Train information – ORR reports on improvements needed

Yellow road sign with graphic of bus and words "Replacement bus stop"

ORR asks the train sector to improve information giving on planned engineering works

The train network is still suffering from problems of reliability. And, when scheduled services don’t run, getting information about replacement train and bus services can sometimes be impossible.

Today (30 November 2023) the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has published a report Passenger information when rail replacement services are in use regarding the consistency and usefulness of passenger information when there are planned engineering works.

The ORR report discusses several areas of concern where improvements are needed.

These include:

“Improving the quality of advance information provided online; including by ensuring better consistency of information, and by making it clearer which part of the route will have a train service and which will be operated by a rail replacement service.

Ensuring that rail replacement services are shown in live departure information at stations and online so that it is clear it is possible to travel to a destination even though trains are not running.

Improving information provided about stations on National Rail Enquiries, including providing information about engineering works on station pages and links to onward travel posters, that include bus-stop maps and local information.

Ensuring that rail replacement services display their destination on the bus, and that passengers are informed when a rail replacement service is approaching a stop.”

The ORR did find some areas of good practice. For example, passengers are informed in advance of rail replacement services when buying tickets online, but that was about it!

The regulator has asked train operators and Network Rail to improve and to provide feedback on how they are addressing the issues raised in the report. It will carry out further field work during Spring 2024.

It is discussing the broader findings with the Rail Delivery Group Customer Information Group and has asked the whole sector to work together and explore making real-time bus location data available to passengers.

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said:

Planning and making a journey on a planned rail replacement bus service should be as straightforward as when travelling by train, however our study showed this is not always the case.
Operators must think more about their passengers, and not leave them in the dark because of a lack of clear and consistent information, especially now that the passenger experience of information on regular buses is much better than it used to be.
Industry must work harder to ensure that the frustration and worry for passengers who had intended to travel by rail is not exacerbated.”

I think we wait to see what happens, but any improvements in the sector will be very much welcomed!

How to save money on train travel.

Help to complain about train travel

How to complain about train journeys (or the lack of them!)

Further advice and help with complaining about transport

All you need to know about booking/complaining about holidays/flights/travel masses of information about all areas of your holiday.

And for everything else to complain about effectively GET THE BOOK! How To Complain: The ESSENTIAL Consumer Guide to Getting REFUNDS, Redress and RESULTS!

Want to get better at complaining? See 101 Habits of an Effective Complainer.

Save yourself time and effort finding the laws and wording a letter of complaint. Download a template, fill in your details and get that redress

Purchase downloadable templates to gain redress.

How to save money by haggling

Yesterday at 12:24

hand holding a green hose with water spraying out

What does the hosepipe ban really mean for water customers?

12 Aug at 15:07

brown background words an end to subscription traps above a lock filled with blue pound signs

Action on Subscription Traps – it’s about time!

10 Aug at 23:37

Newsletter Sign Up

If this site or a response from me has helped you, please consider buying me some chocolate (don’t like coffee!) to help me continue to provide this free advice. Thank you!

Buy Me A Coffee

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Empowering people with gusto

“The critical thing is empowering people and part of empowerment is making people understand their legal rights more and it’s theirs, being able to identify the persona in authority to make a decision and having the elbow when somebody says “no” to say “well I’m sorry..” and those are the three things and I think you do that with gusto and are an example in that regard.”

“How to Complain

Helen Dewdney’s How to Complain is a masterclass in asserting your rights with wit, precision and just the right amount of righteous fury. It’s the book every consumer didn’t know they desperately needed – until now.”

“101 Habit of an Effective Complainer

If complaining is an art form, Helen Dewdney is Rembrandt. This book is easy to follow, beautifully written and – above all – teaches us that complaining effectively doesn’t require rudeness or angry sharp elbows. Dewdney’s book is a brilliant reminder that being a successful complainer (or getting what you were entitled to in the first place) is simple to achieve and can even be fun. Her superb how-to guide isn’t for ‘complainers,’ it’s for anybody who has ever been a consumer and been let down – it’s for all of us.”

“How to Get Free PR and be Paid for it

Helen Dewdney writes with fearless clarity and she’s done it again… She’s one of my few and regular go-tos, especially for how to approach consumer issues or in the event of an urgent sense check. This book is packed full of great and creative ideas for building up excellent PR, establishing yourself as the expert and keeping the momentum going. She is – hands down – a mega star in the world of consumer affairs and in this latest book, on PR, she shares how you can do it for yourself.”

Rob Rinder

Journalist, TV Judge barrister, presenter