Southeastern has been recognised at the Railway Innovation Awards, which is organised by Modern Railways for its programme of improvements in customer information which are set to bring positive change for the whole rail industry.

The rail operator was awarded the Innovation Award for the Passenger Experience category for its investment and improvements working with Worldline and Fabrik Communications.

The project has seen improvements, including:

A more personal approach:

• Southeastern‘s announcements have become more informative with a passenger-friendly touch an example of which is the delivery of delay information which has been simplified and features relevant information for customers –  “We’re sorry that the 10:02 service to London Charing Cross has been delayed and is now expected to arrive at 10:28, this is due to a trespasser on the line”.

Accurate delay information:

• Prior to the improvements, trains would have shown as being ‘delayed’ with no further detail as to how long passengers may have to wait, the rail operator now gives that information which provides reassurance to customers. This change also comes in response to customer feedback from early morning commuters as part of work with Worldline to improve the Customer Information System. Changes made see passengers provided with information important to them, such as the train’s current location.

‘Event-driven’ announcements:

• Southeastern now schedules announcements regarding events such as terminating trains which are very useful through times of engineering work where passengers need to use rail replacement bus services. The rail operator also makes passengers aware that they could be entitled to compensation following event-driven announcements.

Advertising the unavailability of lifts and toilets:

• This information is important to passengers and supports accessibility for all by allowing them the chance to use an alternative service with working toilets. For anyone with medical conditions, this information can be vital. Passengers travelling with limited mobility will find information regarding lifts being out of order at stations and the nearest station with working lifts/step-free access is extremely important, providing this information gives passengers the chance to select a station which is accessible to them. It is essential that train travel is accessible to all and this facility enhances customer experience a great deal.

Warning of Future Delays (WoFD) enhancements:

• Customers travelling with Southeastern are made aware of the risk of delay and the reason it is happening ahead of the train arriving at the disrupted location.

Typical train crowding levels:

• This important information provides passengers with the opportunity to decide which service they wish to use based on crowding levels and whether there is a possibility of being able to sit whilst travelling.

Enhanced information for partially cancelled and terminated services:

• Before the improvements were made to the Customer Information Service, a delayed train and its amended route with details of stations missed were given in a ‘pre-departure’ announcement which didn’t offer passengers the chance to change their travel plans. Southeastern has now introduced missed calling points detail in the first announcement alongside which is the next fastest train stopping at the stations which were cancelled.

Delay reason semi-automation:

• In the past, significant disruption would see delay reasons entered manually into the Customer Information Service, today, Southeastern’s changes now see passengers receive information about disruptions to their journey. An example of the changes can be seen when looking back to 2015, which saw just 18.9% of Southeastern trains delayed by over 5 minutes have a reason applied, today’s figures now show this application of detail at 83.3%.

A web-based app has been created to support the changes made by Southeastern and has seen a collaboration formed with Fab Digital to create the Southeastern Information Management System or SEIMS, which enables staff members to provide improved customer experience during times of disruption.

The console allows staff members to automatically monitor trains which have remained stationary for a period and means that no service is missed, giving passengers a chance to make alternate arrangements as well as discovering which stations will see a substantial service gap and where it is necessary to thin or cancel rail services.

Southeastern’s control room can also identify approaching issues allowing staff to pre-empt them via a time graph which prioritises problems based on immediacy or severity and classifies key train services which are now monitored in real-time.

A dynamic rail map now provides customers with an outline of the status of the network, offering an easy at a glance view with the ability to click through to a live departure board.

This facility empowers customers to find out how their journey could be affected and gives chance to make alternative arrangements.

An easy-to-understand traffic light system has also been put in place to indicate the service status of trains between stations. At times of disruption, the map also reveals information for bus, tube and alternate rail routes available to passengers.

John Till, Southeastern’s Head of Information Delivery said: “First and foremost, our customers want a reliable, punctual and affordable service, but we’re acutely aware that they want to be kept informed on when their service is expected, which platform it is on, and whether there’s any delay or cancellation.”

“Research shows us that giving passengers timely, accurate information can improve satisfaction levels with the way that planned disruption was managed.”

“That’s why we work to the principles of ‘four Cs’ for information delivery: clear, consistent, correct and concise.”

“Higher awareness of disruption also leads to greater acceptance of the alternatives – our customers can cope better with disruption and bus replacements if they’re able to plan for it.”

“We’re proud of this award which has resulted from a winning collaboration with our partners to develop ground-breaking, innovative and industry-leading enhancements, with our Worldline Customer Information System (CIS) driving CIS displays and automated PA announcements, and the work we’ve done with with Fabrik Communications to introduce new and innovative tools – such as our live map and information management system.”

“We constantly monitor the service we provide on board our trains and at our stations, through a mixture of mystery shopping and auditing, measuring key aspects of facilities and customer service. When it comes to customer information, our regular audits show that up to four in five passengers score us highly. But we won’t stop there.”

Johnny Astbury, Chief Executive Officer of Worldline UK and Ireland, said: “Here at Worldline, we understand how important clear and concise communication is for customers, especially in the context of transport and mobility.”

“We are proud to have had the opportunity to work in partnership with Southeastern and Fabrik to make integral improvements to passenger information systems and improve the passenger experience. Innovation and cooperation are core values of Worldline and it is great to see them in practice.”

Stewart Wells, Senior Project Manager for Fabrik Communications, said: “Fabrik is proud to have been involved in the development of the Dynamic Rail Map and Information Management System with Southeastern.”

“As rail users ourselves, we have a passion for using technology to improve the customer experience for rail users, a vision that we know Southeastern also share. We look forward to working closely with John and his team on future enhancements.”