I carried out an audit of the travel information available at Halesworth Railway Station on November 30th 2011.
This was because Halesworth Area Community Transport's volunteers and staff reported that they frequently receive enquiries from passengers arriving at Halesworth Railway Station who are lost or confused about buses, taxis and the geography of the town.
HACT’s offices are open 9.30 to 12.30 weekdays and although HACT volunteers are willing to help and can inform about bus services and like to be a welcoming face to visitors to the town, this can sometimes be a distraction to the work in hand and HACT is not equipped to deal with enquiries outside the remit of HACT operations, especially if the members of the public appear vulnerable.
The HACT office is not staffed on weekends but volunteers doing maintenance tasks on weekends and at ends of shifts (around 4.00 pm Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri) or going out on private hires report that they regularly encounter people and have found occasionally large groups (such as a recent party of 10 going to a wedding in Wissett) enquiring about onward transportation. Additionally, workers at the Mencap project also report constant enquiries about transport connections and requests to use their phone or toilet, which prompted them to put the taxi phone numbers in their window.
Frequently these passengers have missed the bus service to Southwold or to other points or are enquiring on the availability of taxis or directions to places in the town. Most of these passengers are unfamiliar with the area and were expecting an onward bus connection that didn’t materialise or are disappointed by a long wait for an available taxi.
It makes no sense to simply blame the traveller for not planning ahead when more can be done simply and cheaply to welcome travellers to visit the town. Also the information provided on the internet available from a variety of official sources is not uniform or always correct.
It was recognised in a recent meeting between local transport operators and the town plan group that besides the negative impact on public transport usage, this frustration can harm the town’s reputation and Halesworth might lose the word-of-mouth recommendation of visitors and see their business go to other market towns who better serve their visitors.
I conducted the following audit of travel and tourism information available at the railway station by walking clockwise around the station from corner of the HACT office and the Town Museum (the west side of the station), starting approximately at TM 38872 77857 (52.346743,1.505747)
This audit is not carried out in any official capacity and any measurements or quantities are approximate.
Any items of concern are marked * for follow-up.
STATION FRONTAGE (viewed from car park)
*At night this whole area is very poorly illuminated. Any notices and timetables with small type and grey ink are difficult to read. Most of the available illumination is from sodium vapour sources so any use of red should be avoided in timetables, notices and so on.
Window 1:
A1 Glazed Frame:
There isn’t currently a notice of museum times posted as those on the museum website http://www.halesworth.net/museum/ are difficult to maintain with current resources. There has been recently been an apology notice for not being open at certain times.
It is only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday in summer months that the museum’s hours extend a human presence at the station beyond those provided by HACT.
Sign:
Halesworth and District Museum
Window 2: no signage.
Sign above: Mencap Railway Station Project
Window 3: no signage, hanging basket bracket next to.
Sign:
180 x 180mm: car park is for rail users only (a).
Sign:
Disabled badge holders only (2 spaces lined).
Sign:
180 x 180mm: car park is for rail users only (b).
Window 4: no signage
A1 Glazed Frame:
NXEA Secure Station information
A1 Glazed Frame:
ESTA information with 3x A4 information sheets about ESTA with
ESTA newsletter
Foot of pedestrian ramp (north end)
NXEA Sign:
To platform 2 Lowestoft
Step free access to platform 1 Ipswich.
*This is via the A144 rail bridge, a detour of 325 metres although the crossing at track level is ‘step free’ too. According to the Halesworth Town Plan, the bridge is the preferred option of Network Rail.
Sign & Wall mounted telephone 'Help Point':
This has National Express / UGO logo but what is this service it seems defunct?
Autodial button #1 is signed Private Hire which goes to Halesworth Taxi. Trial call went to their answerphone. Autodial button #2 is signed National Express Travel Enquiries. Autodial button #3 is redundant.
North wall return (foot of pedestrian ramp) approximately TM 38861 77885 (52.346999,1.505596)
A1 Glazed Frame:
NXEA Customer Service Information, a detailed paper poster about station services. Anita Stuart is the area manager.
