However, family-friendly trains are something that have been introduced abroad. In many European countries, many long-distance services have dedicated family carriages, and some even have play areas. In Austria, trains feature family zones, which create a special travel experience for both parents and children.
ÖBB spokesman Bernhard Rieder says: “It was our intention to help families to travel easily. In the designated cars, there is extra space for strollers and buggies. The restroom has a child-friendly design and is equipped with a changing table. Before entering the family zone, there is a symbol showing that you are entering a customised zone for kids and families. We are constantly trying to improve the family zone to meet the travel requirements, so that a family has an even better experience.”
ÖBB also has a children’s mascot called Timi Taurus.
In Switzerland, SBB’s IC2000 InterCity trains, which have been running since the 1990s, have around 20 family carriages. And new orders of trains continue to arrive with these carriages as standard.
On double-decker trains, the lower deck of the carriage has a large luggage zone, which is also used early in the morning and at weekends by passengers heading out for trips with mountain bikes.
A spokesman for SBB says: “The family cars with playgrounds are very popular with children. If a train has such a carriage, this can be seen in the online timetable in the SBB Mobile app. Families with children can already wait in the appropriate sector at the station.”
Finland has had family carriages for the past 15 years, and there have even been marketing campaigns designed to show off how family friendly the trains are. European train operators are clearly making a trade-off between lost revenue and comfort and convenience for families.
VR Group Ltd runs the long-distance trains in Finland. Acting Director of Services Petri Martola says: “Families are coming, and they are eating on board. Of course, there are fewer seats in the family carriages, and we could have got more money if it was a normal carriage on some days. But on other days we couldn’t, so we see that’s better to have family-friendly services on those trains.
“So, we are not maximising income, we are thinking long-term that families will get used to travelling by train and you get good memories already when you are kids. It’s a long-term investment.”
Interestingly, a few years ago, Transport Focus looked at the concept as part of work with HS2 Ltd. Ian Wright says: “HS2, at the time, was looking at those kinds of options and passengers were saying that’s the sort of thing they want. To be honest, some of that demand comes from the families themselves and also those who aren’t travelling with families.”
Some form of segregation would certainly be welcomed by business travellers using the rail network off-peak. Wright adds: “Sometimes, even the parents themselves might want a separate carriage, particularly if they are embarrassed when their toddler is running around the train. You don’t want it completely segregated, but I think some would welcome having that option.”
So, are we heading in the same direction with play areas on trains? Probably not, but some operators are already thinking about what changes could be made to accommodate families with pushchairs and young children. LNER is in the midst of conducting research with passenger groups, including Joe Thomas and his Campaign for Family-Friendly Trains.
“One consideration is to take out seats and create spaces that work better for families, such as dedicated family areas on trains,” says LNER Head of Customer Experience Abu Siddeeq.
“We’ll be testing that theory as part of our research to understand exactly what families - and other customers - need from the railway, in order to feel as welcomed and comfortable as they can across the journey with us.”
Currently, LNER asks people to fold up pushchairs before they get on the train. Siddeeq says: “Sometimes, people assume the answer is to change the internal layout, and some of the solution may involve that. But it’s not just about creating a place to store pushchairs, it’s also about ensuring that families can be sat together comfortably.”
So, why not go down the route of flip-up seats, like on the London Underground and the new Overground metro-style layouts?
Siddeeq: “Short journeys are one thing, but when you have people travelling from (say) London to Edinburgh, I don’t think a flip-up seat would be satisfactory. I think you’d want a proper seat.”
Future interior layouts will be considered once the findings from the research have been processed. Staff have also been travelling on trains to witness issues for themselves, and they’ve been talking to existing passengers. LNER has also been speaking to families who don’t consider rail travel anymore - those who have had bad experiences or who just don’t want the stress of a long journey.
Siddeeq: “I think it’s important we listen to non-users of the railway just as much as anyone else, to understand what would attract them to use our services. There’s a tendency to only focus on enhancing the experience for the people who already choose to travel with us, and that is of course important, but we also need to factor into our thinking the people that don’t normally travel by rail, especially families.”
Siddeeq says that the company is currently considering taking out seats to create pushchair spaces.
“It’s one of a number of initiatives being considered and we are serious about improving things, as we have shown before. When the new Azuma train fleet came into service, it was swiftly recognised that more could be done to increase comfort for our long-distance customers, and as a result we took out some seats in favour of additional luggage racks. This shows that we are happy to sacrifice seats, if that is the solution, for a better experience.”
Luggage is also something that’s been the subject of much research. Transport Focus carried out surveys at key London stations and noted what people were travelling with. The vast majority had at least one form of luggage, even if it was a small piece similar to that carried onto an aircraft. Around 15% had a large suitcase, and a quarter of passengers had two or more pieces of luggage.
TF’s Ian Wright says: “It’s not surprising that there have been calls for more luggage space. Our findings also highlight the stress that passengers feel if they are not able to find a space for it. And in terms of security, people like to be able to see their luggage and make sure it’s safe.”
The position of the luggage area is becoming an important issue which once again could dictate the design of future carriage layouts. It’s interesting to note that 20 years ago, Virgin Trains introduced mid-carriage luggage racks when it brought in the new Pendolino tilting trains on the West Coast Main Line.
Some long-distance services are already evolving to cater for the changing times. Virgin’s successor, Avanti West Coast, has been refurbishing its Class 390 Pendolinos to (among other things) offer more Standard Class seats and additional luggage space. It’s part of a £117 million upgrade which has included the conversion of one First Class carriage on each of the 35 Pendolinos to provide more than 2,000 extra Standard Class seats. The refurbishment has also provided more power points.
Avanti has also launched a service called Standard Premium, which allows passengers to upgrade and travel in a First Class carriage. Although they don’t get the complimentary food and drink during the journey, they do get the extra space and comfort that comes with a First Class ticket.
These changes were already being planned prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, but are another clear example of how trains are already being repurposed to cater for the ever-changing passenger needs.
Philippa Cresswell, Executive Director for On Board Customer Experience at Avanti West Coast, says: “The idea was that we offer an alternative for those who didn’t want the all-inclusive First Class experience, but wanted the space and to be able to work. It’s proved to be extremely popular, not just at the weekends, but Monday to Friday as well.”
Many passengers were already buying cheap First Class tickets via smartphone apps such as Seatfrog and other available discounts.
Cresswell: “We do want to protect First Class, as it’s a key part of our three-classes strategy, but we also recognised a new market, even before COVID. But during the pandemic, it’s worked well, especially for those customers wanting the extra space. It’s more about introducing a new proposition and a new option for customers.”
