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New National Rail website

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Benjwri

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benbristow said:
I'd argue a beta site is better than the archaic mess that was the previous site.
Click to expand...
A beta site is, the site we had for a day where you could not access a journey planner of any form because the link was broken was not…
 
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D6975

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Love it - just took a look at the rover and ranger page and to get rid of the areas I wasn't interested in I chose Transpennine as the operator.
No 1 on the list was:

West Wight Wanderer Day Ranger​


:) :) :)
 
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Confused52

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I agree the site is useless without a via facility. At the moment if you choose a journey and let it select you can choose to edit the journey. That returns you to the old presentation and you can put via in there and the planner will redo the journey. I assume that is because they know it isn't ready, but seem to assume that experienced users with complex intentions will find their way on their own! Poor release design overall, the site is just a total mess and has been for some time. The way it tells you that need more than one ticket when I am deliberately choosing the journey to not needs multiple tickets gets very irritating.
 
bearhugger

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D6975 said:
Love it - just took a look at the rover and ranger page and to get rid of the areas I wasn't interested in I chose Transpennine as the operator.
No 1 on the list was:

West Wight Wanderer Day Ranger​


:) :) :)
Click to expand...
I found similar odd results when looking for Rovers in the North-East, plus most of what I looked at didn't have any map to show the validity of the ticket. I find the Rail Rover website much better as a resource for these products.
 
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MikeWM

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benbristow said:
Most public-sector (GOV.UK) sites launch as 'beta' - it's fairly common as they're releasing to the public but still doing user research & discovery.
Click to expand...

If you read what you linked to it clearly supports my point:

The beta phase is where you take your best idea from alpha and start building it for real. It also involves thinking about how your service will integrate with (or start to replace) existing services, and preparing for the transition to live.

If you’re replacing a legacy service, keep the legacy service running until your new service moves into its live phase.
Click to expand...
(bold mine)

Of course for a new service/product/website you can launch in beta until you're ready. For an existing service/product/website you run the beta alongside the active existing released version. But you don't *replace* an existing service/product/website with a beta. You just don't. In almost 25 years of experience in software development, I've never seen that even suggested.

Seeing lots of complaints about the new site here but it's a MASSIVE improvement from the old website.
Click to expand...

It clearly isn't a massive improvement if it worked before and now it doesn't, and the primary function of the site still isn't working on any of my iPads.
 
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father_jack

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I note the Rangers and Rover "list" isn't a list any more, it's mini descriptions in an A-Z format where it starts from "O" and goes to "Y" and then is a mismash afterwards !!! https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ticket-types/promotions/?promotionType=ranger-rover

Special Offers and Promotions​

promotions.png

Search by​


Type
AllPlusBusPromotionRailcardRanger or Rover

Train operator
AllAvanti West Coastc2cChiltern RailwaysCrossCountryEast Midlands RailwayElizabeth lineEurostarGatwick ExpressGlasgow Prestwick Airport LtdGrand CentralGreat NorthernGreat Western RailwayGreater AngliaHeathrow ExpressHull TrainsLNERLondon Northwestern RailwayLondon OvergroundLondon Southend AirportLondon UndergroundLumoMerseyrailNational RailNetwork RailNorthernScotRailSoutheasternSouthernStansted ExpressThameslinkTransPennine ExpressTransport for Greater ManchesterTransport for WalesWest Midlands RailwayWest Midlands Trains

Number of search results:95
Click to expand...

I'd gone there to look up Freedom Travelpass (Bristol area) but there's unhelpfully now no map although it's mentioned in the text which seems like it's just a paste of the leaflet.

Freedom Travelpass (Bristol Area) | National Rail

Special offer: Freedom Travelpass (Bristol Area). The portal into UK rail travel, including information on ticket purchase and promotions, train times and delays, and more.
www.nationalrail.co.uk www.nationalrail.co.uk

Overview​

Freedom Travelpass​

The Freedom Travelpass is a flexible ticket for unlimited train and bus travel within four zones. It's valid just for the day, for the week or for the calendar month - your choice!
The travel zones are shown on the map below, they are:
  • Zone A - Bristol City
  • Zone AB - Bristol Plus
  • Zone AC - Bristol and Bath
  • Zone ABC -Bristol, Bath, Nailsea & Yatton
  • Zone ABD - Bristol & Weston-super-Mare
  • Zone ABCD - Bristol, Bath & Weston-super-Mare
Freedom Travelpass is valid with the participating bus and rail operators named overleaf. Zone travel areas are shown on the map, with prices in the table below.
You can buy your day and week Freedom Travelpass from First West of England bus drivers, and from most bus and railway ticket offices.
You can buy a 1 day, 1 week or monthly ticket. A photocard is required for the monthly ticket, visit your local staffed station or bus ticket office for more details.

