Creative Thinking for Future Heritage Railway Schedules

The thing is times have changed and everyone has to adapt to the new normal, for preserved railways the choice is stark, run a covid aware service, and that includes pre booking, or don't run anything at all, turn up and go I don't think is an realistic option any more, the availability to book, and pay on line in advance has also changed how people might decide to use their leisure time, How many people now shop on line, for their main shop, or buy on line instead of going to the store? isn't this a new thing now, its how we now live, at the click of a mouse, and our leisure activities now reflect this, For Steam railways, it has two very good things, they get your money in advance, so can pay bills etc, and allocated seats means if your a party, you are guaranteed of sitting together, Gala's etc i think will from now be mostly pay in advance, it certainly gives the railway a boost, as they soon know what the take up is, and can add more carriages, if they need to , imagine turning up on the day, to be told, sorry we are all booked up, and often buy in advance is cheaper than taking the chance on the day. plus it takes the financial risk of staging the gala down a bit, as the more that book on line, the more money the railway can bank against the costs involved.

 

I wasn’t suggesting that the railway would be *blamed* for the weather, simply pointing out that “go from A to B for a nice day at the beach” and “when the weather is bad and you want to avoid the beach, have a train ride possibly from B to A” are totally different propositions, attractive to different groups of people, and by pre-booking one, you potentially cut yourself off from the other.

Furthermore, I’ve been on holiday when I’ve gone to bed expecting to do something the next day, and when the next day has dawned the weather has turned and my wife says “I’m not going anywhere in this!” and the plan has changed. I’m sure most of us have had similar experiences. So yes, if I am forced to drag the whole family out against their will to ride on a train in the rain, even if the train ride itself is exactly as advertised, we have started off on the wrong foot, they don’t want to be here, oh and by the way it is too expensive and no I don’t want to leave this carriage to look in the shed/museum and by the way I’m never going to another railway again... I can hear it now!

Pre-booking for services where demand exceeds supply or where there is a significant add-on attraction (Santas, train of lights, dining trains) is fine and your theatre analogy sort-of works for these. Likewise the ability to pre-book so a large group can travel together is helpful. But for an ordinary train pootling up and down on an ordinary day, the train *is* the attraction, and there your theatre analogy falls down. Nobody goes to the theatre just for the experience of sitting in it!

I’m sorry but I just don’t recognise this. Even in the last couple of years we have seen the growth of the ‘train of lights’ so right there we have an example of railways trying new things, hardly “ploughing on regardless”.

That sounds like a solution looking for a problem. Personally, I no more want or expect wi-fi or phone charging points on a heritage railway than I do on the beach. And certainly with young children, a leaflet is a much better proposition; giving them something to colour in, or a wordsearch, or some kind of quiz to fill in to claim a gift at the end of their day, is helpful. Making them all want to grab my phone is not.

Coffee chains provide wifi because they want to keep people there for longer (so they can sell more coffee), not so that people can look up “fun things to so in Starbucks”. Some of these people then end up using the cafe as an office. But they are not charging for the seat so the comparison isn’’t really valid. From a railway perspective, investing in wifi because you want to trap people in their seat is unnecessary as they are pretty much yours until the train gets back. It’s also a risky investment given the rate of technological change. I’m in no way opposed to the use of technology when it makes life easier (online booking systems, inter-station comms and so on) but making it part of the customer experience is, to my mind, actually deviating away from the nostalgic experience we are trying to sell rather than adding to it.


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I'm going to add some thoughts from the perspective of a volunteer, enthusiast and also local resident- 21B might be along to correct me on a few of these musings but I will try not to go too far into the realms of fantasy. With regard to the Mid-Hants, the 2020 COVID timetable gives a one and a bit round trip on the train- I.e full run Alresford-Alton and back or vice versa, plus a bit of shuttling from between Alresford-Ropley and Medstead. This gives a train ride plus extra opportunities for watching the loco run round, which seems an attraction for many passengers. There is a lay-over at Ropley with the opportunity to see the displays there, visit the Harry Potter bridge, play area, the carriage restoration viewing gallery etc and have a cup of coffee. This has the advantage of highlighting the educational aspect of the charitable function of the MHR as well as providing a wider range of activities that can be tailored to the weather conditions. In future Ropley has the potential to provide expanded and improved catering and retail facilities, as well as extra interactive displays such as a "Signalling Experience" I think for a "curated experience" this has a lot of potential and the layover at Ropley seems to have been apprecciated by customers versus a straight up and doen the line trip.
Future fare structures could easily incorporate a more expensive "day rover" ticket which would allow those that wish more than one round trip- I don't see that having some coaches on a service "pre-book" only and some as a turn up on the day, (or book on-line on the day of travel, in case you want to check the weather) would be a massive problem for any railway. This would hopefully keep the non-enthusiast and enthusiast customers happy, still allow for pre-booked coach parties, provide opportunities to increas secondary spend, give the railway a better idea of loadings prior to the day and generally be a win-win situation.
I realise this is just my take on the railway I know best and other service patterns and booking models will apply to other railways, but as I have said before the horrible circumstances this year (and probably for a big chunk of next) do provide an opportunity to examine what we all do and maybe think of better ways to do them.

