Raging against the SE twitter feed

This from SouthEastern's twitter feed...

person hit trains through Gillingham Kt & Faversham subject to 45 mins delay & canc #southeastern bit.ly/RBhKM8
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) October 17, 2012

This is wrong on so many levels.

On the plus side SouthEastern now appears to have real people (or bots) at the end of their twitter feed who respond to customer requests for information.

As exhibited here:

@spacechopper Apologies for any delay that you incurred. We will have a look into this for you.
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) October 17, 2012

Time to remove or improve the automatic feed?

Merseyrail has twitter meltdown

This from Globetrotter...

Has Merseyrail had a twitter meltdown?

After assuring followers that everything was running normally a strange string of messages appeared:

Initially there was no indication of which line, which services or even which stations might be affected.

Presumably the final message, signing off for the day, was because someone needed a lie down in a darkened room?

NRESballs - Heroic travel tweet

This from Dr Strabismus...

The scenic route?

East Coast tweets it like it is...

Seen on twitter earlier this afternoon...

Good effort! 

That is all.

UPDATE: This from the late Sir Edward Heath...

I am disturbed to see East Coast using gallons rather than litres.

Under my inspired leadership, and since the 1970s, the UK has been using... (cont' p94).

Oh... Gotti off! Ed

First Community Rail iPhone app launched

So. The once supposedly doomed Community Rail Lines are yet again putting mainstream TOCs to shame!

Whilst the marketing genii of the privatised railways struggle to master the use of social media it is left to the Big Society railways to show the digital way forward.

Eye presents an iPhone app from the Bittern & Wherry Lines!

The very first Community Rail app, and of course it is free!

Good effort!

Meanwhile several TOCs remain wedded to a sadly dying analogue world.

Perhaps Eye's Open Access friends, who haven't even mastered Twitter yet, should do a spot of poaching from the Big Society?

Bletchley derailment and use of Twitter

This morning Network Rail and the WCML TOCs have been showing how twitter can be an effective passenger communications tool during disruption.

A special plaudit to @NetworkRail who sent out the following photo to show the scale of the recovery work required at Bletchley:


A lesson in effective use of social media.

Meanwhile Eye's thoughts are with the driver of the loco who is in hospital with serious, although apparently not life threatening, injuries.

UPDATE: A further image from NR showing damage to track and OHLE...



Eye understands that the Virgin driver has now been released from hospital.

Twitter - a game of two halves

Many congratulations to @LondonMidland who scooped possibly the most important gong at last night's National Rail Awards.

Sponsored by Passenger Focus the award was for 'Putting Passengers First' and was given in recognition of how the go-ahead TOC (geddit!!!) had transformed customer service through the use of social media.

In the words of @PassengerFocus:

Passenger Focus sponsored National Rail Award won by @LondonMidland great use of social media during disruption, no jargon, quick and useful.

Hopefully other TOCs will take note and consider offering a similar interactive service to their customers?

Meanwhile Eye is pleased to see that even the Infrastructure Controller has embraced social media, with @NetworkRail dealing with the concerns of the railway's neighbours in real time.

Of course not all railway companies are so foresighted and this can lead to problems. Social Media (whether facebook, blogs or twitter) is very much like nature - in that it abhors a vacuum.

So where there is no effective official presence lots of others will rush-in to fill the gap.

Some who occupy the space are just plain malicious, but others are loyal and enthusiatic members of staff who give of themselves and their time at no cost. Sadly this is not always appreciated when public and private personas overlap..

The Fact Compiler was sad to see that the Apostle of the 3rd Rail has decided to hang up his keyboard.

He/she (?) along with myriad other railway employees can be found on twitter performing an invaluable service answering passengers' questions, defending their company from the usual on-line calumny and representing the railway in the public forum.

Oh if only enlightened employers would harness, focus and reward the undoubted enthusiasm of these brave souls who unlike so many in the industry are actually prepared to put their head above the parapet!

No matter!

Meanwhile to those industry colleagues who selflessly plough the lonely on-line furrow on behalf of our industry - Eye salutes you, and respectfully offers the following gentle observation....

The identity of The Fact Compiler is of course a closely guarded secret known to only two people in the entire universe. However your humble author remains acutely aware that, despite this all pervading cloak of anonymity, he too wears a 'company uniform' (Shurely several? Ed).

So whilst his tweets are 'whispered in the dark' they will almost inevitably be 'shouted from the rooftops' - and seldom in context.

Perhaps something all those on-line may wish to reflect on?

'Nuff said?

Virgin overthrows NR - shocker

It took Virgin Trains just 8 minutes to respond from a tweet by Tom Harris MP criticising their coffee.


That makes NR's famed Internet Rapid Rebuttal Unit seem slow in comparison !

Eye's latest list of Twittering TOCs

This for those not on Twitter.

Eye is maintaining a list of Twittering TOCs.

Remember, to be in the list you must be interactive. Not just broadcast.

Be there or be square!

New submissions always welcome (via Twitter of course - @TheFactCompiler)

That includes you Freighties, Network Rail and Heritage Railways!

A hot weekend for Eye's favourite spinner...

Good to see a PR at the top of his game!

Eye favourite the soi disant 'veteran' observer managed to sink in the mire of the twitterverse this weekend.

Bluster-Brown, for it was he, was left floundering as the hashtag #trainonfire lit up Sunday's internet, at one point being viewed by 22,500 'tweeps'.

And where in this alleged conflagration was the great spin surgeon?

Left forlornly punting emails to a twitter based Guardian hack...


Happily no fire, no story.

No matter!

