaves. What's that all about?

 

[Arch]

The ticket thing is relatively easy to solve. Over here you get one bit of paper for the ticket, even if it is a return journey involving loads of stops. The ticket is about 4 x 9 inches so there is space to put all necessary info on it. Seat reservations come at the rate at one per reservation and are the same size as the tickets. You also get a letter sized bit of paper listing all the changes. I know what you're thinking: that sounds like a lot of paper. It may be, but it is not in a readily loseable credit card size and secondly they pop the whole thing in a sort of envelope for you, so you only have one thing to keep in your jacket pocket and only one thing to hand over to the guard (they seem to be quite happy to rummage their way through). Simple really.

How is a credit card sized ticket more readily loseable? Do you lose credit cards all the time? I just bung all tickets and seat reservation cards into the spare pocket of my rail card holder, and stick that in my pocket. If I didn't have a railcard, I'd stick them in my wallet, also in my pocket. Much preferable to having an extra envelope to carry.

Also if you buy at the station in advance, the nice lady staples all the bits for each journey together if it's more than one stage, so they are easy to find. Although that's a pain when you need to pry the ticket off to get through a ticket barrier.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I think you answered your own question there.Give yourself more time although it's not going to happen is it?

... and (as happened the last time I caught the train) what happens when your timed connection gives you two minutes to get off your train, find the platform your connection leaves from and get to the platform?

The point I'm trying to make is that it's very easy for those who work in the industry to find the fact that a train leaves half of its carriages at a platform to run to a completely different destination perfectly obvious. But it's not, really, is it? Not unless you know beforehand, either via a freakish ability to decipher the tannoy announcements and filter the useful stuff out of them from amongst all the terrorist warning rubbish that no one listens to, or via a sad obsession with walking up and down the train counting the carriages.

 

[hackbike 666]

And that stupid thing about locking the doors 30 or 40 seconds before the train leaves. What's that all about?

Is it really worth my bother answering questions on this thread when I get comments like this?

I think not.

... and (as happened the last time I caught the train) what happens when your timed connection gives you two minutes to get off your train, find the platform your connection leaves from and get to the platform?

Catch the next train?

Oh and yes what did I see this morning?

No I didn't look for it.I had locked my bike up at platform 11 at Waterloo and walking down the platform a train was just going out.Three passengers ran up just as the doors were closing and the last passenger physically forced the door open,luckily he didn't damage it but I have had problems when passengers have done this before.Train went out slightly late but ok though.As far as I know.