{"id":386131,"date":"2026-03-13T21:41:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=190562"},"modified":"2026-03-13T21:41:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:41:06","slug":"progress-made-improving-help-points-at-stations-but-more-work-required-says-orr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=386131","title":{"rendered":"Progress made improving help points at stations, but more work required, says ORR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Upgraded help point units, more\u00a0frequent\u00a0inspections,\u00a0and improvements\u00a0to\u00a0connectivity at\u00a0unstaffed\u00a0and remote\u00a0stations, are among the changes being delivered following the Office of Rail and Road\u2019s\u00a0(ORR) 2024\u00a0report, which\u00a0identified\u00a0weaknesses in reliability and inconsistent monitoring of service quality across the network.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For passengers, help points are often the only way to speak to a human for assistance when station staff are unavailable, and it is the responsibility of station operators to ensure they are working and that calls are answered.<\/p>\n

After assessing various data, including from station operators responsible for help points at more than 2,500 stations in Britain, ORR highlighted that not all station operators have systems and processes in place to reliably operate their help points, or reliably answer calls from them. ORR also raised concerns about help points at remote stations which might be affected by poor mobile coverage.<\/p>\n

In response to ORR\u2019s recommendations, 21 station operators reviewed their monitoring and maintenance arrangements. Nearly half have introduced, or are introducing, newer models of help point, with better functionality. These upgrades enable quicker identification of faults, faster repairs, and more transparent performance reporting.<\/p>\n

Northern Trains and Transport for Wales, which ORR said faced the greatest challenges, are making improvements that ORR is continuing to monitor, including upgrading or renewing help point units at rural stations prioritised because of poor connectivity.<\/p>\n

ORR\u00a0recognises\u00a0the progress made but expects operators to\u00a0maintain\u00a0this\u00a0momentum.\u00a0\u00a0There is still some way to go.\u00a0ORR\u00a0will continue to\u00a0collaborate with governments to\u00a0monitor\u00a0performance data and engage with industry to ensure improvements are sustained.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR\u2019s director of strategy, policy and reform, said:\u00a0\u201cHelp points are a vital back-up for passengers, particularly where stations are unstaffed or connectivity is limited. They must be reliable and ready to use whenever they are needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen positive steps from operators following our review, but sustained focus is essential to ensure these improvements translate into consistent, dependable support for passengers across the network.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image credit: ORR\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Upgraded help point units, more\u00a0frequent\u00a0inspections,\u00a0and improvements\u00a0to\u00a0connectivity at\u00a0unstaffed\u00a0and remote\u00a0stations, are among the changes being delivered following the Office of Rail and Road\u2019s\u00a0(ORR) 2024\u00a0report, which\u00a0identified\u00a0weaknesses in reliability and inconsistent monitoring of service quality across the network.\u00a0 For passengers, help points are often the only way\u00a0to speak to\u00a0a human for\u00a0assistance\u00a0when\u00a0station staff are unavailable,\u00a0and it is the responsibility of [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16017,47,16092,913,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-386131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry-news","category-rail-news","category-stations","category-travel","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=386131"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387761,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386131\/revisions\/387761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=386131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=386131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=386131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}