Published on: Monday, 22 October 2018
Last updated: Monday, 22 October 2018
Greater Anglia staff at Brimsdown and Ponders End stations have been recognised at a Greater Anglia awards ceremony as ‘Performance Pioneers’ after cutting minutes lost to delays by 86 per cent in six months.
They won the accolade for their work to improve train performance at both stations, helping more trains to run on time for passengers.
During the busy morning peak time, they take to the platforms, directing rail passengers to the less busy carriages as trains pull in, so that passengers can board quicker, helping the trains to depart on time.
The initiative has reduced delay minutes on the Lea Valley Line by 86% in six months, from 489 minutes’ worth of delays in April 2018 to 64 delay minutes in October 2018.
Flavio Lopes, Greater Anglia Right Time Railway Manager for the West route, said: “If trains leave Brimsdown and Ponders End on time, they should then arrive at Stratford and Liverpool Street stations on time, and consequently services back into Hertford East /Bishops Stortford can then run on time.
“We’ve put up posters and banners at these stations encouraging customers to move down the platforms to board using all available doors.”
“We’re delighted to have been recognised by the company, but even happier that the initiative is bringing results for passengers and reducing delays.”
The Lea Valley route, on the West Anglia train line, includes busy commuter stations, such as Brimsdown and Ponders End, serving the London area.
By the time trains from Hertford East/Bishops Stortford reach these stations in the morning rush hour, they are very full, which can sometimes cause problems leading to delays.
Last year, just under 90 per cent of trains on the West Anglia line ran on time, but when there were delays in morning rush hours at Brimsdown and Ponders End, they rippled across Hertford East/Bishops Stortford services throughout the day, with knock-on delays up to triple the original morning total.
Greater Anglia has looked at different ways of better managing the situation and has come up with a number of possible solutions to be implemented in coming months.
Extra staff have already been at both stations to direct customers to less busy carriages and encourage them to use all available doors when boarding the trains.
Staff at Brimsdown, are identifying the busier carriages and, where needed, will telephone ahead to the team at Ponders End, alerting them to which carriages are particularly full, so they can encourage customers to board the train at less busy sections.
Other actions in the pipeline include putting extra staff at Brimsdown and Ponders End to guide customers to less busy carriages, improving station PA systems so that announcements are clearer and installing new customer information screens which will tell passengers which carriages are less busy.
There are also plans to install new platform shelters and review contingency plans for the stations.