Passengers Cannot Consistently Rely on Help Points at Stations, Says Rail Regulator
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the UK’s rail regulator, has published a report finding that passengers cannot consistently rely on help points at stations.
The report, published on 7 November 2024, looked at the reliability of help points at 20 stations across the UK. It found that:
- Only 60% of help points were working at any one time.
- The average time it took for a help point to be answered was 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
- In some cases, it took more than 10 minutes for a help point to be answered.
The ORR said that the reliability of help points is a “major concern” and that it is “unacceptable” that passengers cannot consistently rely on them.
The report makes a number of recommendations to improve the reliability of help points, including:
- Increasing the number of help points at stations.
- Improving the training of staff who operate help points.
- Introducing a system of remote monitoring for help points.
The ORR said that it will be working with train operators to implement these recommendations.
A spokesperson for the ORR said: “Help points are an important part of the railway network and they should be reliable. We are concerned that passengers cannot consistently rely on help points and we are calling on train operators to take action to improve their reliability.”
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said: “We are committed to working with the ORR to improve the reliability of help points. We recognise that they are an important part of the railway network and we want to ensure that passengers can rely on them.”
Additional Information
The ORR’s report is based on data collected from 20 stations across the UK. The stations were selected to represent a range of sizes and locations.
The report found that the reliability of help points varied significantly from station to station. Some stations had a very high reliability rate, while others had a very low reliability rate.
The report also found that the reliability of help points was worse at night than during the day.
The ORR’s recommendations are designed to improve the reliability of help points at all stations, regardless of size or location.
Passengers cannot consistently rely on help points at stations, says rail regulator
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