Details​

Permitted Travel Zones
Travel zone Peak 1-day Peak 7-day Peak 1-month
*(see below for new prices from 4th December 2023)
Prices Up and Including Saturday 3rd December 2022*
Zone A: Bristol £6.00 £27.00 £100.00
Zone A B: Bristol Plus £11.50 £50.00 £192.00
Zone A C: Bristol & Bath £11.50 £50.00 £192.00
Zone A B C: Bristol, Bath, Nailsea & Yatton £13.50 £59.00 £227.00
Zone A B D: Bristol & Weston-Super-Mare £13.50 £59.00 £227.00
Zone A B C D: Bristol, Bath & Weston-super-Mare £18.00 £76.00 £290.00
Prices from Sunday 4th December 2022
Zone A: Bristol £6.50 £29.00 £108.00
Zone A B: Bristol Plus £12.50 £52.00 £200.00
Zone A C: Bristol & Bath £12.50 £52.00 £200.00
Zone A B C: Bristol, Bath, Nailsea & Yatton £14.50 £61.00 £235.00
Zone A B D: Bristol & Weston-Super-Mare £14.50 £61.00 £235.00
Zone A B C D: Bristol, Bath & Weston-super-Mare £19.00 £80.00 £305.00

Participating train operators:
Great Western Railway
South Western Railway
CrossCountry Trains
Participating bus operators:
First West of England*
Stagecoach South West*
Stagecoach West*
South Gloucestershire Council (and supporting services)
Faresaver Buses
Mike's Travel Somerbus
ABUS
* Freedom can be purchased directly from these bus operators.
A photocard is required for the monthly Freedom Travelpass; these are available at railway ticket offices.

Further information​

For further information see

Validity​

Valid from​

From 7th March 2023

Valid in both directions​


Yes

Applicable Zone of Station(s)​

Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Oldfield Park, Keynsham, Severn Beach, Avonmouth, Shirehampton, Sea Mills, Clifton Down, Redland, Montpelier, Stapleton Road, Lawrence Hill and Filton Abbey Wood
Click to expand...
 
P

py_megapixel

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Rail Ranger said:
Thank goodness for Realtime Trains but the average user will not know that RTT exists.
Click to expand...
I'd be careful about using that for journey planning, particularly at short notice, as the Network Rail data feeds is uses aren't intended to be passenger-facing live running information. NRE, the TOC sites and some others use the Darwin feeds, which are intended for this purpose.

An example of where this can be an issue is where a TOC cancels a train a short notice. It will generally be reflected in Darwin relatively quickly, which updates those sites, informs passengers at stations by means of automated announcements and showing "Cancelled" on departure boards, and so on. Meanwhile, it's entirely possible that everything would appear normal in RTT until the scheduled departure time from the origin, at which point the only sign anything was wrong would be the fact that it hadn't departed.
 
Gaelan

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py_megapixel said:
An example of where this can be an issue is where a TOC cancels a train a short notice. It will generally be reflected in Darwin relatively quickly, which updates those sites, informs passengers at stations by means of automated announcements and showing "Cancelled" on departure boards, and so on. Meanwhile, it's entirely possible that everything would appear normal in RTT until the scheduled departure time from the origin, at which point the only sign anything was wrong would be the fact that it hadn't departed.
Click to expand...
I'm sure this is generally the case, but I've had at least one train (TPE's 16:04 Manchester Airport to Edinburgh on 20 March) that I'm pretty sure was cancelled on RTT long several hours before it was on Darwin.
 
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PsychoMouse

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Really don't like the redesign far too spread out and lots of empty space.

