[Technology] Victorian train companies

[Beach Hut]

Oh speaking of Delay Repay, 20 days to review a claim - sure that could be automated... Look at where the taxi industry, airlines etc are now and then tell me the railway industry has kept up

Do Taxis offer delay repay ?

Refund cheques from Ryanair bounced recently

Excellent progress

 

[Springal]

Do Taxis offer delay repay ?

Refund cheques from Ryanair bounced recently

Excellent progress

They bounced because they weren't signed? What's your point? That is a single incident that I have ever heard of.

I also can't recall a taxi that has been more than 15 minutes late this year. I've had 2 Southern incidents in the last 7 days.

 

[dazzer6666]

Oh yes new rolling stock that often displays the wrong or no information. Ticketing systems that do not update for the time of day and will try and sell you a peak ticket at a time where it is impossible to arrive in London before the peak period. Customer information systems that will often be selective in what it displays when there are problems. I.e vanishing trains to try and hamper a delay repay.

Oh speaking of Delay Repay, 20 days to review a claim - sure that could be automated... Look at where the taxi industry, airlines etc are now and then tell me the railway industry has kept up

Delay repay is usually sorted within 3-4 days in my experience - the 20 days is presumably a 'just in case' thing.

As for the the OP's ticketing experience, I had a similar experience with my daughter but she needed air travel not rail. I was in the US and she was in Scotland, but within 10 mins, and all done online, I'd booked and paid for a flight for her and she had the boarding card on her phone.

If the railways tried to implement something like this they would probably a) **** it up b) take years to do it c) have staff striking at the possible job losses, changes in working practices etc and d) fail to train staff to deal with/recognise the tickets

 

[Icy Gull]

Two railway employees (I believe) on this thread suggesting that the OP should just be grateful that somebody helped him and in complete denial that the system being used is not up to the equivalent systems of just about any other transport system you care to mention in this country.

Beggars belief that they cannot just accept that the system in this instance is shit and needs upgrading, I sure the OP expressed his gratitude to Daniel but having to physically get yourself to a station and then having to wait an hour whilst it is sorted is not acceptable, however helpful the employee was, well imo anyway.

 

[Springal]

Delay repay is usually sorted within 3-4 days in my experience - the 20 days is presumably a 'just in case' thing.

This was my experience but the last month or so has been VERY slow. I've got one from the 15th August that has not been processed.

 

[dazzer6666]

This was my experience but the last month or so has been VERY slow. I've got one from the 15th August that has not been processed.

ah, so the 20 days allows them to be tardy due to inadequate staff holiday cover but still be within their published service level.......?

 

[Easy 10]

Two railway employees (I believe) on this thread suggesting that the OP should just be grateful that somebody helped him and in complete denial that the system being used is not up to the equivalent systems of just about any other transport system you care to mention in this country.

Beggars belief that they cannot just accept that the system in this instance is shit and needs upgrading, I sure the OP expressed his gratitude to Daniel but having to physically get yourself to a station and then having to wait an hour whilst it is sorted is not acceptable, however helpful the employee was, well imo anyway.

Exactly.

In 2018, to physically have to drag his arse to Brighton Station in order to get this relatively simple ticket situation sorted via a convoluted process of phone calls and faxes was a joke. Thats no criticism of the staff at hand who helped sort it out, they can only operate as best they can under the outdated and inadequate systems in place. But christ up a stick, to not even have the basic info (ie the fax number of the station) somewhere online, or to be able to send a scannable ticket to a smartphone, which is a perfectly normal, standard practice in this day and age across numerous online services, speaks volumes for the rail "service" we are lumbered with in this country.

And the "can't do" attitude of the ex-rail staff on here is fairly typical of the culture.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

So why not put a post up of thanking someone for going out of their way to help you instead of moaning about the time it took

They are not mutually exclusive. The technology is poor, the people are great. That's the story of 21st century life (not just on the railways) isn't it it ?

 

[Commander]

How else would you have done it then

It's a system that has worked well for years and still does work well for stranded and penniless people and apart from the time it seemed to have worked well again for you .

Amazing. And in one paragraph completely sums up what is wrong with the railway industry in this country.

And the "can't do" attitude of the ex-rail staff on here is fairly typical of the culture.

Absolutely spot on. As encountered all over the railways.

 

[Kaiser_Soze]

But it is helping someone stranded and offering a service, more than some transport companies would do.

I doubt a taxi driver would have driven her all that way if the fare was to be paid at the other end.........

Some cabs, particularly in larger cities, allow you to pay by contactless. Money could have been transferred to ensure the journey was paid for. A prime example of how technology moves on. Cabbies no longer relying on cash, but moving with the technological times.

