Association of Public Transport Users

Transcription

1 Association of Public Transport Users Pre-submitted questions for AGM on 31 May 12 General 1 Why do trains sometime dawdle in the countryside or even in the core; something is not right with a system supposed to handle 24 trains an hour! Answer: Regulation by the signaller is the usual reason for a train appearing to be dawdling in the countryside. There are a number of junctions at which train can move from fast to slow lines or vice versa. For example, an all stations train scheduled to terminate at St Albans could be held at a red signal at Radlett Junction while a fast FCC train crosses from the fast to slow line ahead of it. Similarly an FCC train scheduled to run fast from St Albans to London might be regulated from the slow to the fast line at Harpenden South junction and might be held on platform 1 at Harpenden until a northbound service had entered platform 2. The core route can currently handle 16 trains per hour in each direction. This will increase to 24 train per hour following the introduction of the new Siemens trains fitted with Automatic Train Operation. 2 Why cannot the problem of doors on Electrostar slow to open in the core be fixed; seemed like 5 mins one evening recently? Answer: This was initially a major problem following the introduction of the Class 377s but has now been resolved. If you do experience a problem with the doors, please contact us shortly afterwards with the date, time and details of the train (e.g. 17:02 from St Pancras to Bedford) and we will check the reason and get back to you. 3 As a matter of interest what use are the sidings north of City Thameslink to be put? (The crossing in the station has been taken out.) Answer: Only the mid platform crossing at City Thameslink has been removed; two other crossings remain. The Smithfield sidings will only be used if a train has to be temporarily stabled there, e.g. as a result of a train fault. 4 When the main FCC entrance to Farringdon is at the south end of the platform why do 4 car trains going north stop so far away? Answer: this is done for safety reasons. Similarly, on the southbound platform, all trains stop at the southern end of the platform. There is thus no possibility of any carriages of a train not being on the platform when the doors are opened. 5 Why are late evening trains often 4 car and consequently over crowded? Answer: Following the reopening of our cross-london core route after over three years of closures every weekday night and weekends, all Monday Friday late evening departures from Brighton to Bedford are now formed of eight cars. Similarly most late evening all stations services from Sutton are also now formed of eight cars including the 21:47, 22:17 and 22:47 departures from Sutton leaving St Pancras at 22:48, 23:18 and 23:48. 1

2 6 What does "The seats in this compartment are for standard class passengers" really mean? If I had a first class ticket I would be cross if not allowed at all to sit there! Answer: The notices in the declassified First Class compartments actually read The seats in this compartment are for Standard Class ticket holders. A passenger holding a First Class ticket may of course choose to sit in that compartment but is unlikely to do so as the Customer Information screens include the location of First Class seating on each train shown in the timetable as offering First Class. No similar comment has been received on this. 7 What is the refranchise programme and what will be the effect on passengers? Will all investment stop until the new franchise begins? Answer: There will be no impact on investment and we will cover this in detail during the meeting. 8 Some of the Class 319/2 trains are in a very poor state, especially on the outside with partially removed graffiti that is several months old. Several of these units are still in Southern livery and haven't been refurbished by First Capital Connect (except for altering the seats under the pantographs, which formally had snug seats). I am pleased that the "Cheriton" and "Coquelles" nameplates have recently been returned to the units that were used at the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Answer: We have a total of eight 319/2s, of which two currently have advertising livery for Swiss Travel and Lycamobile. Three additional units are scheduled to be reliveried within the next few weeks. A change of vinyl for a four car train takes two weeks: a week for preparation and a week for application. During this period the train will not be in service. We have a total of 86 Class 319s, of which 80 need to be in operation for us to run our full service with no cancellations or short forms. The remaining six units will be undergoing differing levels of scheduled maintenance at Bedford Cauldwell or Hornsey depots. While we hate graffiti and do our utmost to remove offensive graffiti (and graffiti covering windows) immediately it occurs, we also need to avoid short forming or cancelling trains, which would cause far more irritation and inconvenience than the sight of some graffiti. In general the graffiti remaining on trains is near to the roof line and could only be safely removed when the power supply is isolated. For that reason we invariably wait until the unit is undergoing scheduled maintenance in a depot for major graffiti removal. 9 The recovery arrangements from service disruption is far from adequate. There have been several occasions recently when the service has been brought to a stand with a long delay before trains start to move again. On Wednesday evening 16 May (18:00) there was a passenger taken ill at Harlington, yet I was held on a northbound train at Luton when there was another train held at Leagrave. Trains continued to travel north on the fast line. Why couldn't the trains have been diverted over the fast line between Leagrave and Flitwick, rather than just stand still for 25 2

