New National Rail website

[JaJaWa]

It seems that a new National Rail website is starting to roll out, some pages such as https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/on-the-train/ have changed over to the new design. As Great British Railways (GBR) is meant to replace the National Rail and TOC sites I thought we might have to wait for that but GBR is now "up in the air".

According to https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/national-rail-beta.aspx

We’re just at the start of the journey to upgrade the website. The improvements won’t be happening overnight, but you might start to come across some of our new-look pages.

The full update will be revealed in stages, starting November 2022 and over the next few months.
You can look forward to a site with a clearer, modern design, making it even easier and quicker to find what you’re looking for. And there will also be better information, travel tips and inspiration for your journeys.
Whether you are using a computer, a mobile device or a tablet, it'll still be National Rail, the same trusted source for train information.

 

[htafc]

Interesting.
As we all know the NRE website has been due a refresh for a long time...

 

[WizCastro197]

It seems that a new National Rail website is starting to roll out, some pages such as https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/on-the-train/ have changed over to the new design. As Great British Railways (GBR) is meant to replace the National Rail and TOC sites I thought we might have to wait for that but GBR is now "up in the air".

According to https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/national-rail-beta.aspx


View attachment 124954

Good, needed an update, the old one honestly looked really bad and fake for an official website

 

[Merseysider]

Good, needed an update, the old one honestly looked really bad and fake for an official website

Add ancient to that list

New font looks much more fresh / modern.

 

[alistairlees]

This project has been going on for about three years. I don’t think the journey planner is in scope (unless that has changed).

 

[zwk500]

Good, needed an update, the old one honestly looked really bad and fake for an official website

I don't think it looked fake, just out of date. It's like when you look at old BBC articles or previous versions of their website.
I hope the new version will look slightly nicer than the screengrab upthread

 

[mirodo]

Any chance of them updating the dreadful mobile app as well? The iOS version looks like something from the dark ages.

 

[12C]

It seems that a new National Rail website is starting to roll out, some pages such as https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/on-the-train/ have changed over to the new design.

Some interesting stock images used on that particular page. Catering shows a Mk1 (I think) on presumably a charter train laid out with white tablecloth and first class shows a 1950s BR totem window label. Rather twee but not exactly promoting the modern railway!

 

[alistairlees]

Some interesting stock images used on that particular page. Catering shows a Mk1 (I think) on presumably a charter train laid out with white tablecloth and first class shows a 1950s BR totem window label. Rather twee but not exactly promoting the modern railway!

Perhaps a reflection of how long ago they started to develop this?

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Some interesting stock images used on that particular page. Catering shows a Mk1 (I think) on presumably a charter train laid out with white tablecloth and first class shows a 1950s BR totem window label. Rather twee but not exactly promoting the modern railway!

Maybe because very few modern trains offer good quality catering.

 

[JaJaWa]

Any chance of them updating the dreadful mobile app as well? The iOS version looks like something from the dark ages.

There are third party apps (e.g. Railboard https://apps.apple.com/app/id1278747705) that use the same NRE data and journey planner, so I’d recommend going with one of those for now.

 

[DelW]

This project has been going on for about three years. I don’t think the journey planner is in scope (unless that has changed).

The desktop version of the website journey planner isn't too bad, though dated looking, but the mobile version is awful, looks like it was designed for a really low resolution phone screen. Annoyingly that's often the version that comes up even on a high resolution tablet and it's really clunky and awkward to use.

 

[Mikey C]

Add ancient to that list

New font looks much more fresh / modern.

And (for me certainly) had a tendency to crash, necessitating clearing all the National Rail cookies to get it to work again!

 

[londonmidland]

The main National Rail webpage is still in its original 4:3 aspect ratio as opposed to 16:9 (which pretty much everyone has as standard these days for their monitors) as well as the iOS app is rendered in a horrendously low resolution format. I think the format is from the iPhone 5 screen size days?

 

[mirodo]

There are third party apps (e.g. Railboard https://apps.apple.com/app/id1278747705) that use the same NRE data and journey planner, so I’d recommend going with one of those for now.

I’m using Railboard at the moment. Would like something that has a decent watch app as well. I had been using ByTrain, but that’s being discontinued.

 

[WizCastro197]

I’m using Railboard at the moment. Would like something that has a decent watch app as well. I had been using ByTrain, but that’s being discontinued.

Unfortunately it seems the only alternative on Apple Watch seems to be NRE which looks alright on there, as it is Apple's typefaces and overall UI.

