The UK train company Southern recently asked their passengers what they wanted in the way of multi-modal announcements - what they wanted to hear on trains and in stations about connectional opportunities to buses, trams, the London Underground and such-like.

I reckon that there are probably four types of information one can be given when travelling - the completely unnecessary, the irritating, the useful and the absolutely invaluable.

The completely unnecessary.
If you catch a non-stop train from London's Waterloo station to Woking, as the train approaches Woking you are told that you can change there for the bus link to Heathrow Airport.

So you can - but if you were going there, you wouldn't have started from here! There are three or four different ways of getting from Waterloo to Heathrow, all of which are easier, cheaper and quicker than travelling straight past it on a non-stop train to Woking and then changing to go back by bus on London's notoriously congested M25 orbital motorway.

The irritating.
As you leave London's St. Pancras station on a non-stop train to St. Albans, the recorded announcement on the new 377/5 trains tells you that, "You are now approaching St. Albans". So you are, and in around 15 minutes, all being well, you'll be there.

So tell me in 12 minutes time, not now!

This is a serious point. I first heard this on a very crowded train - it was full and standing. Had I not known where I was and how far from St. Albans I actually was, I might have left my seat (which would have made me popular), pushed through the crush to the door (which wouldn't) and then stood there for 10 minutes waiting for the train to reach its first station. What would my state of mind have been as I stood there?

The useful
Interchange information - to any other form of transport - is worthwhile if people want it. If reasonable numbers of people change between train and underground at Balham, for example, fine, announce it. Otherwise it's not worth bothering. It is irritating to get information which no-one wants.

Bus interchange information is tricky. It needs to be provided if it's useful, if there is an easy connection (a bus stop outside the station) and a good connection (less than 20 minutes to wait). If there's a 58 minute wait for the next bus or it stops more than 5 minutes walk away, forget it.

And again, only announce the useful information. To tell people on a train from London that buses run from St. Albans station to Hatfield, Watford and Welwyn Garden City is a waste of time - if they were going there, they'd go on a direct train.

The absolutely invaluable.
Commuting into St. Pancras one morning, I was told (by the driver or possibly the signalman) that the Victoria Line of the London Underground was closed. That information was solid gold - it meant that I could re-plan my journey, knowing what I know about the London Underground and the alternatives available. That was excellent service on the part of the train operator: that kind of cooperation is wonderful.

What do you think?