The suggestions made are perfectly reasonable. Over the last few years Southern have extended the Oyster system out from London under the name "the Key." Surely rolling out mobile ticketing nationwide would also be a worthwhile project?

 

[Ernest]

Well yes, this has been pointed out to her. But there's no reason why the rail companies have to have such an archaic system

But as you pointed out it is something that is so rarely used these days why would you spend money on something that is rarely if ever used when you have such alternatives which other people use

 

[pb21]

While we're at it the touchscreen ticket machines are like something from the Victorian era. Random parts of the screen don't work, you need to press the 'r' part of the screen about 10 times and then 15 'r's come up, searching for stations takes ages, sort the list by distance not alphabetically, oh its sunny don't bother using one then. The whole hardware and software is shoddy.

 

[Ernest]

Exactly.

In 2018, to physically have to drag his arse to Brighton Station in order to get this relatively simple ticket situation sorted via a convoluted process of phone calls and faxes was a joke. Thats no criticism of the staff at hand who helped sort it out, they can only operate as best they can under the outdated and inadequate systems in place. But christ up a stick, to not even have the basic info (ie the fax number of the station) somewhere online, or to be able to send a scannable ticket to a smartphone, which is a perfectly normal, standard practice in this day and age across numerous online services, speaks volumes for the rail "service" we are lumbered with in this country.

And the "can't do" attitude of the ex-rail staff on here is fairly typical of the culture.

Speaks someone who can't even manage to get on a 700 bus without the driver SPEEDING off , I wouldn't take any advice on using transport systems from someone like YOU

 

[vegster]

The basic infrastructure is Victorian. All those tunnels and viaducts won't last forever. Just needs one to fail and the whole line fails. Which WILL happen at some point. Nothing's surer, sadly.

This is compounded by the fact that the rail franchises don't ever " Buy Into " the rail network, they just have x number of years to make as much cash as possible from travellers and rail subsidies before running to the airport with suitcases stuffed with cash.. Add to that we are effectively too busy drowning in order to learn to swim when it comes to long term improvements and upgrades, everything seems to be a sticking plaster and a wing and a prayer... I always try not to look up when I am stuck at the lights under the viaduct just up from the Sainsbury's on Lewes road.

 

[Gwylan]

But as you pointed out it is something that is so rarely used these days why would you spend money on something that is rarely if ever used when you have such alternatives which other people use

Being able to have tickets sent to a mobile (as airlines and National Express do) wouldn't be rarely used, it's something that would be really, really useful. And I imagine a system that allows railway staff to talk to other railway staff without going through publicly available numbers would also be pretty useful.

They are not mutually exclusive. The technology is poor, the people are great. That's the story of 21st century life (not just on the railways) isn't it it ?

Ain't that the truth

 

[Easy 10]

Speaks someone who can't even manage to get on a 700 bus without the driver SPEEDING off , I wouldn't take any advice on using transport systems from someone like YOU

It was the disgusting attitude of the DRIVER, who shut the door in my FACE and drove off without so much as a backward GLANCE.

When I find out who he is, his family are BANG in trouble.

 

[Gwylan]

While we're at it the touchscreen ticket machines are like something from the Victorian era. Random parts of the screen don't work, you need to press the 'r' part of the screen about 10 times and then 15 'r's come up, searching for stations takes ages, sort the list by distance not alphabetically, oh its sunny don't bother using one then. The whole hardware and software is shoddy.

Indeed. As I mentioned earlier, virtually every query to the clerk next to mine was for tickets travelling today - the sort of thing that should be being handled by machine. Again, no complaints about the clerk who dealt with every query efficiently, cheerfully and showed one customer how she could save money. But buying a ticket from point A to point B shouldn't need the intervention of a human.

 

[Beach Hut]

Surely rolling out mobile ticketing nationwide would also be a worthwhile project?

Precisely the TOCs collective pay for the Rail Development Group (RDG) to do these type of projects very slowly.

 

[Springal]

Lets not forget the marvelous invention by Southern of 'THE KEY'

 

[GT49er]

That's a fair point, although I certainly praised him at the time. His name was Daniel and he performed heroically, I could tell he was just as frustrated as I was with the system.

I'm also thinking of writing to SASTA pointing out the shortcomings in the system but praising Daniel's patience and helpfulness

Good for you - and I'm really pleased to get that reply. If you felt there was any implied criticism in my post (and tbh I suppose there was) I withdraw it unreservedly. The railways aren't the only shambolic organisation that leaves usually its lowest paid employees out on the front line to face the wrath of the public - I spent a considerable part of my working life in a similar situation to Daniel's, hence my sympathy fr him (as well as for you and your difficulties).
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