The disruption pages are the worst though, that purple banner is far too large, and where you used to be able to see all of the day's disruption on one page with drop down boxes for each item you now have to click each individual one to get detailed info. If you want to see a specific TOCs disruption you better hope it's not for Southwestern as they apparently don't exist.

It's a massive step back in design and user-friendliness.
 
trainophile

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Haven’t read the whole thread but have searched on a couple of relevant words, and it looks like nobody has mentioned the malfunction of the link to Advance tickets release dates. All I get is Page not found error 404. (Sorry edited as I put Googled when I meant searched, i.e. in our search box in this thread).

Does anyone know a way around this?
 
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pdeaves

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One thing I've just found lacking on the new site is station operators. For example, https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/swindon-wilts/ gives all sorts of information about Swindon station but does not tell the reader that it's a GWR station (that one is fairly obvious, others aren't). There is a link to https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/find-a-train-company/ that lists contact details for TOCs and (most) non-TOC station operators but there does not appear to be a way of joining up the information. The old site had operators for each station on the relevant page.
 
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py_megapixel

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pdeaves said:
One thing I've just found lacking on the new site is station operators. For example, https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/swindon-wilts/ gives all sorts of information about Swindon station but does not tell the reader that it's a GWR station (that one is fairly obvious, others aren't). There is a link to https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/find-a-train-company/ that lists contact details for TOCs and (most) non-TOC station operators but there does not appear to be a way of joining up the information. The old site had operators for each station on the relevant page.
Click to expand...
That Swindon page also contains a link to the "onward travel information" poster (under "bus"). It's broken. Firstly, why haven't they made sure the links work when moving to the new site, and secondly, why have they gone to the trouble of setting up a redirect so that it sends you to the homepage rather than giving you a Not Found error? Surely the only thing worse than something that doesn't work is something that silently does the wrong thing and doesn't tell you why.

The new site also apparently thinks that every metro system is the Underground (see Sheffield, for example).

Also, the cookie consent popup is just bad. "Reject all" should be "Strictly necessary cookies only", and they should set a cookie to stop the thing from appearing every time I load a page!
 
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Leisurefirst

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Where have the station maps gone?
Click on them and get an error message.
I needed this in a hurry this evening due to a disrupted journey and a change at an unfamiliar station :(
 
pdeaves

pdeaves

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Leisurefirst said:
Where have the station maps gone?
Click on them and get an error message.
I needed this in a hurry this evening due to a disrupted journey and a change at an unfamiliar station :(
Click to expand...
Some are there, some aren't. Looks like someone put all the links in (or set it to auto-generate all the links) even though not all items are available.
 
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ScotGG

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Probably already mentioned but it has the usual redesign problem seen across many sites of stretching out info requiring much scrolling. For example many live rail departures could previously be seen quickly and succinctly on a single page via mobile and desktop to work out what to do, and now it requires lots of scrolling.

That's rubbish when at a station trying to work out what's happening quickly. More hassle for staff as the website loses usability.
 
Sealink

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Some of the text leaves a lot to be desired. There is no 0810 Yate - Weymouth for a start.
 

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Confused52

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Via option still not in the journey request dialogue. It is like amateur hour become amateur month. Roll this rubbish back and do it properly.
 
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cocoiadrop

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I thought Adelaide Metro did a fine job with their recent website redesign which managed to ensure compliance with relevant Australian disability access guidelines yet remained functional, even with all the recent web design trends. https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/ Plenty of white space and large elements but you don't have to scroll down the page to see information. Meanwhile on the new NR site actual information on a disruption page is beyond the viewport of my Macbook's display, and there isn't a visual cue to scroll down.

The new site looks like a good step forward overall but a fine display of the recent obsession with excess white space and large elements in modern web design going too far.
 
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norbitonflyer

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pdeaves said:
Some are there, some aren't. Looks like someone put all the links in (or set it to auto-generate all the links) even though not all items are available.
Click to expand...
Some of the maps are missing from the Rover pages too - Cheshire is there but Lancashire is not, despite the relevant page saying to consult the map for validity.

