Train delayed recently? Well delays will soon become a thing of the past (officially speaking that is). And it’s all thanks to a revolutionary new train station time zone.
Ever found yourself staring at a departure board telling you that your train is ‘on time’, yet you know damn well it’s not? In fact, it was supposed to depart five minutes ago and you’re just waiting around for the delay announcement.
Well today, with backing from the Department for Transport, train stations across the UK have agreed to introduce a new station time zone in a bid to reduce the number of delayed trains.
Once the new railway time is rolled out, trains will officially depart right on time, with the odd one or two running ahead of schedule.
Right on time
Railway time was first introduced by Great Western Railway in 1840 as a means of standardising times across all of their stations. Soon after, several other train companies adopted this method. And so in 1847 the Railway Clearing House adopted Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as a countrywide standard time.
This new technical change will see railway stations across the UK modernise and adopt a new standardised approach to time, and so breaking the tradition of running station clocks running by GMT and British Summer Time.
Thomas Gordon, Knapford station manager and spokesman for the Right On Time project team, said:
‘This will clear up confusion for delayed passengers. It’s a simple solution that will relieve pressure for all of us. We anticipate reporting on its success come next year’s review by the rail regulator into train delays.
‘The bottom line is, if you think you’re delayed then check the station clock first.’
Once implemented, the minute you step foot in the train station your smartphone and smartwatches will automatically adjust to the new time zone, with the time changing to ensure your train is always on time. However, you’ll need to make sure you adjust any analogue or non-smartwatch to the station time.
Name game
Following in the footsteps of the National Environment Research Council’s public vote to name a new £200m research boat, currently BoatyMcBoatFace, the Right On Time project has also opened up a public vote to source the name for the new station time zone.
For those of you who’d like to cast your vote, you’ll need to first embark on a treasure hunt in search of the right form. The form will be cunningly hidden within the depths of your train operators’ website. Currently leading the way is Berwick-upon-Tweed Time, or BUTT.
The winning name will be announced on Wednesday 27 April ready for the new station time zone to be rolled out over the Bank Holiday weekend.
We’re not all that convinced by this new initiative, but only time will tell. So what do you think of this plan to launch a new train station time zone?