Getting On The Wrong Train...Has This Happened To You???

How about a light blue/grey color with white letters?

No that won't work, color signs are a great idea but should we add a number designation too? Let's say for starters we make the Airport the R-1 ?

Honestly, if they used a R1-R13 system instead, it would eliminate the confusion. However, I can't think of any other commuter rail system in the US that uses numbers for routes.

How about instead of "dumbing down" the railroad, people start reading schedules, signs, and TV monitors.

How the heck did people ever find their train at Suburban Station or Reading Terminal 30 years ago? They didn't use R5 or gray signs in the train windows. Yet people got on the right train to Newtown, Pottsville, Bethlehem, Chestnut Hill, Paoli, etc. And back in those days, there were 12 tracks downtown instead of just a northbound and southbound platform.

Each generation of American seems to get dumber and dumber as technology, TV, music, advertising, and electronics hypnotize and distract every minute of our lives. Plus our TV role models like Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, and Kim Kardashian glorify stupidity and make it look chic in the mainstream.

Why don't we make SEPTA hire people to hold everyone's hand and get them on the right train, bus, and trolley?

NorthPennLimited wrote:How about instead of "dumbing down" the railroad, people start reading schedules, signs, and TV monitors.

How the heck did people ever find their train at Suburban Station or Reading Terminal 30 years ago? They didn't use R5 or gray signs in the train windows. Yet people got on the right train to Newtown, Pottsville, Bethlehem, Chestnut Hill, Paoli, etc. And back in those days, there were 12 tracks downtown instead of just a northbound and southbound platform.

Each generation of American seems to get dumber and dumber as technology, TV, music, advertising, and electronics hypnotize and distract every minute of our lives. Plus our TV role models like Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, and Kim Kardashian glorify stupidity and make it look chic in the mainstream.

Why don't we make SEPTA hire people to hold everyone's hand and get them on the right train, bus, and trolley?

preach on, brother man!!!!!

At least some of the time if is "the railroad's" fault. In Boston I can remember from years past, before the LED destination signs, often the side destination signs of light rail cars would be wrong. Once (in Boston) I saw a bus load up at the terminal normally from its proper berth. Then pull out into the street with "out of service" still showing on the destination signboard. I wonder how many passengers at intermediate stops, wanting that route, saw the bus coming and never waved to the driver to stop. They probably thought that that trip was missed.

For the OP and those who replied, were there indeed any train IDs, whether they be on a video screen or LED sign in the station or on a placard or destination sign on the train? One poster said he used the arrival time to infer which train it was, and that turned out to be incorrect which to me means no one should rely on that.

It was about 30 years ago when I was taking a commuter train in Philadelphia and when (my) train arrived, the conductor yelled out the destination (here, Paoli Local) multiple times. Who nowadays considers that excessive handholding and pampering of passengers?

I dare say that 40, 50, etc. years ago trains were better identified, although still, some folks still got on the wrong train.

My folks let me 'Ride The Reading' from Ft. Wash. when I was as young as 8. First and most simple rule: ALWAYS ask the conductor, before getting on, if this train stops where you're going. Ergot, I've never gotten on the wrong train.

If there were info screens or zippers at each station, it would be a lot easier. There has yet to be zippers installed at many stations. All there is at jenkintown is a glenside combined schedule. At langhorne, there is a map, schedules, and a zipper. Doylestown has a schedule, and the zipper, but i don't remember if there is a map (i think it has one).

Also, SEPTA does not have the easiest to access schedules online, you have to click a menu, click schedules, click regional rail, click the line(s) you need. Schedule link should be a scrollable list on the home page, one for RRD, one for bus, one for everything else.

Also, the trip planner needs or let you prioritize rail, vs "without regional rail". What if i want to make a trip without bus, trolley, or subway?! Might end up with a few more people on those trains, just saying.......

jackintosh11 wrote:Honestly, if they used a R1-R13 system instead, it would eliminate the confusion. However, I can't think of any other commuter rail system in the US that uses numbers for routes.

When the changes were coming, a number of us suggested that SEPTA simply add a "1" ahead of the route numbers to the Reading-side lines. Then it was suggested to at least keep the color coding for the destination signs and routes.

We all know how that turned out....

Has anyone else noticed that trains are now being announced as "next to arrive" at University City station? Hopefully this will help prevent people from boarding the wrong trains.

Silverliner II wrote:

jackintosh11 wrote:Honestly, if they used a R1-R13 system instead, it would eliminate the confusion. However, I can't think of any other commuter rail system in the US that uses numbers for routes.

When the changes were coming, a number of us suggested that SEPTA simply add a "1" ahead of the route numbers to the Reading-side lines. Then it was suggested to at least keep the color coding for the destination signs and routes.

We all know how that turned out....

I've had this idea in my head where you have all the Reading Lines have R1,R2,etc and the PRR Lines have P1,P2 numbers. Only problem would be that casual riders would be confused by the resurrection of the R numbers. But it can't be any worse than Wayne/Wayne Junction or Trenton/West Trenton.

Push/Pull Master wrote:But it can't be any worse than Wayne/Wayne Junction or Trenton/West Trenton.

Or the people who get on the P&W instead of the RRD (or vice-versa) because there are two Radnors, two Villanovas, two Bryn Mawrs, two Haverfords, and thanks to SEPTA's latest renaming scheme, two DeKalb Streets ...

It happens more often than you might expect given that the two systems are completely separate.

I believe it. These mistakes do happen. One time, I was riding the train into Center City and this clearly upset woman got on at Wayne Junction, saying a conductor told her to get off there when she meant to go to Wayne station and was stranded for 3 hours. Hopefully, she got to her destination safe and sound.

How do you get stranded for 3 hrs at a station where trains are every 10 to 15 minutes? And at worst a train going through to Wayne is every hr

I honestly find it really hard to get on the wrong train

zebrasepta wrote:I honestly find it really hard to get on the wrong train

I honestly agree. That story I mentioned yesterday was a weird one. The woman didn't seem too bright, judging from how she tried to solve the problem. If she would've looked at a map at Wayne Junction, she would have reached her destination much earlier.