*Subheading on phone: 75 metres away in lay-by. Untrue, phone is 45m away west on Station Road outside NFU offices.
*Subheading on buses: “there is no regular bus from this station” which is untrue.
Subheading on Taxi information has Halesworth Taxis 01986 874028 (correct).
Subheading on travel information is Traveline 0871 200 2233 (correct).
This sign is poorly illuminated at night from the fixture above the Mencap door.
West Side, foot of pedestrian ramp facing Station Road
Notice Board:
3 x A1 glazed frame signboards with ‘information’ headboard.
A1 poster NXEA service alterations to 31/12/11
A1 poster NXEA December timetable
A1 poster NXEA Lowestoft/Ipswich timetable valid from 22/5/11
LOWESTOFT PLATFORM - 2 (East Side) continuing south from top of pedestrian ramp (North end of platform):
A0 Signage (A):
Information on historic moveable platforms
Window 7: no signage
Glazed Frame approx 1000mm x 200 mm (bus timetable board):
*Suffolk OnBoard information sheet with very pixelated low resolution map of local area, showing bus stop on Station Approach and Bramblewood Way. It does not show the A144. This does not conform with the bus stops marked on the Halesworth Tourism Map adjacent. The street names are hard to read. The publication date of this map / guide is unknown. It is not well illuminated in from the nearby fixtures at night.
Subheading: Telephone number for Suffolk Links Pathfinder DRT. No listing of Hoxne or Blyth DRT.
Subheading: URL for SuffolkOnBoard.com
Subheading: URL for Next Buses.mobi *This is a web search for bus timetables over the 3G network (if there is coverage) operated by Traveline using its data that is tailored to mobile devices. The user needs to know their location postcode (not indicated) for it to be most useful. It provides a timetable from the stop you request.
Signage:
Tourist Infomation Map of Town (A) provided Halesworth Tourism Group.
Real Time Passenger Information Display
Path to Bus Stop on Bramblewood Way where there are:
Bus Shelter, glazed – occupancy 8 people, lean-rails.
Bus stop: signed, SMS code SUFJDGWT
Timetable display board:
Route 520 valid from 4th April 2011
Routes 521, 196, valid from 30th August 2011
If a passenger headed to this stop to catch the earlier 520 buses to Southwold - as they used to - and had the presence of mind to ask someone knowledgeable, they would then have to go to Saxon’s Way which according to the step-free directions are 700 metres from this point or 500 metres if crossing the track at the end of the platforms. I doubt they would then be afforded any synchronisation of train and bus schedules (that used to happen with service to this stop) if they exist at all. The only lighting here is the streetlamp on the other side of the road.
Platform Shelter, glazed, occupancy 8 people, lean-rail
Litter Bin
Sign: Ipswich Trains
A1 Glazed Frame: NXEA advertising
A1 Glazed Frame:
NXEA timetable valid from 22/5/11 - same as the one on Station Road.
Bench (open), capacity 4 people
Signage:
Halesworth Tourism Group map (B)
At night this is barely illuminated by spill from the lights on the other platform, putting it in the shadow of the reader.
5 x cycle lockers
Platform shelter, glazed, capacity 16 people, lean-seat
A0 Signage (B):
Information on historic moveable platforms.
CAR PARK/FORECOURT (at corner of HACT office)
Access to eastern end of Lowestoft platform from the station car park.
A litter bin that used to be here recently went missing.
Plaque:
Pointer to cycle storage on Lowestoft Platform.
AA0 Poster:
Combined artwork of 1. Railway Benevolent Fund advertisement, 2. a station area streetmap, which is of better quality than the SuffolkOnBoard version though from the same OS dataset 3. NXEA web ticket advertising advertisement. Serial number BH0112 A/B.
*The map on this panel is high up over an electrical cabinet and so hard to read and is likely only visible to those approaching the station from the car park, not those arriving on trains at it.
I understand these are not provided by Network Rail but are leased to companies such as http://www.ad-point.co.uk/
OVERALL FINDINGS
There is ample justification for rationalisation of the various kinds of signage at the station as there is an impression of visual clutter and several issues about location of information with regard to passenger flow, illumination and overall readability. Many of the improvements of the station have been done piecemeal over time as sticking plaster over sticking plaster solutions.
