Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has taken on a multi-million-pound programme in a bid to provide its passengers with a better all-around journey experience.
So far GTR has installed or refurbished an enormous 1,500 square metres of waiting rooms along with shelters and canopies, also a massive 3,000 brand new seats.
Govia Thameslink Railway is the parent company of Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern whose passengers are returning to rail following the easing of lock-down restrictions and these brand new features and facilities are intended to offer them a better overall travel experience as life gets back to normal.
GTR has also installed 100 new customer information screens throughout its network.
The screens feature the latest technology with information appearing much clearer, in multicolour, and can now be displayed graphically, which would mean a visual measure of the length of the train approaching.
The most important thing about the new screens is that they match the latest accessibility requirements and are also far more reliable than their previous versions.
55 Stations on the network will benefit from at least one of the new screens with stations like Potters Bar seeing all 14 of their old screens replaced and Oakleigh Park finally getting rid of its 20-year-old screens for the newer models. Hadley Wood and Knebworth have both seen replacements along with brand new screens installed.
The Govia Thameslink Railway improvement programme was launched in September 2020 and involves more than 1,000 projects, quite a few of which have been requested directly by passengers or community groups. Other areas covered in the programme are providing improved station ambience which has included redecoration, planting and the addition of artwork all of which have incorporated considerable input from local communities. Comfort and safety have also been high on the agenda, which includes waiting rooms, shelters, seating, lighting, information screens, defibrillators and accessibility.
Tom Moran, Managing Director for Thameslink and Great Northern, said: “We are installing plenty of new screens where our passengers told us they were most needed, as well as replacing some older screens with new ones. Putting additional screens towards the end of platforms – the north end of Platform One at Letchworth Garden City is a prime example – encourages passengers to spread out. This helps minimise crowding at busy times, which also speeds up boarding and improves punctuality. We've also installed more screens near station entrances because providing information before passengers go through the gates can save them time and effort.”
“To make your stations more comfortable there are now 25 new or refurbished waiting rooms, over 100 shelters and canopies, nearly 3,000 new seats and 90 re-furbished toilets. That's more shelter than you'd get from 2,000 umbrellas, and enough new seats to fill the Royal Festival Hall!”
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Maybe Govia Thameslink Railway should extend their franchise because they made lots of improvements to railway stations on Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern networks. And with the Class 700s pretty much dominating the whole Thameslink core network.