Covid and its effects leading to a temporary train service suspension
Client
- Northern Rail Limited.
Work Undertaken
- Design and Artwork.
Background
Even though I have not been directly involved with rail’s communications/design relating to all things C-19; I have been involved with, what became a highly local and politically challenging issue – even reaching the Houses of Parliament – the temporary suspension of the Rose Hill line service in Greater Manchester.
As we know C-19 has sent a wrecking ball through every sector and rail has been no exception to this as, during the pandemic, all training programmes were paused given the proximity required for one-to-one training that a lot of train crews have to undertake, especially in the on-board environment where in-cab training is required.
As the summer drew to a close, and the industry, through pan-industry working groups, revised its one-to-one training practices to be Covid-Safe/Covid-Secure and thus allowing training to resume, there was then an urgent need to restart practical training again to enable operators to provide a full service – there only so many Teams/Zoom training you can do and operating a train isn’t quite one of them.
However, in Greater Manchester, this was beginning to look problematic owing to the number of train crew which were available to the available number of train crew to be trained as to restart the training it would mean cancellations to services-on-the-day which would have potentially seen different routes across the network affected daily and the unthinkable had to be done – select a route and suspend the service outright.
The project scope
Following receipt of the brief, overall, my involvement in the Rose Hill project was undertaken akin to a major engineering work closures – given certain similarities – involved two distinct information delivery requirements one for the suspension of the train service suspension and one of service restoration, with would follow relatively quickly following the completion of the suspension side of the work.
The suspension
The suspension side of the project consisted of a wide range of materials being produced to inform customers of what was to occur, including:
- 1 Advanced Warning Station Poster
- 1 Advanced Warning A6 flyer for use at car parks
- 1 Banner for Manchester Piccadilly
- 9 Station Specific Alternative Travel Posters (which at five stations had enhanced localised information to show alterative off-route station)
- 4 Station Interchange Posters
- 5 Station Closed Posters (replacing 5 Alternative Travel Posters)
- 2 School Train Posters
- A Comprehensive Customer Information leaflet covering the problem, station by station alternatives including a shuttle bus service round
- 2 staff brief documents (one comprehensive main booklet which replicated in part the customer leaflet and a supplemental sheet for the school services))
- Social Media elements.
Within the suspension side of the project, to save time, assistance for TfGM was sought to see if they would be willing to provide segments of their area bus, train and Metrolink area map and guides towards a number of the station-specific posters and customer and staff leaflets. This was duly given and saved considerable time saving by removing the need to draw bespoke onward travel information from scratch – however at some point these maps will need to be drawn for normal rail replacement bus engineering work provision.
The restoration of service
There was always an aspiration to It was always planned to restore the service as soon as possible with a working provisional date of Monday 26 October aimed for. However following a Commons discussion on the matter of the Rose Hill suspension and that date then mentioned in The House, that date became committed.
Therefore, turning to the service restoration side of the project, which was introduced in the C-19 Tier 3 lockdown on the Greater Manchester region, a more toned-down affair to the service restoration publicity was undertaken and this consisted of:
- A return to service station poster (containing the timetable for the route and also a ring and ride indent from the suspension scheme)
- A Banner for Manchester Piccadilly
- Comprehensive Customer Information leaflet which replaced station-specific information from the suspension version with the timetable
- Comprehensive Staff Information leaflet which again, like the suspension version, replicated the customer leaflet to an extent.
“Miss Marple and the disappearing trains”
“Well, you see Chief Inspector…”
Renown former bus manager and now renown transport industry blogger, Roger French (opens in a new window) has covered the saga of the Rose Hill scenario under an Agatha Christie-style Miss Marple story – Marple (the place); Miss Marple (the elderly amateur consulting detective of St. Mary Meade) put the two together – yes? no?
Anyway, you see Roger’s Miss Marple take on the Rose Hill situation – including a picture of myself caught in the design act – over on his blog at: