Greetings.

One of the biggest differences I've noticed between continental rail
systems (such as the Deutsche Bahn) and British rail systems is that for
the former, the station platforms individual trains use are consistent.
The platforms are assigned so far in advance that they're printed not only
on advance tickets but also on station posters and printed timetables. In
fact, there will often be a poster on each platform with timetables of the
trains that call at that platform (and that platform only), along with a
map showing where each individual car stops along the platform. This
allows those with reserved seats to walk to within a few metres of where
their seat will be long in advance of the train pulling into the station.

Contrast this with what is typically observed at London rail stations: the
passengers aren't informed of their train's platform in advance, even for
regular commuter services. This means that, much of the time, the entire
ticket hall is packed with people standing and staring at the departure
board, waiting for the platforms to be announced. This makes the station
difficult to walk through. Once a platform is announced (often only a few
minutes before the train departs), everyone waiting for that train suddenly
rushes to the departure gate, resulting in a queue and further congestion.
Then everyone with a seat reservation scrambles to find the correct car.
All this must be a nightmare for those with reduced mobility and/or heavy
luggage.

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from assigning
platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere? Is any work being
done to fix this problem?

Regards,
Tristan

--
_
_V.-o Tristan Miller Space is limited
/ |`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In a haiku, so it's hard
(7_\\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ To finish what you

On Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:38:53 +0000
Tristan Miller wrote:
difficult to walk through. Once a platform is announced (often only a few
minutes before the train departs), everyone waiting for that train suddenly
rushes to the departure gate, resulting in a queue and further congestion.
Then everyone with a seat reservation scrambles to find the correct car.
All this must be a nightmare for those with reduced mobility and/or heavy
luggage.

Any trains that have seat reservations will be announced a lot sooner than
a few minutes before departure. And unless you're a regular user you're not
going to know where your carraige will stop on the platform anyway so you'll
just have people milling about on the platform instead of the concourse.

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from assigning
platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere?

Because the benefits are slight to non existent probably.

B2003

Greetings.

In article , d
wrote:
On Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:38:53 +0000
Tristan Miller wrote:
difficult to walk through. Once a platform is announced (often only a
few minutes before the train departs), everyone waiting for that train
suddenly rushes to the departure gate, resulting in a queue and further
congestion. Then everyone with a seat reservation scrambles to find the
correct car. All this must be a nightmare for those with reduced mobility
and/or heavy luggage.

Any trains that have seat reservations will be announced a lot sooner
than a few minutes before departure.

That hasn't been my experience at Euston and King's Cross. (Mind you, I
haven't used those stations for over a year, so things may have changed in
the meantime.)

And unless you're a regular user
you're not going to know where your carraige will stop on the platform
anyway

You will with the train diagrams I mentioned. These are posted on the
platforms of pretty much every DB station.

so you'll just have people milling about on the platform instead
of the concourse.

If a train station has 20 platforms, and each train holds 500 people, then
isn't it better to have 500 people waiting on each platform than 10,000
people waiting on the concourse?

Regards,
Tristan

--
_
_V.-o Tristan Miller Space is limited
/ |`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In a haiku, so it's hard
(7_\\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ To finish what you

Greetings.

In article , Huge wrote:
On 2011-03-04, Tristan Miller wrote:

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from
assigning platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere?

Because British railways are not run for the benefit of the customer.

Neither are DB railways, nor anything else in capitalism. But that still
doesn't explain why DB assigns platforms in advance, whereas British
railways don't.

Regards,
Tristan

--
_
_V.-o Tristan Miller Space is limited
/ |`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In a haiku, so it's hard
(7_\\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ To finish what you

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:38:53 +0000
Tristan Miller wrote:
difficult to walk through. Once a platform is announced (often only a few
minutes before the train departs), everyone waiting for that train
suddenly
rushes to the departure gate, resulting in a queue and further congestion.
Then everyone with a seat reservation scrambles to find the correct car.
All this must be a nightmare for those with reduced mobility and/or heavy
luggage.

Any trains that have seat reservations will be announced a lot sooner than
a few minutes before departure. And unless you're a regular user you're
not
going to know where your carraige will stop on the platform anyway so
you'll
just have people milling about on the platform instead of the concourse.

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from
assigning
platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere?

Because the benefits are slight to non existent probably.

DB makes as big deal out of telling pax not just which platform, but where
on the platform they should wait.

They certainly consider it a useful benefit

tim

On Fri, 4 Mar 2011 11:58:45 -0000
"tim...." wrote:
Any trains that have seat reservations will be announced a lot sooner than
a few minutes before departure. And unless you're a regular user you're
not
going to know where your carraige will stop on the platform anyway so
you'll
just have people milling about on the platform instead of the concourse.

