New app lets train passengers know there are spare seats

On track to comfort! App pinpoints train carriages with spare seats and tells you the best place to stand on the platform to get one

  • System lets train passengers know whether trains are standing-room only 
  • App is being tested on the Thameslink line between East Croydon and Brighton 
  • New technology analyses mobile phone signals and info about train capacity

Train passengers can now avoid overcrowding on services through an app which tells them which carriages have seats available.

The system also lets passengers know where to stand on the platform to get to free seats or whether there is only standing-room available. 

Dubbed Rail Watch, the system will show the status of the next five trains due at a given station and help commuters make choose which one to board.

 

Dubbed Rail Watch, the new technology analyses mobile phone signals and information about train capacity. At present it identifies only capacity on the train as a whole but work is being carried out to let travellers pinpoint exactly which carriages on individual trains are full (stock)

The app is currently being tested on the Thameslink line between East Croydon and Brighton over the next fortnight. 

The technology, supported by transport provider the Go-Ahead group, analyses mobile phone signals and information about train capacity. 

At the moment the app can only pinpoint the overall capacity on the train but work is being carried out to let travellers pinpoint exactly which carriages have seats.

As well as this the aim is to tell passengers where to stand on a platform to maximise their chances of getting on.

The full version of the app is expected to be rolled out across the southeast network in May.

Train passengers can now avoid overcrowded trains through an app which tells them when services have seats available. The system lets passengers know whether trains are standing-room only or if they have free seats (stock)

Train passengers can now avoid overcrowded trains through an app which tells them when services have seats available. The system lets passengers know whether trains are standing-room only or if they have free seats (stock)

The development of the app comes amid distrust in the rail industry and overcrowding on trains, leading many commuters to complain to providers.

Figures showed that almost 150,000 people had to stand on trains into London during the morning peak in 2017.   

Analysis found earlier this month claimed that the 10 most overcrowded peak train routes were running at 187 per cent overcapacity, an increase of 25 per cent since 2011.    

PASSENGER FIGURES FOR 2017 

Passenger numbers overall

In line with the fall in rail journeys across GB, daily rail passengers fell in Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester between 2016 and 2017, while passengers numbers in several other major cities increased. 

Over 1 million passengers arrived into London on a typical day, with 55% arriving in the morning peak. 

Birmingham, the second busiest city, had eight times fewer daily arrivals than London with 128,100.

 While the number of rail passengers fell during the day, morning peak passengers increased overall for all major cities outside of London. 

Morning peak crowding 

Crowding in 2017, measured using PiXC, was highest in London (5.4%), followed by Cambridge (4.8%) and Manchester (4.3%).

For major cities, crowding levels have not shown a clear pattern but on Passengers in excess of capacity (PiXC) measures balance, crowding has increased outside of London, and has fallen in crowding levels as the London. percentage of standard 

King’s Cross had the highest crowding levels in the morning (9.0%) class passengers above and the afternoon peaks (5.6%) of the central London stations in 2017. capacity at a service’s 

In the 2017 morning peak, 23% of passengers were standing on trains busiest point. arriving into London, and for Blackfriars this was 36%. 

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