3 minutes? The passengers were eventually told that the train would be terminated at Luton and directed to another train on Platform 5, only to find that the original train left (empty) at the same time. (The majority of the passengers that boarded the train at Luton, only went as far as Leagrave.) Answer: Just after 1800 a passenger taken was ill on 2W48. The train was held on platform 2 at Harlington (slow line) for the paramedics to arrive. Delays increased due to signalling restrictions that were in place at Leagrave Junction which prevented northbound trains from moving from the Down slow to the Down fast line. 10 On some occasions the normal stopping patterns should be suspended and replaced with Bedford trains (fast between St Albans and St Pancras) and stopping trains to St Albans (or Luton). There is nothing worse than having to wait at Luton for a heavily delayed Northbound train to Leagrave, when there are lots of other FCC trains that only stop at Flitwick and Bedford continuing as normal. (This can be caused by disruption to one of the routes south of London.) The alternative option of stopping all trains at all stations should not be used, except in extreme circumstances, as no-one is satisfied (due to increased journey times or being unable to board an already busy train). Sometimes the stopping pattern is altered at the very last minute when a Northbound train reaches St Pancras and a fast train becomes an all-stations train, but it is then too late for passengers to leave the train before departure and following fast trains may be too busy to join. Answer: Our current contingency plans are being reviewed to ensure that customers travelling to Leagrave and Harlington are not unduly delayed at Luton at times of service disruption. 11 Last Friday (11th May), I caught a late running 12-car train at City Thameslink (departed at 18:24), which had had its stopping pattern changed so that it would call at St Pancras, West Hampstead, Mill Hill Broadway and all stations to Bedford. A man in an electric scooter/wheelchair in my carriage wanted to alight at St Pancras, but when no-one arrived to assist he and others enquired just before the train departed and was told that there was no ramp (I know there are ramps at St Pancras, as I have seen them used before.) and he would have to wait until the next station. At Kentish Town the train waited at a signal and the passenger alarm was operated. When the driver came to investigate, the situation was explained to him and he suggested that the passenger in the electric scooter continued to West Hampstead. The driver came back to check at West Hampstead and as there was no platform staff or ramp, the driver and several other nearby passengers helped to lift the man and the electric scooter onto the platform. I think this driver handled the situation very well. Incidentally the train was routed onto the fast line at Charlton Road Junction and back to the slow line at Cricklewood junction, thus eliminating any time that might have been saved from running non-stop between West Hampstead and Mill Hill Broadway. The train then caught up with another stopping train before reaching Elstree & Borehamwood, and so there didn't seem much benefit of calling at the extra 3

4 stations. Answer: Train services on Friday 11 May were very severely disrupted following a major signal failure at Kentish Town which began at around 10:00. Network Rail engineers were on site for over six hours before signalling was restored at 16:34, but services for the rest of the day were heavily delayed and subject to short notice cancellation and changed calling patterns due to rolling stock and train crew being out of position. We are sorry that assistance to the passenger in the wheelchair was not provided at St Pancras. The process when a passenger needing assistance boards a train is that staff at that station are responsible for ringing the station to which the passenger is travelling to advise them of the train s unique headcode number and the location of the passenger on the train, e.g. second coach from the front. The failure to assist this passenger off the train has been raised with our Network Rail colleagues who are responsible for providing wheelchair assistance on our St Pancras platforms. I agree that the driver is to be commended for assisting the passenger off the train at West Hampstead Thameslink. Staff and wheelchair ramps are available at West Hampstead but the staff would expect a phone call (as just described) to alert them to any arriving passengers needing assistance. Our Access and Inclusion Manager is reviewing the process during disruption with other train operators who manage stations served by our trains, i.e. Southeastern and Southern Railways as well as with our own station staff. The reason that this 12-car train was routed onto the Down (northbound) fast line at Carlton Road Junction and back to the Down slow line at Cricklewood is that initially the signaller may have forgotten that it was to call at all stations between Mill Hill Broadway and Bedford to fill a gap in semi fast services between London and St Albans. At Elstree & Borehamwood only the slow line platforms have been extended to 12-car length. If the train had continued on the fast line to that station, selective door opening would have been necessary to safely allow passengers to leave the train. The time it would have taken for passengers in the rear four cars to walk through the train would have delayed that train and also others behind it. 12 The first is with reference the farcical journey I had to last year's meeting when there was a power failure and two failed trains which I recounted the details at the meeting. Did FCC ever report to APTU on their complete incompetance on handling the problems? Answer: This was covered in detail in my to Neil Middleton on 27 May. 13 On New Year's Day I caught the first train from St. Albans to St. Pancras (4 coaches) to find some 800 people at St. Pancras waiting to catch it northbound. Were FCC completely unaware that large numbers of people celebrate New Year in London and that an 8 or 12 coach train would be needed to get them home afterwards. At St Pancras, there was a 4-minute (!!!!!) connection onto a replacement bus to London Bridge. There were no signs directing passengers to the bus, I had to ask a member of staff. I was in the front coach of the arriving train and JUST caught the bus as it 4

