Skip to main content

UK railways to benefit from information upgrade

More than US$13.44 million funding will be spent by train companies to boost passenger information at stations across the UK. The funding will pay for a national roll-out to link customer information screens at stations to the latest live real time train information data, fed from a database developed and maintained by train companies. The upgrade will be rolled out in around 2,000 National Rail stations. The first stations will be switched on in summer 2014 and the whole project is anticipated to be comp
January 3, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
More than US$13.44 million funding will be spent by train companies to boost passenger information at stations across the UK.

The funding will pay for a national roll-out to link customer information screens at stations to the latest live real time train information data, fed from a database developed and maintained by train companies.  The upgrade will be rolled out in around 2,000 National Rail stations.  The first stations will be switched on in summer 2014 and the whole project is anticipated to be complete in 2015.

The scheme follows successful trials at seventeen stations managed by Virgin Trains along the West Coast Main Line and across all the stations operated by Chiltern Railways. The funding is provided through the National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP) and the data will feed through from National Rail Enquiries (NRE).

Alec McTavish, NSIP lead for the Association of Train Operating Companies (1998 ATOC) said: “This funding is good news for passengers as it means every National Rail station with a customer information screen will be using the most up-to date ‘live’ train running information.

“With train travel more popular now than it has been for 90 years and over 1.4 billion trips made last year, operators know that passengers want the most up to-date information about their journey.

“Significant amounts of time and money have been invested in providing better, more consistent information for passengers. But we know that we can always improve, which is why operators are working with the rest of the industry and listening to passengers to find ways to keep on improving things even further.”

Train companies are working hard to continuously improve the information they give to passengers. Earlier this year NRE launched its own free smartphone app for iPhone and Android operating systems, offering UK passengers even more choice over how they access real time information about train journeys.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Will you allow winter weather to derail your transit operations?
    June 8, 2021
    JW Speaker's SmartHeat allows transportation managers to improve public transit safety
  • We know that ITS can reduce road deaths - this is a moral issue
    May 8, 2019
    If you live in one of the world’s poor countries you are three times more likely to die in a road accident than if you live in a richer country. This sobering finding comes from the latest World Health Organisation report on road safety (p41). That simply isn’t good enough. As WHO points out, proven solutions are available to improve the chilling statistics. These include better legislation and strong enforcement, of course, but technology must also be part of the mix. This is an economic issue - but it’s
  • Moovit digitises Irish CityLink transit
    July 27, 2021
    App identities wheelchair-accessible routes and stations across Ireland for travellers
  • Weather and traffic information direct to vehicle dashboards
    January 10, 2013
    Selected 2013 Toyota and Lexus models will feature the first consumer facing real-time delivery of information and graphics inside a vehicle, thanks to a three-year agreement between real-time traffic data provider Clear Channel Media and Entertainment’s Total Traffic Network (TTN) and Toyota Motor Sales USA. Real-time traffic and the Weather Channel information will be integrated into the vehicles’ dashboards via an HD radio signal. Toyota and Lexus audio systems launched on selected 2014 models will feat