The next train's gone

Thanks to John Orton (Will Hay’s scriptwriter) for this week’s apt title. Just one website again, but there’s quite a lot to say about it.


I wouldn’t start from here

Does your blood run cold when you read the words National Rail Enquiries? Do you remember queuing at the station for the chance to question a pimply youth with a dog-eared timetable clutched to his bosom? Or waiting for hours for a reply from an understaffed call centre? No? Maybe you are too young for these golden experiences. But surely you remember the appalling excuse for an enquiries website foisted upon us by the ill-fated Railtrack. Has it, I wondered, improved under Network Rail?

Yes, it has, beyond all recognition. It’s not perfect – you start with a graphics nightmare, and as you penetrate the site the flashing ads can get very irksome. But in terms of its functionality, I think it’s worth the hassle. Finding train times is relatively straightforward, with a standard journey-planner format which differs little from the Transport for London version. But that’s just the beginning.


First class towards the rear

Having got some train times, how about working out whether you can actually afford the trip? It’s important, if you have any sort of discount railcard, to register the fact before you hit the “check fares” button. Nothing, not even this website, can save you from the nightmare of rail ticket pricing, recently “simplified” (ha ha). But with a bit of clicking and weaving you can maybe find a not-too-ruinous fare. You can’t actually book the tickets on this site, but you can be linked through to the online seller of your choice.

Other dinky features include a season ticket calculator (particularly useful if you have to make a claim on your employer before buying the ticket), travel alerts and live travel information (by text or phone), a widget which compiles a personalised timetable for your chosen journey, and a search option to find the cheapest fare for a journey. Oh, and there’s Lisa.

Lisa is a “virtual assistant”, in reality a picture of a very pleasant-looking woman fronting up a database of frequently asked questions. Throw Lisa a question and she will politely try to interpret your query in terms she’s got answers for. I asked “can I still get a cheap day return?” (The answer’s no.) Lisa recognised that it was a fares enquiry – no flies on Lisa – and offered me info on fares categories and how they have recently changed, which is fair enough.

Lisa’s pals at Network Rail have made some progress in improving train services, but the National Rail Enquiries website has made even more progress. So focus your eyes on the meaty stuff, avert your gaze from the flashing stuff, and your journey will not be in vain.

(From the Gateway to websites, select “Transport & tourism”. National Rail Enquiries is under “Rail”.)