Eye advises all TOCs (with the following noble exceptions who Actually Do Twitter)....

"Get with the program, get a corporate Twitter account, get your team on-line and engage".

'Nuff said.

Turning the tables on the BTP!

This from Robin Hood...

Good news for all the crims and perps out there! (is this right? Ed)

This from the British Transport Police...

You can now follow us on Twitter.

Let's see how they like it! (you're fired!!! Ed)

South Eastern passengers left in the dark

Sad news indeed for South Eastern passengers who rely on social media to plan their journeys.

According to the 853 blog @Train_Driver is no more!

The anonymous twitterer was famed for being the only reliable source of information on how South Eastern services were running (sic) during the recent adverse weather.

This for instance on the 30th November:


Of course South Eastern doesn't do social media.

This despite yesterday's wise words from Bill Emery of the ORR:

"Britain has recently experienced hostile weather conditions and all transport sectors have faced difficulties - but the regulator is clear that the rail industry can, and must, improve performance for passengers, particularly in providing useful and accurate information."

@Train_Driver - you will be sorely missed.

Social media heroes and villians in the snow

This from SN Barnes...

With lessons obviously learned from last year, Eurostar has outshone most domestic TOC's with their immediate and steady use of twitter to give frequent updates on a service that was doing a lot better than cross channel flights.

Aside from the wonderfully boring Nicola @chilternrailway telling us nothing was out of order, the efforts of South Eastern's ("the trains are all fecked") @Train_Driver has proven to be the most accurate, honest, and reliable when compared to the fault line slips between what the TOC's were putting on line, what NRES published and the train information displays at the point of delivery.

Passengers, of course, are no longer surprised by kafka-esque relationship between 'official information' and the actual presence of the trains they purport to describe.

London Midland - committed to 'Elf & Safety

This with a bowler tip to @Swlines, via twitter...

To celebrate successfully completing his A Levels @Swlines is undertaking a Pilgrimage of Grice with a 14 day All Line Rover.

You can follow his travels via Twitter or on his blog.

The onward march of old technology

Exciting news from nationalpreservation.com...

I would like to introduce you to RailTours live.

Its a totally new concept, keeping people informed about railtours, whether you are line side or on the tour.

We launched the system on the 7th June and are receiving a lot of very good feedback.

It's 100% free to sign up and send messages to the system via SMS Text messaging, your current service plan may charge you however to send texts from your mobile phone.

It will cost you 12p to receive texts.

Haven't these people heard of Twitter, which is free?

Arriva XC - Stable, horse, bolted

This from @SWLines, via Twitter...

XC have definitely reduced the NQY - KYL fare and everything derived from it.

It's now £921.

Too late - the £1,000 fare has already entered folklore. (with a bowler tip to @PlanetAl)

UPDATE: From Steve Strong...

Now that Lord Adonis has sorted out Cross Country fares can he please hold them to their franchise commitments.

Still no WiFi aboard Arriva XC despite a franchise promise to deliver it by 11th November 2009!

UPDATE: This from @SWLines...

@TheFactCompiler got another missing franchise commitment.

XC don't do at seat catering north of EDB/west of PLY.

In fact, they withdrew it!

UPDATE: This from Billy Connections:

Here's a whole list of things XC promised to do...

Introduction of five High Speed Train (HST) sets each with eight state-of-the-art refurbished coaches (total of 550 seats per set), providing longer trains with more seats and luggage space on the major North East-South West route...

Errr... all HSTs reduced by one vehicle and only 2 in daily service - plus two hired to East Coast at the moment...

High quality service on board:

• introduction of at-seat catering, reflecting customer preferences
• Wi-Fi access for all seats on all HSTs and Voyagers, and improved mobilephone reception on Voyagers
• hot plated food available to First Class passengers
• three members of staff providing on board service on long distance trains

Errr... Catering? Plated food?? Three members of staff???

More like microwaved food on cardboard or plastic containers, not a plate in site, and never seen more than one member of staff in First Class.

And Wi-Fi is not just invisible on the Voyagers but nowhere to be seen on the HSTs either!

So much for The Thin Controller's promise to be tough on ANY franchise which doesn't meet its commitments.

Come on Adonis - with just 8 days to go there may be votes in a breach notice!

ASLEF signs up to Twitter

@thefactcompiler welcomes @ASLEFunion to twitter!

With a bowler tip to @Andylaird25

Turn on, tune in, but do it in a 140 characters...

UPDATE: This with a bowler tip to @cbuchanancubed, via Twitter...

ASLEF Journal (p12-13) outlines plans for the union to bid for East Coast franchise on not for profit basis.

Much like GNER and NXEC then...

UPDATE: This from @ASLEFunion, via Twitter...

Currently it's just the ECML - we'd like to develop further models for not for profit, employee ownership with fellow orgs

Stobart CEO signs up to Twitter

This from @Andrew_Tinkler, CEO of Stobart Group, via Twitter...

Just starting using Twitter. I think it will be useful to let people know what's going on at Stobart Group.

Would that some railway CEOs and MDs did the same!

UPDATE: This from Steady Eddie...

Isn't it a bit 20th Century using his own name?

Why not two girls' names like the lorries?

Eurostar - Is it a bum bag?

Good to see that Eurostar, and its suppliers, now have the hang of this Social Media thingy.

This from @jamieburdett, via Twitter...

Here's a pic of our new bag for Eurostar Train Managers, made from their own waste.

The Fact Compiler's flabber is well and truly gasted.

Adonis hires special train for April railtour - Shocker

With a bowler tip to Wired via @tonyveitchUK.