From: “LW<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/span>To: Customer Relations <Customer.Relations@northernrail.org>; <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Kerry.Williamson@passengerfocus.org.uk; info@passengerfocus.org.uk<\/span><\/p>\n Cc: rail@dft.gsi.gov.uk; <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Sent: <\/span>Wed, 11 November, 2009<\/span> <\/span>9:21:33<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Subject: Re: Northern Rail – Reference NR\/77891<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n It has now been 2 months since you assured me that the public address system in Marsden was on your priority list for fixing.\u00a0 This system has now been out of order for around 6 months and the passengers who use this station have no other way of being informed of delays\/cancellations:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n There are no information screens<\/span><\/p>\n The station is unmanned<\/span><\/p>\n There is no public phone<\/span><\/p>\n The mobile phone signal is weak at the station (so thank you for the \u00a0 poster telling me the number to call, but this doesn’t help)<\/span><\/p>\n According to the National Rail website the nearest WiFi hotspot is in<\/span><\/p>\n Holmfirth (7.5 miles away)<\/span><\/p>\n The National Rail text service doesn’t report delays or cancellations \u00a0 after the scheduled departure time of a train<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Passengers at this station rely on the announcement system and we feel like we are being treated as second class citizens as all other stations between Marsden and <\/span>Manchester<\/span> have alternative information channels.\u00a0 Passengers travelling from Marsden to <\/span>Manchester<\/span> also pay the large premium for use of the tunnel and we would expect at least equal treatment in the provision of basic facilities at our station.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n It it not acceptable that the announcement system has been out of order for such a period of time and is clearly in breach of your charter.\u00a0 As this still hasn’t been fixed and your charter states that you report the state of your facilities to the Department of Transport I have copied them in for their records.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Please can you confirm when this system will be back in use?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Regards<\/span><\/p>\n LW<\/span><\/p>\n The following is an extract from an e-mail sent to Smart on 2 11 09 <\/strong> I have a meeting on Wednesday with Ditra personnel. I will then be in position to give some clarity on timescales for completion of repairs. I have also had some posters printed that update our customers to where we are at present. They read as follows: Public Announcements We are very sorry that we can’t make public announcements at this station until further notice. This is because of a major technical fault with the public address system which we are working hard to put right. In the meantime, you can get train running information by phoning TrainTracker on 0871 200 4915 or by texting the station name to 84950. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we will let you know a completion date as soon as we can. Northern Rail 2 11 09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The following mail,was forwarded to SMART by a local traveller: From: “LW To: Customer Relations <Customer.Relations@northernrail.org>; Kerry.Williamson@passengerfocus.org.uk; info@passengerfocus.org.uk Cc: rail@dft.gsi.gov.uk; Sent: Wed, 11 November, 2009 9:21:33 Subject: Re: Northern Rail – Reference NR\/77891 It has now been 2 months since … Continue reading