5 was about to pull away with 4 other passengers. Why was inadequate time and directions given for other passengers. The bus didn't stop at City Thameslink and dumped us at the southern end of London Bridge itself well out of sight of the station. Why did the driver not comply with the advertised facility by failing to call at the advertised timing points? Answer: We had considerable valuable feedback regarding the lack of capacity on the early morning New Year s Day services from St Pancras. Capacity will be reviewed accordingly when planning for the 1 st January The 07:00 departure time for the bus between St Pancras and London Bridge provided the same connection with the 0656 arrival of the train from Bedford as on any other Sunday while the cross-london core route was closed. We had not previously received any complaints about the connection between the train and the bus, which was not scheduled to call at City Thameslink. The published timings were: St Pancras International 07:00 Farringdon 07:05 London Blackfriars 07:10 London Bridge 07:25 TfL did not allow our rail replacement buses to enter the bus interchange at London Bridge throughout the period that our cross-london core route was closed. Passengers were therefore taken to the nearest point to the station that had been authorised by TfL. 14 On Saturday 12 May 2012 the from St. Albans to London was delayed and did not arrive until Why did the driver then hang around for another 2-3 minutes thus delaying your CUSTOMERS even more? This sort of sloppy operation is not uncommon. Answer: This train left Bedford 6 minutes late due to a Network Rail Train Planning error. It arrived at St Albans at 1021 and departed at 1024, arriving at St Pancras eight minutes late. Unfortunately there is no recorded explanation as to why the train was delayed three minutes at St Albans. I apologise for the delay to this service which was unacceptable. 15 Why can child/half rate tickets not be purchased from ticket machines at Luton, and possibly other stations? We are supposed to purchase correct tickets before travel! Answer: Ticket vending machines at all stations, Luton included, do sell child rate (half price) tickets. However the 2 accompanied child tickets can only be purchased from ticket offices. This is due to avoid fraudulent travel using these tickets, which was rife when they were available from ticket vending machines. Information 16 Why do the departure boards say that a train is due and then it is cancelled with hardly any notice? This stops me from getting on another 5

6 train which has turned up. This is particularly annoying in the bad weather. Answer: This happens when our team in the Service Delivery Centre at West Hampstead are unable to keep up with all the changes during severe service disruption. However a major system upgrade has been funded and will be ready for implementation in December this year which, at times of disruption, will automatically remove any train service which is not running. This upgrade, which will ensure that only trains that are actually running are displayed on the customer information screens, is being introduced by FCC in response to the Passenger Focus research in The information on the screens will be backed up by PA announcements explaining to customers what they are seeing on the screens and why. 17 Why do the departure boards continue to show a train which has been cancelled? I need to know which ones are coming in, not the ones which aren't going to turn up. Answer: Agree, and the above upgrade will resolve this. 18 Please can we have more large destination screens at Farringdon and City Thameslink as there are larger lengths of platform where no screen is visible, Single sided screens do not help. More screens will certainly be needed when there are multiple destinations: Bedford, Peterborough and Cambridge. (Likewise Harpenden in relation to 12 car trains.) Answer: The screens that have been installed at City Thameslink and Farringdon conform with Network Rail s design specification and standards. Any additional screens would need to comply with signal sighting requirements and must not block the view of CCTV cameras used for train dispatch. We are arranging for the local management team at these stations to assess further requirements. The positioning of the customer information screens at Harpenden will be reviewed in the context of the planned new footbridge and relocation of the gateline on platform The automated alerts train by train go into painful detail, but its significance can be difficult to divine and where there is a severe problem it just dries up! Answer: The quality of these messages at times of disruption may reduce as they are dependant on human input. We have invested in a new alert service that gives both and SMS options. It is currently being tested by staff and we would like key stakeholders to participate in a customer trial before a wider rollout. We will cover this at the AGM. 20 When there is a serious problem why cannot the various information systems be aligned to show the same information and recommendation? Answer: Please advise which systems. What is shown on the customer information screens should also be on the FCC website and on the National Rail Enquiries website. 21 Why cannot the widget on Vista/7 desktops showing next 5 trains 6

