Rail Delivery Group

Evolution in live train information will benefit passengers

date 28 June 2016   source Rail Delivery Group   type Press release

A national project to ensure that passengers see accurate and consistent train information across Britain’s rail network that will deliver a step change in our customers’ experience has been completed.

The new system will ensure our customers see the same live information however they choose to look for it – online, via an app, from station staff or on station screens – bringing an end to the confusion caused by different systems.

From today, the industry’s central system – known as ‘Darwin’ - will feed live information to railway station screens and to online channels, including the National Rail app, making it easier for our customers to plan their journeys. This will provide better support, particularly during times of disruption.

Darwin replaces 66 separate Customer Information Systems (CIS) operated by train operators and Network Rail, with one single system delivering consistency to the information we give to our customers.

The development is part of the industry’s strategy to improve customer information, which has pledged to provide timely, relevant, accurate and consistent information that is easily understandable and accessible wherever, whenever and however required. It will help all customers to make informed choices about their travel plans and improve the consistency of information rail staff give to passengers.

Jacqueline Starr, Managing Director for Customer Experience at the Rail Delivery Group, said:

“Our customers tell us that they want better information, especially when services are disrupted, and this project is an important step towards addressing that need.

“Many rail passengers will be familiar with the panic that sets in when they are waiting for a train and the screen on the station platform tells them one thing but the app on their phone says another. The improvements we're making today should bring an end to those moments.

"Being able to trust the origin of information on the railway is crucial for customers so that they can make the best decisions about their journeys. We know that we haven’t always got it right in the past, but we hope this change will make life that bit easier for our passengers.”

Notes to editors

o All of Britain’s rail stations that have CIS information screens installed will be covered by the harmonised system - around two thirds (approximately 1,600 stations) of the total number (around 2,500 stations nationally).
o All train operating companies and Network Rail have been involved with the project, replacing their own systems with the new national information feed. While CrossCountry, Grand Central and Hull Trains do not operate any of their own stations, the new system means that better management of train information at stations is possible for all train operators.
o ‘Darwin’ is Britain’s official train running information engine, providing real-time arrival and departure predictions, platform numbers, delay estimates, schedule changes and cancellations. It is the only system in the UK to take feeds directly from every train operator’s customer information system CIS, combining it with train location data provided by the railway infrastructure manager, Network Rail.
o The Darwin CIS Project represents an investment of £9 million and was funded by the National Stations Improvement Programme, which has provided real-time information, clearer way-finding and better waiting areas as well as accessibility improvements.

Railnews Archive ::: 2016-06-28 RDG-001

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