Station minimum interchange time differentials

[ThisIsSurbiton]

Is the difference to encourage people to change at less busy stations?

There's other data to influence where to change - the 'interchange status' is a value between 0 and 3, and journey planners should prefer stations with a higher number. The purpose is to have people change at a station with more facilities, so usually the busiest. I don't know if any stations have ever been artificially 'downgraded' to prioritise changing elsewhere. I mean, New Street has fantastic facilities, but I don't know if I'd want to change there.

It's a shame that the interchange times aren't varied by location rather than TOC. At Clapham Junction for instance, you might need more time to change between SWR services than between an SWR and a Southern. This could have been done by using the more specific TIPLOC location codes that are the basis of the timetable, sprawling stations having more codes. (I realise I have just done a "PIN number" there.)

 

[MikeWh]

At Clapham Junction for instance, you might need more time to change between SWR services than between an SWR and a Southern.

Surely you'd need more time to change between SWR (Richmond lines) and Southern than between the two parts of SWR?

 

[plugwash]

There's other data to influence where to change - the 'interchange status' is a value between 0 and 3, and journey planners should prefer stations with a higher number. The purpose is to have people change at a station with more facilities, so usually the busiest. I don't know if any stations have ever been artificially 'downgraded' to prioritise changing elsewhere.

I have certainly seen planners spit out oxford road as an interchange location, even when it would involve a doubleback, so I wonder if pircadilly has been downgraded.

Is this "interchange status" publicly visible?

 

[SargeNpton]

I have certainly seen planners spit out oxford road as an interchange location, even when it would involve a doubleback, so I wonder if pircadilly has been downgraded.

Is this "interchange status" publicly visible?

Oxford Road is a 5 minute change whereas Piccadilly is 10 minutes. So a connection that is not valid at the latter may be quoted at the former The interchange status would only come into play if the minimum change time at both stations allowed connections between the same pair of trains.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Oxford Road is a 5 minute change whereas Piccadilly is 10 minutes. So a connection that is not valid at the latter may be quoted at the former The interchange status would only come into play if the minimum change time at both stations allowed connections between the same pair of trains.

The irony of which being that a connection involving Castlefield at Picc is going to be same or cross-platform, while at Oxford Road it might involve the (too small and crowded) footbridge. There really could do with being the option to change it for specific destinations.

 

[plugwash]

Oxford Road is a 5 minute change whereas Piccadilly is 10 minutes. So a connection that is not valid at the latter may be quoted at the former The interchange status would only come into play if the minimum change time at both stations allowed connections between the same pair of trains.

That is true, but it takes time to get from picadilly to oxford road and back. Pretty sure the itineraries I've seen would have been valid at both and the planner chose oxford road.

 

[DB]

Whatever Leeds is normally, double it at the moment due to the brain-dead one-way system. Want to get from Plafrom 1 to Plafrorm 17? That'll mean a tour of the whole station...

 

[Ianno87]

I have certainly seen planners spit out oxford road as an interchange location, even when it would involve a doubleback, so I wonder if pircadilly has been downgraded.

Is this "interchange status" publicly visible?

That would explain why, for some journeys like Cambridge-St. Neots, journey planners will suggest a double-back via Stevenage when you can change between the same trains (with a longer allowance) at Hitchin, as Stevenage is a "better" station.

The irony of which being that a connection involving Castlefield at Picc is going to be same or cross-platform, while at Oxford Road it might involve the (too small and crowded) footbridge. There really could do with being the option to change it for specific destinations.

Doing a journey like Sheffield-Bolton, a change at Piccadilly will be suggested (off a train into the main shed then over the bridge to P14) rather than a nice cross-platform interchange at Stockport onto the same train.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

Surely you'd need more time to change between SWR (Richmond lines) and Southern than between the two parts of SWR?

A bit more, yes, but SWR-SWR is further than SWML-BML isn't it... Difficult to cater for every change, I'm sure.

Is this "interchange status" publicly visible?

It would be in the open data version of the timetable, is that being kept up-to-date? Piccadilly and Oxford Road both have a value of 2, so Oxford Road would always win if you're starting and ending the journey to the west. Perhaps this is why Piccadilly doesn't have the top status of 3, to take some of the traffic away.

 

[SickyNicky]

Is this "interchange status" publicly visible?

It is visible on brtimes.com - here's the link to Gatwick, for example - https://www.brtimes.com/!board?stn=GTW&date=20201203

 

[infobleep]

It is visible on brtimes.com - here's the link to Gatwick, for example - https://www.brtimes.com/!board?stn=GTW&date=20201203

I've never understood why the connection time needs to be 10 minutes at Gatwick Airport and if it is reasonable then why 5 minutes is considered suitable for some services. I mean Southern trains use platform 1 to 7.

A friend and family were once routed rom Hastings to Guildford via Tonbridge, with 2 changes, one of which included at least one 5 minute connection time. Late train and a reasonable wait likely.

Alternative was via Gatwick Airport with 1 change but as the time between services was 9 minutes it didn't show up. Now surely 9 minutes is better than 5 minutes?

So I advised them to go via Gatwick Airport. This they did. Alas due to some track or signalling issue, they got delayed from Gatwick Airport Oh well the intention was there at least.