Hacker News Reader

Comment by alanfranz | Hacker News Reader

In the last 10y, train service quality in Italy has improved quite a lot; Frecciarossa and Italo are great services. That’s when it works.

What is really terrible about trains in Italy is disruption handling. You won’t know that your train is late until it’s very late already. Sometimes you’ll be sold tickets for trains that have been canceled already. Getting money back or trips replaced is a nightmare.

From a UX point of view it seems we got the happy path working right, but anything else is absolutely bonkers.

Source: italian regularly using italian trains.

View on HN

I don't entirely understand why you need tickets for a particular train at a particular time.

Here (Israel) you get to a station, open an app that finds which station you're at and gives you an entry ticket (a QR code), you scan that ticket at the gate on the way to the platforms, and take whatever train(s) you want, and when you're at your destination station you use the app again, which creates an exit ticket and charges you according to the entry and exit stations

If riders have to make an appointment it’s easier to plan capacity. But if it’s too inconvenient people might drive an automobile instead. There’s a trade off between the system having to be flexible and the rider having to be flexible.

already decades ago germany and i don't know which other countries started charging more for these flexible tickets and you could get cheaper tickets if you booked a particular train in advance. i suppose the advantage is that by committing to a particular train it is easier to predict which trains will be full, and potentially even do something about it like adding a car to fit more passengers.

as far as i know, this only applies to long distance trains and not to regional trains. israel is a small country so all trains are more comparable to regional trains.

selling such a ticket right before getting on the train of course doesn't make any sense.

That's one think the UK does almost right. Getting money back for a trip is relatively easy. You can do it online.

I say almost though because a) every operator has their own web page to submit refund requests through (why??) and b) a train has to be 30 minutes late before you get anything. What a joke.

The government is making the railway actively hostile now, now they directly control large parts of it. That includes lying to deny Delay Repay claims and accusing people of fraud claims. (Ditto refunds for abandoned journeys)

This shouldn’t put anyone off, quite the opposite. Be prepared to push for what you’re entitled to. If you need any assistance then http://railforums.co.uk is full of experts willing to help.

(Btw some train operators have 15 minutes as the minimum delay (eg Avanti))

Probably because every operator is its own independent private entity. No shared infra.

Nonsense, they have a ton of shared infrastructure. I can buy tickets without caring which operator it is. Why can't I get a refund in the same way?

I ride the Frecciarossa from Lyon to Paris recently and loved the experience. Reservations are online. Show up to the train station 30 minutes before departure. No airport like security. Plenty of leg room and space for carryon luggage.

I'll never forget that time my SNCF train was about one and a half hour late, which was extra annoying because it was planned to arrive just before midnight, and it was a long ride to I had been looking forward to bed. They have a tiered refund system, where delays or an hour or more qualify for a full refund. But this is SNCF. I took a picture of the clock at arrival. Next day, they reported the train to be 59 minutes late and I could claim my 50% refund.

It's doesn't matter, it is not acceptable. They should refund everyone if the train is more than 15 seconds late. This is something a train can do with computer control, and good maintenance. A bus is harder to be on schedule for.

>refund everyone if the train is more than 15 seconds late

lol, it seems you have -100 knowledge how complicated rail systems could be

That complexity must be tamed in the office. It is hard for sure. But if the schedule isn't carefully planned with the right margins you can't run a system people trust.

The swiss prove it is possible.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com