 

I think with a higher pricing point there will come greater expectations by passengers about what the experience is going to deliver. 'Value for money' is going to be one of the things that passengers are going to look at.

Front of house volunteers are going to be even more critical in delivering that experience - whether it is platform, museum, shops, cleaning, catering, or on train staff.

 

Pretty spot on! One problem which may be found with a high proportion of advance sales is that a computer system which was adequate formerly may grunt, particularly with things such as dog tickets or "curated experiences", should these come about. System update ahoy!

However, I think COVID 19 has finally consigned Edmondson tickets to the museum. Judging from online comments, passengers seem to appreciate their own little space and the organisation of this is vastly helped by modern ticketing

 

Unfortunately i have to agree with Paul here having an edmonson ticket was far down the list on my requirements on my two visits to steam railways this year, my main requirement was, remaining safe, and hoping others did the same, Both the IOWSR, and MHR, had a stop over, where there was plenty to see and do, that is important not just for those who are enthusiast's at heart, but for the general public, and information was clear on what you can, and can't do.
This made for an enjoyable day out, and of course, my dog thought so too, , she loved both her visits, and perhaps this is something else, its people going that extra bit, its making sure your visitors go away with a positive memory of their day out.

 

If the IT for online or telephone bookings can’t cope with standard permutations, then I’d be asking serious questions about what that organisation is doing. Having used EventBrite (other services are available), that is basic functionality that should be being used as standard by any organisation selling online.

Edmonson card tickets are a different can of worms; my own view is that the attitude to these speaks volumes about how the relevant railway sees itself as a museum - or not. Welcoming their passing suggests a definite not.


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Quite. Not being bothered about *not* having them is one thing, but actively welcoming their demise at railways who still manage to source them screams sour grapes to me.

 

I don't have the expertise to comment upon this or that computer system. I am aware that asking a hitherto satisfactory system to cope with additional requirements has presented problems.

As a religious person you will know about straining for gnats and swallowing camels. To me, what sort of ticket is presented to passengers comes firmly in the gnat straining category

 

I would go down the route of offering an Edmonson as a souvenir ticket. QR codes and online ticketing will or already has the norm for many attractions.

 

That is fair enough

 

Thinking about this, Souvenir shops on the railways could sell you one, date stamped, if they have the press, as an memento of your day out, or even a platform ticket assuming they have a working machine i would think any child would love to stamp their ticket in the old way for instance, does the IOWSR have the printing machines to make replica tickets from the old island stations ? and suitable card blanks ?

 

Im not sure which other railways have the printing presses for Edmonsons. I know first hand the SVR have 2 presses at Kidderminster. I think we have produced tickets for other railways as well as our own.

 

Modern ticketing systems provide many accounting and security benefits but if one wants a heritage experience places like Crich have an advantage in giving you an old coin to exchange for a ticket on the first tram ride. These sorts of opportunity for education and customer interaction are a core part of creating visitor experiences beyond just a simple train ride.

 

I am uncertain if you are referring to ticket dating machines or ticket printing machines.. I would imagine quite a few places have dating presses stuffed away somewhere but the machines to print the cards are another thing and, so I understand, is the supply of the right sort of card.


Sadly in a way the most important function of a steam railway sales outlet is to be profitable rather than go after things that are basically W.I.B.N.

 

The Bluebell has presses, and produces tickets for other railways as well as our own use, I believe.

Tom

 

Paul, i was refering to the Dating stamps, firstly, assuming the railway had a stock of old unissued tickets,that it were not going to use in the normal way.

 

I’ll strain a gnat and more at the spectacle of someone who emphasises the museum function of railways, including the prelapsarian state of perfection at Havenstreet, yet who rejoices in the removal of historic ticketing.

It’s not the choice - though I’m in the traditionalist camp - that matters, but the spirit in which it’s made. To dismiss a part of the historical experience as WIBN is to me deeply narrow minded:

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FWIW the Harz prints Edmondson tickets on the counter. No idea what printer they use, but it shows what could be done if the will was there.
Pat

 

My last visit to the Harz this time last year, we had both a modern receipt which also acted as your ticket but you could exchange the receipt for an edmonson type ticket.
It was also very interesting to chat to one of the guards from Quedlinberg that they can now take card payments on the train.