Some rationalisation could be done with priority information placed in areas of better illumination instead of the advertising to make it more prominent. There are some underused assets such as the passenger shelters in areas of good illumination. Very useful information such as the taxi phone numbers is being provided on an unofficial ad-hoc basis in a position unlikely to be found by passengers without searching for it where it is difficult to read in the dark.
It does not seem worthwhile to invest in permanent signage for bus services which can be suddenly withdrawn. An investment of well over £6000 was made for the bus shelter on Bramblewood Way because after years of lobbying by passenger groups, the 520 route was finally scheduled to synchronise with trains and so able to serve passengers for Southwold but 18 months later the train timetable was changed, so this came to nothing.
A central, well illuminated, all-in-one map and timetable display area in the station could be signposted to which people could be directed.
The ‘official’ published information of where buses depart from cannot be compared to their timetables - even if the timetables were correct - as they are on different platforms, while information provided by the train operators contradicts that there is a bus service at all.
The tourism information boards need more prominent siting and better illumination.
There aren’t clear indications of the way to the town centre or to locate the tourist maps.
A audit of the official travel information should also be done to ensure it conforms with the current status of services, e.g. http://www.halesworth.ws/about/travel.php
It would be helpful to identify the ‘owners’ of all the information provided at the station so that links between various users can be established and perhaps a community body could take the lead on maintaining the validity of the station information.
It is considered that with 13 months to go, that the new franchise holders are more likely to take an interest in any rationalisation than the present.
Many simple actions could be done cheaply by local volunteers such as switching the use of well lit, well sited frames that have advertising posters in them for information and perhaps putting the adverts somewhere else. Most of the adverts are for the train operator so it’s probably not a direct revenue loss and they stand to gain if more people use the trains.
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| Bus stops in vicinity of station 1/12/11 |
HACT’s offices are open 9.30 to 12.30 weekdays and although HACT volunteers are willing to help and can inform about bus services and like to be a welcoming face to visitors to the town, this can sometimes be a distraction to the work in hand and HACT is not equipped to deal with enquiries outside the remit of HACT operations, especially if the members of the public appear vulnerable.
The HACT office is not staffed on weekends but volunteers doing maintenance tasks on weekends and at ends of shifts (around 4.00 pm Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri) or going out on private hires report that they regularly encounter people and have found occasionally large groups (such as a recent party of 10 going to a wedding in Wissett) enquiring about onward transportation. Additionally, workers at the Mencap project also report constant enquiries about transport connections and requests to use their phone or toilet, which prompted them to put the taxi phone numbers in their window.
Frequently these passengers have missed the bus service to Southwold or to other points or are enquiring on the availability of taxis or directions to places in the town. Most of these passengers are unfamiliar with the area and were expecting an onward bus connection that didn’t materialise or are disappointed by a long wait for an available taxi.
It makes no sense to simply blame the traveller for not planning ahead when more can be done simply and cheaply to welcome travellers to visit the town. Also the information provided on the internet available from a variety of official sources is not uniform or always correct.
It was recognised in a recent meeting between local transport operators and the town plan group that besides the negative impact on public transport usage, this frustration can harm the town’s reputation and Halesworth might lose the word-of-mouth recommendation of visitors and see their business go to other market towns who better serve their visitors.
I conducted the following audit of travel and tourism information available at the railway station by walking clockwise around the station from corner of the HACT office and the Town Museum (the west side of the station), starting approximately at TM 38872 77857 (52.346743,1.505747)
This audit is not carried out in any official capacity and any measurements or quantities are approximate.Any items of concern are marked * for follow-up.
STATION FRONTAGE (viewed from car park)
*At night this whole area is very poorly illuminated. Any notices and timetables with small type and grey ink are difficult to read. Most of the available illumination is from sodium vapour sources so any use of red should be avoided in timetables, notices and so on.
Window 1:
Varying HACT posters of local events etc. which are pasted up from inside.
