SunRail needs to sound off quicker when there are delays

SunRail’s success and ridership depend on one word – reliability.

We’re the first to say that SunRail can’t be held responsible when somebody carelessly, or intentionally, blocks the tracks.

But SunRail can mitigate the situation by promptly communicating with riders when delays occur.

That was not the case early Monday morning with a southbound train was delayed by a vehicle blocking the tracks.

One of our favorite riders tweeted the delay news at 7:06 a.m. SunRail didn’t send their first tweet until 7:24 a.m. By then our favorite rider sent a second tweet at 7:14 a.m.  During that time two other riders also tweeted delay information – before SunRail.

Some may say, “Oh come on, it’s only a ‘few’ minutes.” But minutes count, especially when people are heading to work in the morning. Folks have deadlines and early-morning meetings. Hourly workers get penalized for clocking in late.

At least if people know there’s a delay they can call and email their places of work to let team members and bosses know they’re stuck on the train. Beyond riders on the train, let’s not forget people stranded on platforms waiting for the delayed train.

Keep in mind that if the southbound SunRail train is delayed, there’s a good chance the delay will cascade and affect northbound trips because the southbound train becomes the northbound train when it reaches the end of the line at Sand Lake Road. (SunRail deserves credit for quickly getting things back on schedule this morning.)

We have no idea how the SunRail operations center in Sanford is set up, but there should be one person in the operations center at all times whose only job is to communicate with riders when there are service delays. Rider communications are a big part of reliability. Remember, SunRail is hauling people, not sacks of cement.

Once a train experiences a delay of more than 5 or 6 minutes that person should be tweeting.  We would rather have SunRail over communicate than leave riders uninformed.

Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Step lively, riders!

Much of the time we write about things SunRail can do to make the service better. There are also things we – SunRail riders – can do to make the trains run better.

One of the things that always amazes us is how people wait until the last minute to get off the train at their station. We watch some people on the upper level wait until the train comes to a complete stop and the doors open before gathering their belongings to get off.

Seriously?

What are they waiting for? 

Next stops are always announced in advance. What’s wrong with going downstairs so you’re ready to get off as soon as the train stops?

Riders who delay getting off the train interfere with passengers who are boarding, and that slows down the train’s arrival at the next station.

Step lively folks and let’s do our part to keep the trains on schedule.