The Office of Rail and Road has published its study into how train operators at busy rail stations communicate and record requests by passengers for assistance. The study found that a dedicated staff app has proven beneficial, but there is much more scope to use data and the technology to make further improvements for passengers.
The regulator’s study is part of wider accessibility work aimed at improving the reliability of assistance for those passengers who need it. Staff communicating the assistance needs between stations is a key factor in successful delivery.
When assistance fails, it can be distressing for the passengers impacted. This latest report from ORR shines more light on the areas for improvement and follows the regulator’s 2024 work which assessed the delivery of assistance by operators.
ORR’s consumer team went to examine first hand how the handover procedures worked in reality at five busy stations: Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Crewe, London Kings Cross and Manchester Piccadilly.
ORR found that technologies like the Passenger Assist staff app and dashboard mean staff providing assistance can better manage and respond to both booked and turn-up-and-go assistance requests, significantly reducing the risk of information being lost or miscommunicated between stations.
Stations with structured approaches to risk management and regular staff engagement demonstrate stronger continuous improvement and accountability.
However, ORR has found that while the Passenger Assist system records the outcome of assistance requests, this data is not routinely reviewed to identify trends or help make improvements to the service. The regulator also noted that there was an increased risk of missed or misunderstood information, where some stations are moving away from telephone handovers without clearly communicating this with other operators or stations.
ORR had made a number of recommendations for operators and Network Rail at stations that deliver high volumes of passenger assistance.
These include:
- train operators should hold regular staff meetings at station-level to go through assistance data, to help identify and address the causes of assistance failings
- train operators should review how they can make best use of the Passenger Assist staff app and dashboard to improve communications between stations, and to inform ORR if they believe they can deliver equivalent or better outcomes for passengers without routinely making phone calls. ORR would assess the risks to passengers from the proposed updates to the communications processes.
ORR will bring together operators before the summer to discuss the findings and recommendations from the report.
Stephanie Tobyn, director of strategy, policy and reform, said:
“The way assistance requests are communicated between stations is essential to making sure a passenger gets the help they need and expect.”
“The process needs to work in practice and it’s essential to use data from the latest technology to learn and improve.
“We look forward to meeting with operators soon to talk through these positive and common-sense steps, which should support a more reliable service for passengers.”
Image credit: ORR
