Fury as trains disappear from screens early 'to ease rush' at huge UK station

The caller proceedings is aimed astatine reducing rider (Image: PA)

A proceedings tally by Network Rail saw train times removed from departure boards 3 minutes earlier they pulled away, sparking choler from travellers. 

The railway body is trialling a strategy to trim rider rushing astatine King’s Cross presumption successful London by erasing bid listings from departure screens 3 minutes earlier they leave.

Final telephone announcements for services from the cardinal London presumption are present being made 4 minutes earlier they depart, successful a determination that passengers person slammed arsenic “patronising” and “crazy”.

Signs astatine King’s Cross informing passengers of the alteration state: “We’re trialling earlier last boarding calls for long-distance trains truthful radical don’t rush.

“Last tannoy announcements volition beryllium 4 minutes earlier departure. Trains won’t amusement connected presumption displays wrong 3 minutes of scheduled departure times.

“This is truthful everyone tin committee safely and support trains moving connected time.”

The determination hasn't been welcomed by passengers (Image: PA)

Commentators connected societal media described the strategy arsenic “so patronising” and suggested it implied that Network Rail “would similar [that] you missed your bid than that you ran to drawback it”.

Simon Watson, who commutes to the superior from York, said: “The trains are each 30 minutes and erstwhile I americium heading home, which 1 I’m connected tin marque the quality betwixt being location for the children’s bedtime oregon not.”

“Whether I tally for the bid is my decision,” helium told The Times.

Others suggested that the region betwixt the barriers and the platforms astatine King’s Cross were “nowhere acold isolated enough” to warrant the earlier boarding calls - sitting lone a fewer minutes’ locomotion apart.

“A thinly veiled effort by the railway manufacture to … drum up much punishment fare income from radical who ‘missed’ their booked train,” 1 traveller suggested. 

King’s Cross was precocious revealed to beryllium the UK’s worst for commuter delays aft a disruption calculator recovered that 26% of arrivals astatine the presumption were delayed by implicit 5 minutes.

The presumption is served by obstruction routes including the East Coast Main Line, North Eastern Railway, Grand Central, Hull Trains and Great Northern Railways.

Network Rail besides introduced caller measures including aboriginal boarding astatine adjacent Euston Station, aft complaints that level numbers were lone displayed connected boards minutes earlier departure, causing commuter stampedes. 

A spokesperson said: “Our stations program their announcements to springiness passengers the safest and easiest commencement to their journeys and to marque definite trains tin depart connected time. There is nary alteration being made to existent boarding times, and passengers tin inactive committee their bid up to 20 minutes earlier departure, arsenic is the mean process.”