As temperatures drop, ScotRail Alliance teams will be out at key stations meeting customers and helping them to prepare for their winter travel.
In a series of winter roadshows taking place at busy stations across the country, customers can find out more about how the train operator will keep them informed about service disruption, including the ScotRail App, text alerts and station announcements. In particular focus this year is the commitment to update them by 4pm on the day before services are going to change or be cancelled due to adverse weather.
The roadshows are also an opportunity for the ScotRail Alliance to explain how weather can have a huge impact on trains and where some conditions make it too unsafe to run them.
In a first for winter 2016/17, operational teams can use an app that provides visibility of the location of replacement buses during planned and emergency work.
Bus partners use a tracking device when working on behalf of ScotRail which then updates an online management system. The system is being trialled with three bus companies around the country with a full roll out planned in February 2017.
This is initially intended as a staff tool but the intention is to show bus updates on customer systems in future.
Winter readiness teams will be at the stations during morning peak (7-10am) and in evenings (4-7pm). They’re keen to meet as many customers as possible and, as well as winter information leaflets, they’ll have some seasonal giveaways, including handwarmers and lip balms.
ScotRail’s Commercial Director Cathy Craig said: “Winter brings challenges for everyone using the railway, whether that’s due to disrupted timetables or even getting to the station due to poor weather conditions.
“Our teams work very hard to keep trains running and station facilities accessible to make sure everyone gets where they need to go. We’re introducing even more tools to give staff real-time information that can be passed to our customers.
“And these roadshows are another way to keep everyone in touch with us and we hope lots of our customers will stop for a chat.”
Notes
The roadshows will run as follows:
December
5 Edinburgh Waverley
6 Partick
7 Paisley Gilmour Street
8 Glasgow Central
9 Glasgow Queen Street
January
9 Bathgate
10 Stirling
11 Perth
12 Dundee
13 Inverness