I passed through Muenster (Westphalia) this (Sunday) morning ... and it struck me just how joined up and information and facilities rich the public transport is in this city - which (by population) is perhaps 20% larger that Swindon, just over two times the size of Bath.  Readers are welcome to make comparisons to they find in Bath, or Swindon, or Bristol or Salisbury or on the public transport between them. I am going to focus here on good things.

On train displays telling you more that just the next station - following stations, where to change and to which platform for ongoing services, and where the various regional and local buses are to be found.  The displays alternating between German and English.







The railway station has the buses right outside, and as you come off the trains there are directions to the buses. And as you come off the buses, there are directioons to the trains





For the newcomer, there are maps of the city centre, city centre transport, urban area transport, and transport beyond.









Dirctions to the various facilities too



A modern, airy, friendly feel - plenty of light, and automatic doors that keep the wind out and the warm air in.



The selection of cafes is wide and the products copious, attractive and reasonable priced, with smiling staff who are happy so serve with a smile.









There is a wider range of shops / outlets too - a veritable shopping mall where you'll be temped to make far more than just emergency purchase whilst you wince at station prices.



For those who want them, McDonalds and KFC are right there in the station

Boards along the platorms tell you where to stand - where the various parts of the train will be in clearly lettered zones.

The trains are modern, attractive, and in lots of colours and operators.

Most trains electric, and running clock face at the same time in each hour. Freight services also sharing the tracks and also electric hauled.



Plenty of bicycle space and passenger space on a six carrige train, and useable cycle clips



Comfortable seats on longer distance trains





"See it, say it, sorted" with good explanation of what and how to report



Security to make you feel safe



Discreet Artwork



Automated facilites



Departure tables / details applying daily, notifying platform numbers way in advance



Platform sections clearly indicated and on-plaform displays helping you find the right place in the train





Yes - I have seen trains so overcrowded I could not get on.  Cancelled services.  Delayed services where the initial delay creeps upward from a few minutes to quarter of an hour.  Loos, doors, escalators out of action. Trains diverted from the main station so giving a need to make a new, later and more complex connection, and in train displays that are clearly out of sync. I am not suggesting that the German system is perfect - far from it, but there are lessons we could learn.  Passenger friendly lessons that, perhaps, would encourge people to use public transport so much more and replay the investment in providing and maintaining them many times over.

 
From my own recent travels in Germany, I would say that the two things that really set an example that GBR could learn from are the train information at stations/on trains and (but not in all main stations) the extended hours and variety of catering and retail outlets.

However, signage for getting around stations internally was in my experience (based on experience at Aachen, Osnabruck, Hannover, Hamburg HBF and Lubeck) patchy or poor. In particular, Osnabruck, with its complex two level structure for a station of its size was apparently lacking in simple signage getting you between platforms on different levels and to the retail/main entrance.

It also has to be said that German stations do seem to be a magnet for drunks and down-and-outs, sadly.

What does strike you (and feel familiar) is the considerable difference in the ambience of stations. As in the UK, you have a mixture of tired stations that look like they need investment, grand old ones that either still "cut it" (e.g Lubeck) or look overdue a refresh (e.g Hamburg HBF), some that are just pleasant and adequate (e.g Aachen) or are modern, fresh and pleasant (e.g Hannover). But then, that matches what I've seen in Belgium, Netherlands and France too.

Another aspect I liked was the regional liveries applied to local trains, albeit that some are a little garish. My favourite (as you may gather from an earlier post) is the blue Schleswig-Holstein one, with a slogan proclaiming with regional pride "Schleswig-Holstein - der Echte Nordern" - "Schleswig-Holstein - the northern corner". Can we have something like that for our Thames Valley and South-west local trains, please GBR?