|
The Waiting Game
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a very great
honour to address this annual meeting of Rail-network Station
Managers. And I am proud to receive, on behalf of myself and my
staff, the award of British Rail-network Station of the Year.
The services that led to this award were
not, of course, developed overnight. Ten years ago, my station
was simply, as many others, a location at which people boarded
and alighted from trains. We were, however, one of the first
stations to recognise the increasing need for digital information
boards and tannoy systems so that passengers were instantly
appraised of the cancellation of some trains and the periods that
others would be delayed. We were subsequently one of the first to
provide tele-visual and audio information about other trains
which had derailed, collided, crashed, exploded, or simply
disappeared, without explanation, between stations.
It soon became apparent, however, that even
this was insufficient to meet our customer’s needs. We thus
converted part of the station premises into restaurants in which
passengers could enjoy meals while they waited. Those who arrived
at the station two or three minutes before the scheduled arrival
of their train were most appreciative of the cinemas on site
where they could view several full length features prior to
boarding.
Our next project was the museum complex in
which visitors could see trains at first hand and enjoy an audio-visual
experience of railway travel. This was found to be of particular
value to those of a nervous disposition who might otherwise have
been alarmed by the unexpected arrival of a real train due to
their unfamiliarity with such a conveyance.
As trains became less frequent, the
distraction of the restaurants, cinemas, casinos, swimming pool
and sports facilities were less able to address passenger
concerns. Surveys showed that many of our customers still
harboured aspirations to get to work. We therefore developed
office facilities with Internet connection in order to allow
passengers to conduct their business. We, further, built hotel
accommodation for those who choose to either work late or partake
of the station nightlife. The unplanned evolution of platform
eight into a ‘red light district’ remains, of course,
controversial as does the transport police ‘no-go’ area
around the crack dens on platform ten.
The development of residential suburbs
around the station both reflected the success of our venture in
respect of its self-sufficiency and also the total collapse of
the national train service. It was particularly heartening to win
an English Village Garden of the Year Award after the filling of
the spaces between platforms with earth, and the planting of
those areas.
Our success, of course, brought its own
difficulties as those in the further reaches of the suburbs found
it increasingly difficult to get to the station. This problem was
overcome, however, with the opening of the new rail link that
also connects with the station’s hypermarket and airport.
This has certainly contributed to the status of our station as a
major international holiday destination.
Thank you.
|