Sign for Halesworth Area Community Transport
A1 Glazed Frame:
HACT 511 schedule
HACT 532 schedule
HACT private hire information
HACT recruitment/events space
Brass plate:
Halesworth Area Community Transport registered office.
Museum Door: To HACT office and Halesworth & District Museum with light (controlled inside) and canopy over. When the museum or HACT office is open there is a disabled accessible toilet with a RADAR key. This is not officially ‘public’ and users are asked by a notice to make a donation at the HACT office. Inside the door there is a display table with timetables and tourism leaflets, this is one of the two Tourist Information Points listed on the town website. Who officially stocks this TIP?
HACT 532 schedule
HACT private hire information
HACT recruitment/events space
Brass plate:
Halesworth Area Community Transport registered office.
Museum Door: To HACT office and Halesworth & District Museum with light (controlled inside) and canopy over. When the museum or HACT office is open there is a disabled accessible toilet with a RADAR key. This is not officially ‘public’ and users are asked by a notice to make a donation at the HACT office. Inside the door there is a display table with timetables and tourism leaflets, this is one of the two Tourist Information Points listed on the town website. Who officially stocks this TIP?
There isn’t currently a notice of museum times posted as those on the museum website http://www.halesworth.net/museum/ are difficult to maintain with current resources. There has been recently been an apology notice for not being open at certain times.
It is only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday in summer months that the museum’s hours extend a human presence at the station beyond those provided by HACT.
Sign:
Halesworth and District Museum
Window 2: no signage.
Sign above: Mencap Railway Station Project
Window 3: no signage, hanging basket bracket next to.
Sign:
180 x 180mm: car park is for rail users only (a).
Sign:
Disabled badge holders only (2 spaces lined).
Sign:
180 x 180mm: car park is for rail users only (b).
Window 4: no signage
A1 Glazed Frame:
NXEA Secure Station information
A1 Glazed Frame:
ESTA information with 3x A4 information sheets about ESTA with
ESTA newsletter
A4 Pathfinder DRT poster (from Suffolk Links)
A4 Blyth DRT poster (from Suffolk Links)
*As there is now a Hoxne DRT service, this should this be added but this site is poorly illuminated and is not in sited in the natural ‘stream’ of passenger foot traffic arriving from the Ipswich trains or heading to them.
Window 5: no signage
A4 Blyth DRT poster (from Suffolk Links)
*As there is now a Hoxne DRT service, this should this be added but this site is poorly illuminated and is not in sited in the natural ‘stream’ of passenger foot traffic arriving from the Ipswich trains or heading to them.
 |
| No lighting here |
 |
Signed 'step-free 'route between platform 1 -2 while the track-level foot crossing has no steps either. |
Foot of pedestrian ramp (north end)
NXEA Sign:
To platform 2 Lowestoft
Step free access to platform 1 Ipswich.
*This is via the A144 rail bridge, a detour of 325 metres although the crossing at track level is ‘step free’ too. According to the Halesworth Town Plan, the bridge is the preferred option of Network Rail.
Sign & Wall mounted telephone 'Help Point':
This has National Express / UGO logo but what is this service it seems defunct?
Autodial button #1 is signed Private Hire which goes to Halesworth Taxi. Trial call went to their answerphone. Autodial button #2 is signed National Express Travel Enquiries. Autodial button #3 is redundant.
North wall return (foot of pedestrian ramp) approximately TM 38861 77885 (52.346999,1.505596)
 |
| NXEA station information |
NXEA Customer Service Information, a detailed paper poster about station services. Anita Stuart is the area manager.
*Subheading on phone: 75 metres away in lay-by. Untrue, phone is 45m away west on Station Road outside NFU offices.
*Subheading on buses: “there is no regular bus from this station” which is untrue.
Subheading on Taxi information has Halesworth Taxis 01986 874028 (correct).
Subheading on travel information is Traveline 0871 200 2233 (correct).
This sign is poorly illuminated at night from the fixture above the Mencap door.
West Side, foot of pedestrian ramp facing Station Road
 |
| No lighting here |
3 x A1 glazed frame signboards with ‘information’ headboard.
