It would be an exaggeration to say that the weekly newsletter from First Capital Connect (FCC) is essential reading. It is, though, useful when planning a train journey into London. The newsletter turns up at the end of each week with details of those weekend engineering works that can add hours to any journey.
Such information is particularly important in the case of FCC. It is responsible for the Thameslink service. The subject of a massive update programme, (see Transport Commentary, "Engineering on track", 8 September 2009), Thameslink rarely runs through London at the weekend, severing an important artery for anyone wanting to reach St Pancras and the Eurostar service from the south east. But effective travel planning also needs up-to-date information on what is happening now.
Most train operators provide "live running information" (or some similar terminology) on their websites. Where they fail is in delivering information that you can easily consult while you are actually on a train. This is where Twitter, the latest addition to the armoury of 'e-communication', could be invaluable. Forget about the drivelling of the 'Twitterati'; what is happening on the trains?
Outside organisations appear to be better at using these new communication tools. For example, while the otherwise tech-savvy Transport for London (TfL) offers a good web site for planning journeys, it seems to be a Twitter-free zone. On the other hand, BBCTravelAlert is a rare example of a decent use of Twitter, with a constant stream of travel news for road and rail travellers in the London area.
Even when organisations run Twitter feeds, few provide genuinely current information aimed at targeted audiences, such as travellers on a particular railway line. For example, the Thameslink programme has a Twitter feed that reports progress on this massive improvement to the network. Welcome as it is to know about planned station closures, what about disruptions on today's trains?
FCC also offers a Twitter feed on current conditions. There is just one problem. Live updates to this feed seem to have gone out on just one day early in July. The rest of the feed's news was general information, invitations to "Meet the Managers" for example. Why dive into new communications technologies if you lose interest within days of setting it up?
Fortunately, National Rail Enquiries maintains an up-to-date feed. But this covers the whole country, making it less useful for local journeys, which usually need more frequent updates. National Rail offers other useful "Travel tools". Unfortunately, too many of these rely on premium rate phone numbers or paying to receive text messages.
It seems that the UK's railway system is slowly moving into the 21st century in its attempts to inform passengers. It has, though, some way to travel before passengers can expect a consistent and easily accessible source of live information from different train operators and others involved in rail travel in the UK.
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