Confused52 said:
I agree the site is useless without a via facility. At the moment if you choose a journey and let it select you can choose to edit the journey. That returns you to the old presentation and you can put via in there and the planner will redo the journey. I assume that is because they know it isn't ready, but seem to assume that experienced users with complex intentions will find their way on their own! Poor release design overall, the site is just a total mess and has been for some time. The way it tells you that need more than one ticket when I am deliberately choosing the journey to not needs multiple tickets gets very irritating.
Click to expand...
One enhancement I hope will become avilable when the fix the "via" issue of the Journey Planner is to specify different via points in each direction of a return journey. I may need to visit Newcastle and Leeds (from London) but I don't want to have to go to Leeds twice!

Most organisations selling versatile products are very keen to tell you everything they can do, but it is very difficult to find out what routes (and therefore breaks of journey) are possible with tickets (even seasons). How many holders of Southampton - London seasons know they can use it to get to Reading, or Brighton? It shouldn't be impossible to link the routing guide maps to the validity codes on tickets.
 
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GWVillager

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I've not read the whole thread so apologies if someone has already pointed this out, but on the new home page you don't seem to be able to plan a journey for a child (or children) travelling alone. There seems to need to be at least one adult: why? Children are allowed to travel on the railway alone, why doesn't the site reflect this?

On a separate note I absolutely love the little double arrow beside each station name on the drop down box.
 

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py_megapixel

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GWVillager said:
I've not read the whole thread so apologies if someone has already pointed this out, but on the new home page you don't seem to be able to plan a journey for a child (or children) travelling alone. There seems to need to be at least one adult: why? Children are allowed to travel on the railway alone, why doesn't the site reflect this?
Click to expand...
I would assume incompetence rather than malice. They just haven't set it up properly.

Also, I've just discovered that clicking the "Get times and prices" button on the full site leads to the journey planner results page (as it should), but if I resize the browser window so that it shows the mobile interface, the same button leads to the service disruptions page - what on earth?
 
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I wish they would reinstate the previous format as trying to locate and browse through the detail of current disruptions is a right faff!
 
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alistairlees

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GWVillager said:
I've not read the whole thread so apologies if someone has already pointed this out, but on the new home page you don't seem to be able to plan a journey for a child (or children) travelling alone. There seems to need to be at least one adult: why? Children are allowed to travel on the railway alone, why doesn't the site reflect this?

On a separate note I absolutely love the little double arrow beside each station name on the drop down box.
Click to expand...
Although they have used the double arrow for all locations, including those (such as Leeds Bradford Airport) that have neither a railway station nor train services.
 
GWVillager

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alistairlees said:
Although they have used the double arrow for all locations, including those (such as Leeds Bradford Airport) that have neither a railway station nor train services.
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The DLR has a sort of logo of its own, a few others too might. Still it's certainly not perfect, clearly a beta as with the other issues.
 
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josh-j

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I much prefer the design to the old site (though clearly that's a matter of taste) but at the moment it does seem like they maybe made it live a bit early! Broken functionality isn't great.
 
DaveB10780

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ScotGG said:
Probably already mentioned but it has the usual redesign problem seen across many sites of stretching out info requiring much scrolling. For example many live rail departures could previously be seen quickly and succinctly on a single page via mobile and desktop to work out what to do, and now it requires lots of scrolling.

That's rubbish when at a station trying to work out what's happening quickly. More hassle for staff as the website loses usability.
Click to expand...
Yes indeed a fine example of how to show the minimum amount of useful data in the maximum space. Designed in case you can't see very well and you have forgotten your glasses. There are some pages where there is very little useful information without scrolling. For reasons I do not understand this is the de facto new design model nowadays. Maybe this is all they teach at Universities. A good start would be to make the banner about a third the size and carry on in like manner.
 
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Adam Williams

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I noticed on the live departures page today that my Chiltern service was showing "Few seats available". I assume this comes from Darwin? If so, I didn't think that Darwin had live loadings information for anything other than a minority of GTR services - so is it just a blatant lie based on historical average, manually collected loadings data or am I missing something?
 
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Benjwri

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Adam Williams said:
I noticed on the live departures page today that my Chiltern service was showing "Few seats available". I assume this comes from Darwin? If so, I didn't think that Darwin had live loadings information for anything other than a minority of GTR services - so is it just a blatant lie based on historical average, manually collected loadings data or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Darwin has started reporting loading data for Chiltern recently, so it’s likely based off that. How accurate it is to do with Chiltern, not the new site.
 
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