UK: Govia Thameslink Railway is upgrading three stations to demonstrate its Model Stations concept for making facilities simpler to navigate, more welcoming and more inclusive for passengers.
This includes clear and customer-focused standards for design, accessibility, safety, staff training, customer service and overall experience, as well as a Great Journey Makers customer service training programme for staff.
Development
GTR project managers sought input from people with lived experience to help inform potential improvements, and an audit by the National Autistic Society identified the importance of clear and intuitive wayfinding, reducing information to minimise sensory overload and the use of calming colours.
The Model Stations criteria include:
- be best in class for customer experience: clean comfortable, welcoming with clear signs and excellent staff;
- be accessible and inclusive: with step-free access as the goal, with facilities for non-visible and visible disabilities, easy to navigate;
- be integrated with other transport networks: seamless handover to and from bus, bike, taxi and other rail;
- be safe and secure: well-lit, well-patrolled, clearly monitored with a strong sense of reassurance;
- offer a modern and seamless retailing experience: easy, flexible ticketing and purchasing (e.g. contactless, digital, mobile);
- proudly market products and services: showing clearly what’s on offer and why it matters;
- offer diverse third-party services: such as shops, food, lockers, community services;
- be a great partner to local communities: active presence in the local area and strong, two-way engagement;
- minimise environmental impact: through reduced energy and water use, less waste and more biodiversity;
- have standardised processes: efficient, predictable back-of-house and customer-facing operations.
Station zones
The first station to be completed is Great Northern’s Enfield Chase, where GTR reports increased passenger satisfaction as a result.
The station has been decluttered and zoned into areas that include planning your journey, buying your tickets and starting your journey.
There is a bold ‘Get your tickets’ sign, and the ticket office has been refurbished and two refreshed ticket machines relocated alongside the ticket window, next to an interactive departure screen with British Sign Language.
Information signs that were previously spread around randomly have been ‘sensibly’ positioned, with directions to buses, other services and the town centre now above the exit.
The Starting Your Journey zone has departure screens behind and above the ticket gates, showing a list of next departures and the time. A screen between shows that passengers are on CCTV. The subway has been transformed with bright images, a digital poster board and updated wayfinding.
Two more stations
The Model Stations concept will now be rolled out at Elstree & Borehamwood on the Thameslink route and Gipsy Hill on Southern by this summer. The three stations have been selected to demonstrate what can be achieved at locations with different levels of step-free access; Enfield Chase station was chosen to showcase what can be done at a station that has not yet received Access for All scheme funding for lifts.
‘We will be inviting our managers to visit the three completed locations as they come online, to take pictures and consider how they can bring their stations up to a similar standard’, said GTR Chief Customer Officer Louis Rambaud on January 12.
A blueprint for the country
Rambaud said ’we want to create a blueprint for stations across the country, one that creates environments that passengers find welcoming, clean and comfortable, safe, secure, digitised, accessible and inclusive with “model staff” serving their communities and customers.
‘We can’t transform the UK’s entire network of stations in one go but creating a clear outline of expected outcomes will ensure that future investment is spent wisely and efficiently, delivering the best outcome for taxpayers and passengers alike.’
