TransPennine Express has worked with ScotRail in order to install the latest digital information screen at Lockerbie station in a bid to improve passenger experience by providing customers with interactive details about trains and services.
The innovative touchscreen digital information board will provide the following information:
- Live departures and arrivals
- Live journey planner
- Live disruption updates
- Onward travel information, such as local bus services
- Local walking directions
The innovative board also offers the choice for passengers to receive information using British Sign Language alongside 14 other languages, which will be available on the system during the summer months.
Kathryn O'Brien, Customer Service and Operations Director at TPE said:
“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and the introduction of the ultra-modern, interactive information screen will give them enhanced details in real-time about our services and destinations.”
“We're committed to enhancing accessibility and ensuring our customers feel confident travelling with us at all times and are extremely proud that we were one of the first train operators in the country to install BSL onto our message boards.
“We also know there are a lot of customers for whom English is not their first language and we're doing all we can to meet the needs of our entire customer base. Using data from the Office for National Statistics, we were able to determine the most common languages used by people along our network and look forward to being able to provide updates for customers in myriad of languages, from Polish to Punjabi.”
The uplift in technology for Lockerbie station is part of TransPennine Express' ongoing commitment to providing the best possible travel experience for customers using its network.
Is there long term revenue funding to keep the screen operable for the next decade or more?
The usual problem with on-station digital information (beyond dot matrix platform screens/departure boards) is the tech fails/needs upgrading after 5 years or less and while there was CapEx to initially install there isn’t the revenue funding to deal with failures later in life.
This isn’t a uniquely British problem, and is less problematic in rail than bus (Stoke on Trent bus station, stand up, also issues with similar digital systems in Germany),