A1 poster NXEA service alterations to 31/12/11
A1 poster NXEA December timetable
A1 poster NXEA Lowestoft/Ipswich timetable valid from 22/5/11
This signboard is not illuminated directly from any source at night.
On pedestrian ramp from Station Road: Bench seat – capacity 2 persons
Door (on pedestrian ramp) with light fixture overhead.
Sign with pointer:
521 buses outside exit on Ipswich Platform
Window 6 (on pedestrian ramp):
*A4 sheet inside window ‘Taxi Services’ landline numbers.
This is poorly illuminated at night. The numbers are presumed correct. They were provided by Mencap because of constant enquiries at their door. A telephone box is 40 metres away down Station Road but not immediately obvious from here. This sign (and its duplicate) lists:
Neals
Darsham Station
On pedestrian ramp from Station Road: Bench seat – capacity 2 persons
Door (on pedestrian ramp) with light fixture overhead.
Sign with pointer:
521 buses outside exit on Ipswich Platform
 |
To a bus that is no longer synchronised with the train which was original purpose of sign |
 |
| Tenant's helpful response to constant passenger enquiries |
*A4 sheet inside window ‘Taxi Services’ landline numbers.
This is poorly illuminated at night. The numbers are presumed correct. They were provided by Mencap because of constant enquiries at their door. A telephone box is 40 metres away down Station Road but not immediately obvious from here. This sign (and its duplicate) lists:
Neals
Darsham Station
Halesworth Taxi
DR Fosdyke
Peasenhall Cars
DR Fosdyke
Peasenhall Cars
LOWESTOFT PLATFORM - 2 (East Side) continuing south from top of pedestrian ramp (North end of platform):
 |
| Lowestoft platform, looking south |
Information on historic moveable platforms
Window 7: no signage
Glazed Frame approx 1000mm x 200 mm (bus timetable board):
*Suffolk OnBoard information sheet with very pixelated low resolution map of local area, showing bus stop on Station Approach and Bramblewood Way. It does not show the A144. This does not conform with the bus stops marked on the Halesworth Tourism Map adjacent. The street names are hard to read. The publication date of this map / guide is unknown. It is not well illuminated in from the nearby fixtures at night.
 |
| Pixellated map with bus stops in wrong place, no reference to A144 |
 |
Map found on Suffolkonboard.com 1/12/11 showing non-existent HACT 511 branch service to Walpole and Wissett which was withdrawn two years ago. Also confusingly marked as Pathfinder which serves this area. SOB can access the official route registrations at the Traffic Commissioner which has been updated with several alterations to this route since. |
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| A mysterious 'DRTC' service apparently running between Halesworth Railway Station and Saxted hourly until you see fine print that it needs booking 24 hours in advance. This appears to be because journey planning software can't handle Demand Responsive Transport as there is no 'route' for it to follow, so it just shows all the places served in its area. Traveline 30/11/11 |
Subheading: URL for SuffolkOnBoard.com
Subheading: URL for Next Buses.mobi *This is a web search for bus timetables over the 3G network (if there is coverage) operated by Traveline using its data that is tailored to mobile devices. The user needs to know their location postcode (not indicated) for it to be most useful. It provides a timetable from the stop you request.
*There is often contradiction between the timetables you can download on Traveline and SuffolkOnBoard.com but for journery planning, SuffolkOnBoard.com links through to Traveline as the master 'oracle' and that site can return erroneous information because DRT services are treated by the journey planner software as scheduled services. When checked today it returned a timetable showing an hourly service running to Saxted from Bramblewood Way operated by ‘DRTC’ which doesn’t exist. It is fairly easy to miss the small print that this 'DRTC' has to be booked a day in advance (although DRT booking is only available in the mornings and not on weekends). SCC Transport have replied: "Although we have put in as many comments and instructions in as we can to alert people to the fact they do need to book ahead, the electronic format (of SOB) insists on a timetable, so the best we can do within the parameters is to provide what looks like an hourly service. As you say, potentially confusing, but the best we can do. TraveLine was designed for sceduled operations and we have to work within that. We have had numerous conversations with the host organisation about this."
 |
| Local tourism map with different bus symbols and stop to bus map adjacent |
Tourist Infomation Map of Town (A) provided Halesworth Tourism Group.
