Recovery Time

Timekeeping

Working Timetable

To show everyone concerned how the train service will operate and where the trains will start and finish, a timetable must be drawn up. This is not the one the passengers see, it is a detailed one for staff. It shows all details of all train movements, including empty moves and times in and out of depots. It shows each train or trip identity and intermediate times for some, if not all stations..

This is such an old-fashioned word that many modern railway managements have forgotten its importance. In any business, the customer expects to get, at the very least, what he is told he will get. If he is told his new car will be peacock blue, he will be very upset if an Italian red car is delivered. If he is told his train will arrive at 10:05 and it arrives at 10:10, he will also get upset. Any attempt at excuses will not remove the idea that he has now formed that the railway has not delivered. He is right. Whatever other things an operator at any level does, he should have timekeeping as his number one priority.

The first premise for timekeeping is to have clocks which tell the correct time. Systems for the central control of clocks to very accurate standards are widely available and are well worth the cost of installation and maintenance and can even be used and paid for as a marketing tool. Much of the cost can often be offset by advertising around the clock displays in public places. Times should also displayed in conjunction with train descriptions and arrival/departure information. Passengers should be able to set their watches by the station clock and know that it will always be correct. There is no excuse for railway clocks which do not tell the correct time.

The definition of "on time" has been elasticised in recent years, so much so that UK main line routes have classified on-time as any train which arrives within ten minutes of its timetabled time. This cannot be held up as a good customer relations exercise, nor good railway practice. Two minutes might be considered acceptable, if penalties were to be calculated in a contractual sense.

In order to "improve" timekeeping, railways have always provided recovery time in timetables. This is extra time, above that usually required for a train to complete its trip on time, allocated in case of a small delay or temporary speed restriction. We saw this in our example above where terminal time was extended a little. Unfortunately, it has become much abused in recent years in the UK and huge levels of recovery have been built in - as much as 15% in some cases.

It does not make for good public relations when trains arrive at the outskirts of a city 10 minutes early and the passengers have to cool their heels in a stationary train knowing that they are only a few minutes travel time from their destination. Recovery time should be strictly limited and eliminated altogether when possible. It should not be used as an excuse for bad timekeeping.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-11