 

[johntea]

I've always considered the railway a bit like banks, everyone has their own preference or needs when it comes to train operators and will therefore always be more inclined towards the individual operator websites / apps rather than National Rail

For mobile live departures and journey planning I use Railboard which is fine but I still oddly miss the 'UK Train Times' app that sadly never got any further updates after a certain point and doesn't even load up at all on more recent iOS versions, it was the best £4.99 I ever spent

 

[py_megapixel]

This long overdue. It looks quite nice as well. (Though why on earth aren't they using the Rail Alphabet 2 font that was commissioned specifically for use in railway materials? I thought they were supposed to be creating a standard identity for the railway!)

Let's just hope they bother actually maintain in properly. The appearance isn't the only issue with the current version; the quality of the information was also severely lacking.

 

[miklcct]

How about the Android app? I think that the official National Rail app is the only journey planner which offers 'only showing the fastest trains' as an option, and the only one which offers a widget as well.

 

[dastocks]

Though why on earth aren't they using the Rail Alphabet 2 font that was commissioned specifically for use in railway materials? I thought they were supposed to be creating a standard identity for the railway!

As I understand it Rail Alphabet 2 is designed specifically for signage so it's unlikely to be a suitable font for a web page.

 

[Lewlew]

I’m using Railboard at the moment. Would like something that has a decent watch app as well. I had been using ByTrain, but that’s being discontinued.

I use this…

‎UK Live Train Times

‎Departure times / Arrival times and platform data for all National Rail stations, powered by National Rail Enquiries’ real-time data feeds. • Journey planning across the National Rail network • Live departures and arrivals at all National Rail stations, with predicted and actual platform...

apps.apple.com

Which has a nice watch app although I’m not sure what your needs are

 

[JacobWrenn]

As I understand it Rail Alphabet 2 is designed specifically for signage so it's unlikely to be a suitable font for a web page.

My interpretation was that it was commissioned with versions suitable for digital and print. However I did understand it to be a Network Rail initiative which would explain why it’s not being used here.

 

[Adam Williams]

Long, long overdue. Frankly it's been embarrassingly antiquated for years, no proper responsive design, a neglected set of mobile apps. Leaves a very poor impression on tourists and the public alike.

Is it a grand total of .. nine pages that are now using the new redesign?

I really hope the pace picks up a bit from here on out.

 

[py_megapixel]

As I understand it Rail Alphabet 2 is designed specifically for signage so it's unlikely to be a suitable font for a web page.

A font being designed for signage doesn't inherently make it unsuitable for digital use. For example, the NHS uses Frutiger everywhere. In fact, the design manual itself (which is digital) is set in RA2!

 

[jackot]

It is looking good so far I think. Simple but easy to navigate. I could use a lot of words to describe the existing website, but 'user-friendly' isn't one of them.
The design is quite nice, but it is going to take them a while do update every page I would imagine. On the whole I'm excited to see how they redesign the rest of the site and eventually the app.

Why they have decided to quote the lyrics from Queen's Bicycle Race I do not know, just seems a forceful way to add a 'british' and 'human touch' to the website in my opinion.

 

[Vexed]

I went to look for live departures on the old site and was redirected to a new page which looks pretty good. It was still the old one when I last used the site a few days ago so I think this is new. Slow progress but at least it looks to be well done.

Real Time Live Trains Board | National Rail

Check National Rail live trains real time status and departure boards for all train stations. Get train times, station and platform details before departure.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

Edit: I'm not quite sure what I clicked to get there as https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ldb.aspx doesn't redirect to the new page so it might actually have been live for a while

 

[Deepgreen]

I have long since given up using the NRE site for journey planning, along with TOCs' sites - I just use RTT and make my own decisions about likely connection opportunities, etc.

 

[Vexed]

I have long since given up using the NRE site for journey planning, along with TOCs' sites - I just use RTT and make my own decisions about likely connection opportunities, etc.

I generally do the same but I saw two consecutive cancellations of Thameslink's 9Rs (Bedford - Three Bridges) both listed on RTT with cancellation code MS. RTT described this as replaced with a slower train, but no such train exists on RTT. I checked on NRE to see if it would have this mythical slower train (spoiler: no) but instead listed the same train as cancelled due to more trains that usual requiring repairs!

 

[Future]

both listed on RTT with cancellation code MS. RTT described this as replaced with a slower train, but no such train exists on RTT.

RTT has some interesting interpretations of some cancellation codes, to say the least. MS is a generic code for anything relating to stock allocations — its actual definition is ‘Planned underpowered or shortformed service and or vehicle, incl. exam set swaps’

 

[Vexed]

Having a bit more of a look it does seem live trains weren't part of the initial version but are Phase 2 https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/national-rail-beta.aspx. As I'm not sure when it actually happened I guess the only way to see if they're on track is when Phase 3 (Tickets, Restriction Codes and Promotional tickets) comes online which should be early April.