Timetable Change Analysis
Clients: South West Trains, Feb-May 2005
Following a period of indifferent train service performance, SWT introduced a new timetable on 12th December 2004. As well as re-casting the services on many lines completely, this included wholesale revisions to booked times, with more time being allowed for both station stops and inter-station running. However, significant improvements in performance were recorded, with punctuality afterwards typically reaching 90%.
The Railway Consultancy was commissioned to conduct an objective analysis of the effects of the new timetable. Using a sample of 570 journeys from across the SWT network, as agreed by the Southern Rail Passengers' Committee, timetabled journeys were examined, both before and after the timetable change. In addition, analysis was conducted using output from the EGRET and PIPIT train running systems, to examine the performance of the sampled trains.
Generalised cost analysis was used to weight the different parts of journeys by the relative difficulty perceived by passengers. Results were also weighted within each of the 10 service groups by the relative demands at different times of day, and between the service groups (to reflect their relative importance). Overall, it was demonstrated that passengers' timetabled journey times had increased by one minute, but that the performance improvement was worth four minutes to them so that, overall, passengers should perceive an improvement of three minutes in their journey.
Last updated: Sunday, 18th December 2016
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