theironroad
Established Member
At the outset, I'll say that the listings provided by Real Time Trains, Open Train Times, Traksy etc are all a great and useful addition to real time info and are often used by rail staff as well as enthusiasts and the public.
However, I'm beginning to wonder if there is an over reliance on these sources especially when it effects the choices people make.
The data that powers these tools is open source data provided by network rail, but it is not fail safe.
There have been times where the data displayed on maps or listings is historically dated, a train may be showing at station A when in fact the train is now further down the line at station D, lulling people into a false sense that they may have more to to get their train etc.
Trains do run on the network at times (usually disruption) which may not be showing in the open source data, it is not safe to rely on these data sources to make potentially life threatening decisions.
In a couple of threads on here, (the girl killed at a foot crossing and the French cycle race and level crossings), people have suggested that RTT should be used or that RTT doesn't show any train running. These comments are from people using this site, who in general have a better knowledge of how the rail network runs.
Some station staff report that platform information shown on RTT isn't always accurate and people over rely on it. Platform alterations do happen at last minute and don't always reflect in RTT etc.
Having the data available is great and the sites showing it are great, but maybe there needs to be some stronger warnings on the sites themselves as to their limitations. I don't mean hidden away in small print, but in banner style red print on the pages showing the results.
However, I'm beginning to wonder if there is an over reliance on these sources especially when it effects the choices people make.
The data that powers these tools is open source data provided by network rail, but it is not fail safe.
There have been times where the data displayed on maps or listings is historically dated, a train may be showing at station A when in fact the train is now further down the line at station D, lulling people into a false sense that they may have more to to get their train etc.
Trains do run on the network at times (usually disruption) which may not be showing in the open source data, it is not safe to rely on these data sources to make potentially life threatening decisions.
In a couple of threads on here, (the girl killed at a foot crossing and the French cycle race and level crossings), people have suggested that RTT should be used or that RTT doesn't show any train running. These comments are from people using this site, who in general have a better knowledge of how the rail network runs.
Some station staff report that platform information shown on RTT isn't always accurate and people over rely on it. Platform alterations do happen at last minute and don't always reflect in RTT etc.
Having the data available is great and the sites showing it are great, but maybe there needs to be some stronger warnings on the sites themselves as to their limitations. I don't mean hidden away in small print, but in banner style red print on the pages showing the results.