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Scotrail omitting other operators' services from timetables

Tazi Hupefi

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Joined
1 Apr 2018
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1,026
Location
Nottinghamshire
At the very least there should be up-to-date posters provided.
Perhaps if e-ink had taken off - but as soon as you put the poster up, it's already out of date. If you can't rely on posters or printed materials to have the latest information - why publish them at all - at best, it's just indicative of what they plan to run in perfect conditions with no engineering works or resourcing constraints.
 
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pokemonsuper9

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20 Dec 2022
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Greater Manchester
Perhaps if e-ink had taken off - but as soon as you put the poster up, it's already out of date. If you can't rely on posters or printed materials to have the latest information - why publish them at all - at best, it's just indicative of what they plan to run in perfect conditions with no engineering works or resourcing constraints.
I feel like the solution to out of date timetable posters is to have a TVM page (at stations that have them) that shows the timetable (maybe even with an option to select different formats).
 

Buzby

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14 Apr 2023
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698
Location
Glasgow, Scotland
Is complaining that 20% of services running on a particular route are not shown on a timetable for that route, stretching incredulity?
On a printed timetable? Or online? If the former, that’lll be expected. If the latter, then that would be unforgivabl… but that isn’t the complaint!
 

bleeder4

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Joined
19 Jan 2019
Messages
285
Location
Worcester
I've really taken offence at this statement. What happens if you don't have or need to have a smartphone? I don't have one because I have no need for it. Do you expect me to pay say £20 per month for phone rental for something that I don't need so that I can look at a railway timetable.

I don't want to carry something around that's about the size of an A6 bit pf paper.

The world does not run on smartphones trust me!
Good for you. I never had one up until 2021. I only got one then because every place I went to wanted me either to scan a QR code and fill out my details, or display the NHS Covid pass. So I grudgingly had to get one. The only app I ever installed on it was the NHS app for the Covid pass. I still have it now but mainly just use it as an alarm clock. I think all these naysayers on here would be surprised exactly how much you can get done in life without a smartphone. Younger people are going back to dumb phones in their droves. 1 billion of them were sold in 2021, compared to 1.4 billion smartphones.
 

AlastairFraser

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Joined
12 Aug 2018
Messages
2,312
I feel like the solution to out of date timetable posters is to have a TVM page (at stations that have them) that shows the timetable (maybe even with an option to select different formats).
This would make a lot more sense than the traditional timetable format - you could either have it LNER app style (enter date and time, then click the timetable only bit) or just a special timetable button on the screen that you can filter down if you wish when you get it.
 

Krokodil

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23 Jan 2023
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2,955
Location
Wales
Perhaps if e-ink had taken off - but as soon as you put the poster up, it's already out of date. If you can't rely on posters or printed materials to have the latest information - why publish them at all - at best, it's just indicative of what they plan to run in perfect conditions with no engineering works or resourcing constraints.
Not really. The poster timetable will display the LTP timetable and should be good for several months. Engineering alterations should be displayed prominently a couple of weeks in advance. CIS screens display messages to the effect of "Weekend engineering work 6th-7th July, check your journey" which prompts passengers to look at the engineering work poster or ask a member of staff. That's what they do around here, and it seems to work.

You presumably won't complain that your train doesn't turn up as advertised in the paper timetable when it's been adjusted because of engineering works - because by your logic, you have no means to check?
Are there no "engineering work" posters put up where you are? Up here even the smallest request stops get them put up by the cleaner when they do their rounds.
 
Joined
30 Oct 2016
Messages
71
What's more, are there actually that many Scotrail only tickets available?
Anything bought with a Club50 card is only valid on Scotrail, including their £17 to anywhere in Scotland tickets. The only exception was TPE to Lockerbie, which wasn't served by Scotrail. I no longer have a club50 card so don't know what the position is with Reston.
 

hexagon789

Veteran Member
Joined
2 Sep 2016
Messages
16,005
Location
Glasgow
Anything bought with a Club50 card is only valid on Scotrail, including their £17 to anywhere in Scotland tickets. The only exception was TPE to Lockerbie, which wasn't served by Scotrail. I no longer have a club50 card so don't know what the position is with Reston.
ScotRail's website says 'any operator' under FAQs.
 

BRX

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Joined
20 Oct 2008
Messages
3,739
On a printed timetable? Or online? If the former, that’lll be expected.
I disagree. To most people, a train timetable shows the trains that run on the route the timetable is for. Not some of them, but all of them.

I wanted to check it wasn't just my imagination that Scotrail used to show all trains, so had a look on the internet archive.

This one is from 2019:

Screenshot 2024-07-02 at 23.15.30.jpg

And this one is from 2020:

Screenshot 2024-07-02 at 23.18.30.jpg

It seems that they started being excluded entirely from around 2021-ish.

Another thing that seems to have changed is the concept of showing connecting services in italics. That was always useful - as it made clear when services were intended as connecting.
 
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Bill57p9

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Joined
1 Dec 2019
Messages
507
Location
Ayrshire
I disagree. To most people, a train timetable shows the trains that run on the route the timetable is for. Not some of them, but all of them.
Agreed. Whilst it is a ScotRail timetable, I would have thought that most punters would reasonably expect to include available train services. I really do think that the Dunbar edition is the real travesty here as it shows something less than half the available services without making this obvious.
If ScotRail publish timetable posters at the stations missing other operator services then I w find that highly dubious behaviour.

I do find it interesting to read different views on whether paper (or e-paper) timetables still have a place in 2024. They do for me, but maybe I am a minority. (And for the record, I work in technology and consider myself progressive).

In terms of ScotRail only tickets other than advance, Kids for a Quid is certainly not accepted on XC. I am unsure about LNER, TPE or CS.
 

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