*Map shows bus stop on Bramblewood Way but not the bus stop on Station Road (served by HACT 511 and 532 and illustrated here for example) which shows on SuffolkOnBoard maps and web searches. It also uses a different bus symbol to the Suffolk OnBoard map. The correct locations of the stops here on the A144 don’t conform to the Suffolk OnBoard map. Its position is not well illuminated.
Door (to Mencap presumably).
Litter bin
Door
2 x benches, capacity 8 people (under canopy)
2x A1 Glazed Frames:
1 advertisement
1 caution warning
Real Time Passenger Information Display (overhead of benches under canopy)
Window 8: no signage
Sign:
Lowestoft Trains
A4 Glazed Frame:
NXEA personal security policy statement
2 plaques:
Best unstaffed station 2004
Best unstaffed station 2005
Door (with light over)
2x A1 Glazed Frames: advertising
Door
Window 9:
A4 sheet inside window ‘Taxi Services’ landline numbers (see Mencap).
*Sticker in window: Tourism Information Point. This is not clear that this is the lobby of the museum/HACT office when it is open.
A1 Glazed Frames x 5 (run to foot of platform exit doorway):
All with NXEA advertising
Platform Exit Doorway (to car park) step and ramp
Signage:
*White enamel with directional arrow pointing to Ipswich Platform: ‘521 Bus this way’ and which is defaced. However the 521 no longer calls at Bramblewood Way but from Saxon’s Way in the town centre.
Wall mount light fixture:
The wall space under here could be utilised for information as it would be illuminated though choice of colourways would have to consider the colour temperature of the lamp.
Cycle Lock-Up area:
4 x cycle lockers & 7 cycle racks under canopy. Total station capacity approximately 25 cycles. This area is illuminated by overhead lamps.
In total there are six lighting fixtures on this platform, two are on lamp poles.
Track level pedestrian crossing to Ipswich platform at approximately TM 38905 77829 (52.346469,1.506203)
IPSWICH PLATFORM - Heading north from crossing at south end of Ipswich platform.
There are four over head lamp stands.
Door (to Mencap presumably).
Litter bin
Door
2 x benches, capacity 8 people (under canopy)
2x A1 Glazed Frames:
1 advertisement
1 caution warning
Real Time Passenger Information Display (overhead of benches under canopy)
Window 8: no signage
Sign:
Lowestoft Trains
A4 Glazed Frame:
NXEA personal security policy statement
2 plaques:
Best unstaffed station 2004
Best unstaffed station 2005
Door (with light over)
2x A1 Glazed Frames: advertising
Door
Window 9:
A4 sheet inside window ‘Taxi Services’ landline numbers (see Mencap).
*Sticker in window: Tourism Information Point. This is not clear that this is the lobby of the museum/HACT office when it is open.
A1 Glazed Frames x 5 (run to foot of platform exit doorway):
All with NXEA advertisingPlatform Exit Doorway (to car park) step and ramp
Signage:
*White enamel with directional arrow pointing to Ipswich Platform: ‘521 Bus this way’ and which is defaced. However the 521 no longer calls at Bramblewood Way but from Saxon’s Way in the town centre.
Wall mount light fixture:
The wall space under here could be utilised for information as it would be illuminated though choice of colourways would have to consider the colour temperature of the lamp.
Cycle Lock-Up area:
4 x cycle lockers & 7 cycle racks under canopy. Total station capacity approximately 25 cycles. This area is illuminated by overhead lamps.
In total there are six lighting fixtures on this platform, two are on lamp poles.
Track level pedestrian crossing to Ipswich platform at approximately TM 38905 77829 (52.346469,1.506203)
IPSWICH PLATFORM - Heading north from crossing at south end of Ipswich platform.
There are four over head lamp stands.
Real Time Passenger Information Display
Path to Bus Stop on Bramblewood Way where there are:
Bus Shelter, glazed – occupancy 8 people, lean-rails.