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from
assigning
platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere?

Because the benefits are slight to non existent probably.

DB makes as big deal out of telling pax not just which platform, but where
on the platform they should wait.

Thats all very well, but what happens if delays occur and the platform isn't
free? Reroute the train to another platform and have 500 people get very
****ed off as they make their way to it or have the train wait until the
platform is free and block the line?

B2003

Greetings.

In article , Huge wrote:
On 2011-03-04, Tristan Miller wrote:
Greetings.

In article , Huge wrote:
On 2011-03-04, Tristan Miller wrote:

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from
assigning platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere?

Because British railways are not run for the benefit of the customer.

Neither are DB railways, nor anything else in capitalism.

I fear you misunderstand what capitalism is. And, for that matter, what
BR is.

I very much doubt that, though I will gladly concede the possibility that
we are using the same term to mean somewhat different things.

But that still
doesn't explain why DB assigns platforms in advance, whereas British
railways don't.

Because British railways are run by people who think it is a privilege
for people to be allowed to travel on their magnificent trains. They
should all be dismissed and replaced by people who understand what
running a service based company is all about.

If your premise is true, then it's only a matter of time before you'll get
your wish. I just wish we wouldn't have to wait so long for it.

Regards,
Tristan

--
_
_V.-o Tristan Miller Space is limited
/ |`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In a haiku, so it's hard
(7_\\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ To finish what you

Greetings.

In article , d
wrote:
On Fri, 4 Mar 2011 11:58:45 -0000
"tim...." wrote:
Any trains that have seat reservations will be announced a lot sooner
than a few minutes before departure. And unless you're a regular user
you're not
going to know where your carraige will stop on the platform anyway so
you'll
just have people milling about on the platform instead of the
concourse.

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from
assigning
platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere?

Because the benefits are slight to non existent probably.

DB makes as big deal out of telling pax not just which platform, but
where on the platform they should wait.

Thats all very well, but what happens if delays occur and the platform
isn't free? Reroute the train to another platform and have 500 people get
very ****ed off as they make their way to it or have the train wait until
the platform is free and block the line?

Better that 500 people get ****ed off 5% of the time having to change
platforms than 10,000 people get ****ed off 100% of the time by not being
told the correct platform until the last minute.

Regards,
Tristan

--
_
_V.-o Tristan Miller Space is limited
/ |`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In a haiku, so it's hard
(7_\\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ To finish what you

"Tristan Miller" wrote in message

Greetings.

One of the biggest differences I've noticed between continental rail
systems (such as the Deutsche Bahn) and British rail systems is that
for the former, the station platforms individual trains use are
consistent. The platforms are assigned so far in advance that they're
printed not only on advance tickets but also on station posters and
printed timetables. In fact, there will often be a poster on each
platform with timetables of the trains that call at that platform
(and that platform only), along with a map showing where each
individual car stops along the platform. This allows those with
reserved seats to walk to within a few metres of where their seat
will be long in advance of the train pulling into the station.

Contrast this with what is typically observed at London rail
stations: the passengers aren't informed of their train's platform
in advance, even for regular commuter services. This means that,
much of the time, the entire ticket hall is packed with people
standing and staring at the departure board, waiting for the
platforms to be announced. This makes the station difficult to walk
through. Once a platform is announced (often only a few minutes
before the train departs), everyone waiting for that train suddenly
rushes to the departure gate, resulting in a queue and further
congestion. Then everyone with a seat reservation scrambles to find
the correct car. All this must be a nightmare for those with reduced
mobility and/or heavy luggage.

What is it about British railway stations that prevents them from
assigning platforms to trains in advance, as it is done elsewhere?
Is any work being done to fix this problem?

Could it be that British railways are more intensively used? With less
gap between trains, it's harder to be sure that the right platform will
be available when a particular train shows up. Rather than have the
train wait till the scheduled platform becomes free, isn't it better to
just use any available platform?

On Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:27:24 +0000
Tristan Miller wrote:
Thats all very well, but what happens if delays occur and the platform
isn't free? Reroute the train to another platform and have 500 people get
very ****ed off as they make their way to it or have the train wait until
the platform is free and block the line?

Better that 500 people get ****ed off 5% of the time having to change
platforms than 10,000 people get ****ed off 100% of the time by not being
told the correct platform until the last minute.

But its not as if our mainline terminus stations are particularly huge.
AFAIK waterloo is the largest and that doesn't have many trains with
reserved seating. Walking from one side of Kings X to the other takes all
of one 1 minute and St P about 20 seconds for the midlands train platforms.

B2003