7 (or something like it) be available on Blackberrys and smart phones? Answer: This is a Microsoft widget available for Windows only. We suggest using the Mobile version of our website, or there is an App available for Smart phones. 22 Recorded message announcements are not as helpful as you might think! Like the shipping forecast they are mesmerising and the listener does not notice perhaps that "Harpenden" was missing so the train will not stop there. Answer: The format for our automated announcements of train calling patterns is the same as that used for such announcements by all Train Operating Companies. 23 PA at CTL (especially southbound) is uncomfortably loud. Answer: The PA system at City Thameslink, as at St Pancras, is sensitive to ambient noise levels, so the volume increases as the sound of an arriving or departing train is detected. Extensive testing has been done, showing that when the volume was set at a lower level customers complained that they could not hear the announcements. Harpenden 24 When the platform 1 new ticket barriers at Harpenden are left open, they are usually unstaffed. Why can't the old gate by the steps therefore be opened to allow passengers to get off the platform more quickly? This would divide the amount of people going through the open barriers. At those times the purpose of the new barriers, ie. to catch pasengers who have not paid, is lost. With the new 12 coach trains, this also means that pedestrians have to walk towards the southern end of platform 1 to gain entrance to the station and then, because platform 1 has been extended northwards, they have to walk all the way to the back of the train to find a seat. In the bad weather this extra 30 yards across the icy car park was dangerous (and the same distance back in the evening in the dark). Answer: The ticket gateline on platform 1 is to be relocated nearer to the new footbridge which is planned to open in early January The ticket barriers at Harpenden slow people down coming and going. More often than not the operators set 3 out of 4 of the standard barriers (ignoring the wider but slow ones) in the direction of flow, which helps. some operators leave it at 2 and 2; why? Answer: Thank you for this feedback, which has been passed to the Revenue Protection team. Staff have been asked to ensure that the gates are set in the ratio of three entries in the morning peak and three exits in the evening peak. 26 The ticket machine at Harpenden south side (main) when people are using it severely restricts pedestrian movement where the footpath is already narrow. Why is not located elsewhere, eg the ticket office side of the entrance to the barriers? 7

8 Answer: If this question relates to a ticket vending machine adjacent to Platform 1 (southbound), these machines will all be relocated together with the gateline towards the northern end of the platform near to the new footbridge which is planned to open in January When is the new footbridge with lifts [at Harpenden] anticipated to be constructed and be completed? I have a Project Updated dated July 2011 which states construction to start in 2012 and be completed by this Autumn. Is this still the situation? Answer: The detailed programme is still being finalised, however the key dates are as follows: Mid June 2012 Site Set-up Early Jan 2013 Open new bridge Mid Jan 2013 Old bridge removal Late Apr 2013 Gateline relocation and Canopy completion 28 In addition the Project Update shows the new footbridge quite a bit north of the existing shelter on Platform 1 and thus a long way from the ticket gates. It also says that the existing footbridge is to be removed (I thought that it was to remain) and that the ticket gates on platform 1 are to be relocated. Is that correct and can you confirm the location of the new bridge? Answer: The new footbridge will be located to the north of the station, roughly in line with the CBS advertising boards located on each platform. The project works also include relocating the station entrance and gateline enclosure on Platform 1 closer to the new footbridge, along with an extension to the current canopy. Some existing facilities such as waiting shelters and the Crav'in kiosk will also be relocated to reflect the new station layout. The existing bridge will be removed at the request of St Albans City & District Planning Department. 29 Although the works adjacent to the ticket gate building to platform 4 [at Harpenden] have finally been complete, the temporary fencing removed and timber fencing erected to close off the space between it and the original building, the rear entrance to the booking office onto the platform still remains closed and blocked. When will this be restored as was the original intention? It is most unsatisfactory and not acceptable, after having purchased tickets, to have to go all the way around back onto Station Approach (via the hazards that exist there) and then into the ticket gate building to access the platform & footbridge. It is obvious that the layout of the building is incorrect and the ticket gate line is in the wrong place. It should be at a right angle to as it is now and the building entrance/exit laid out as that on platform 1. Answer: During the works on Platform 4 we identified old cellars under the new gated entrance area and subsidence caused by this to the rear of the existing station buildings. This was the reason for the area being fenced off whilst Network Rail arranged and carried out the remedial works. Now that 8