Bus stop: signed, SMS code SUFJDGWT
 |
| Southwold Bus calls here 14.15, 16.15, 18.15 weekdays only |
Timetable display board:
Route 520 valid from 4th April 2011
Routes 521, 196, valid from 30th August 2011
If a passenger headed to this stop to catch the earlier 520 buses to Southwold - as they used to - and had the presence of mind to ask someone knowledgeable, they would then have to go to Saxon’s Way which according to the step-free directions are 700 metres from this point or 500 metres if crossing the track at the end of the platforms. I doubt they would then be afforded any synchronisation of train and bus schedules (that used to happen with service to this stop) if they exist at all. The only lighting here is the streetlamp on the other side of the road.
Platform Shelter, glazed, occupancy 8 people, lean-rail
Litter Bin
Sign: Ipswich Trains
A1 Glazed Frame: NXEA advertising
A1 Glazed Frame:
NXEA timetable valid from 22/5/11 - same as the one on Station Road.
Bench (open), capacity 4 people
Signage:
Halesworth Tourism Group map (B)
At night this is barely illuminated by spill from the lights on the other platform, putting it in the shadow of the reader.
 |
| Tourism map not illuminated at night |
Platform shelter, glazed, capacity 16 people, lean-seat
A0 Signage (B):
Information on historic moveable platforms.
CAR PARK/FORECOURT (at corner of HACT office)
Access to eastern end of Lowestoft platform from the station car park.
A litter bin that used to be here recently went missing.
Plaque:
Pointer to cycle storage on Lowestoft Platform.
 |
| Inaccessible map, out of sight of arrivals |
Combined artwork of 1. Railway Benevolent Fund advertisement, 2. a station area streetmap, which is of better quality than the SuffolkOnBoard version though from the same OS dataset 3. NXEA web ticket advertising advertisement. Serial number BH0112 A/B.
*The map on this panel is high up over an electrical cabinet and so hard to read and is likely only visible to those approaching the station from the car park, not those arriving on trains at it.
I understand these are not provided by Network Rail but are leased to companies such as http://www.ad-point.co.uk/
OVERALL FINDINGS
There is ample justification for rationalisation of the various kinds of signage at the station as there is an impression of visual clutter and several issues about location of information with regard to passenger flow, illumination and overall readability. Many of the improvements of the station have been done piecemeal over time as sticking plaster over sticking plaster solutions.
Some rationalisation could be done with priority information placed in areas of better illumination instead of the advertising to make it more prominent. There are some underused assets such as the passenger shelters in areas of good illumination. Very useful information such as the taxi phone numbers is being provided on an unofficial ad-hoc basis in a position unlikely to be found by passengers without searching for it where it is difficult to read in the dark.
It does not seem worthwhile to invest in permanent signage for bus services which can be suddenly withdrawn. An investment of well over £6000 was made for the bus shelter on Bramblewood Way because after years of lobbying by passenger groups, the 520 route was finally scheduled to synchronise with trains and so able to serve passengers for Southwold but 18 months later the train timetable was changed, so this came to nothing.
A central, well illuminated, all-in-one map and timetable display area in the station could be signposted to which people could be directed.
The ‘official’ published information of where buses depart from cannot be compared to their timetables - even if the timetables were correct - as they are on different platforms, while information provided by the train operators contradicts that there is a bus service at all.
The tourism information boards need more prominent siting and better illumination.
There aren’t clear indications of the way to the town centre or to locate the tourist maps.
A audit of the official travel information should also be done to ensure it conforms with the current status of services, e.g. http://www.halesworth.ws/about/travel.php
It would be helpful to identify the ‘owners’ of all the information provided at the station so that links between various users can be established and perhaps a community body could take the lead on maintaining the validity of the station information.
It is considered that with 13 months to go, that the new franchise holders are more likely to take an interest in any rationalisation than the present.
Many simple actions could be done cheaply by local volunteers such as switching the use of well lit, well sited frames that have advertising posters in them for information and perhaps putting the adverts somewhere else. Most of the adverts are for the train operator so it’s probably not a direct revenue loss and they stand to gain if more people use the trains.
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| Use these prime positions for information posters? |
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