9 Network Rail have finished these works we are arranging for a permanent fence to be installed to secure the short passage to the side of the gating building. With regard to the rear door from the booking hall reopening onto the platform, this would cause a breach in our revenue protection efforts and will remain locked. 30 The 3rd question concerns that of the rail over bridge to Station Road, adjacent to Harpenden station. Since the gap between the fast & slow lines has been filled in to enable platform lengthening a large number of pigeons have taken up residence in the resulting void. This is unsightly and the droppings on the footpath below is a hazard. Can appropriate action be taken to deal with this problem? Answer: Network Rail will be taking steps to address this problem and will liaise with the Highways Authority as a road closure may be required while the pigeon proofing is carried out. Leagrave 31 Cycle Parking - I cycle to and from Leagrave station on a daily basis. There is a lack of cycle spaces to meet the demand, whereas additional spaces have been provided at other stations on the route. Three of the hoops at the far end of the shelter are difficult to use, due to the position of the fencing. Please can First Capital Connect modify the fence, so that the existing cycle parking can be fully utilised, and provide additional cycle parking spaces (either in the same car park or in the car park on the opposite side of the railway). The CCTV coverage of the cycle park should also be improved, and made more visible, as there are regular thefts of bicycles at this station. Answer: Since the start of our franchise we have increased the number of cycle spaces at FCC managed stations by 79%, from 2,110 to 3,778. This has been achieved through strong partnerships, including match funding agreements, with Local Authorities including Hertfordshire County Council, Bedford Borough Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and with Transport for London. Unfortunately the match funding that has been proposed by Luton Borough Council has so far been insufficient to deliver the improvements to the cycle parking at Leagrave and Luton stations that is needed. Schemes to address the current deficit in cycle parking facilities at both stations have been designed and costed. We are looking at potential funding opportunities to enable these schemes to be delivered during this current financial year. 32 The entrance to the main Leagrave car park from Station Road used to have an entrance and an exit lane until Luton Borough Council blocked the exit lane about 2 years ago. This has left only one lane for entry and exit 9

10 from this car park, which leads to significant congestion especially at peaktimes. There is also very inadequate arrangements for pedestrians, as there is no footpath into the car park. (See attached photos.) Please can First Capital Connect modify the entrance and exit from this car park in cooperation with Luton Borough Council, so that there are two lanes and one footpath. Answer: Luton Borough Council will not unblock the second lane of the car park entrance. However, we plan to improve pedestrian access to the car park by creating better segregation between the car lane and the adjoining footpath. This would be done at the same time as the cycle parking enhancements at Leagrave. 33 The footbridge was refurbished recently, including repainting the inside and fitting new non-slip surfaces. However, only a lower part of the outside of the bridge was painted. I understand that painting of the rest of the exterior of the bridge will need the lines closed and Overhead wires isolated. Please can First Capital Connect liaise with Network Rail, so that painting can be undertaken when one pair of lines is taken out of service for planned maintenance works nearby. This method would also be a suitable solution for painting station canopies and footbridges along the line. Some of these areas haven't been painted for a very long time. Answer: You are right; the work can only be undertaken when there is a line possession and isolation and also when no diesel powered engineering trains or road railers are using the line while infrastructure maintenance work is underway. It is not only the painting of bridges but the cleaning of external windows on bridges, e.g. at Radlett and Luton, that is affected by this. While the bridges would be cosmetically improved, the painting could almost certainly not be completed in one day as proper preparation, primer and undercoating takes considerable time if done correctly. The cost of any additional possessions and isolations would be high and they would almost certainly impact on normal timetabled train services. Larry Heyman Integration & Partnership Manager First Capital Connect 31 May