Train passengers in the UK to receive personalised travel updates. Credit: R~P~M.

National Rail is set to trial technology that will help provide personalised travel updates to passengers in the UK.

The move aims to keep customers updated on their scheduled journeys, including possible delays and disruptions. The service will also offer information on alternative trains if the respective train is cancelled.

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Customers who take part in the trial will receive travel updates through Facebook Messenger tailored according to their requirements.

During the trials, they can sign up for travel alerts for regular or one-off journeys by tapping the ‘Keep Me Updated’ button.

National Rail official Crispin Humm said: “We are committed to putting our customers at the heart of everything we do, which is why we’re investing to deliver new technology that will allow us to provide a more tailored service, keeping our customers informed during times of disruption.

“Information provided to passengers will include delays of more than 10% of their total journey time.”

“This new tool will provide customers with useful and relevant information so that they will feel in control of their journeys.”

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Information provided to passengers will include delays of more than 10% of their total journey time. This service will enable passengers to adjust their schedules accordingly.

Developed by transport tech specialists Zipabout using their communication platform, the technology is expected to eliminate the need to look for the latest updates on train services through their websites or Twitter feeds.

Zipabout Product head Alex Froom said: “Whilst Twitter is a great information tool, people don’t want to scroll endlessly through news feeds to find out about delays to journeys that may not be relevant to them.

“By harnessing this new technology National Rail will be able to get bespoke, accurate information to customers in order to better help make their end-to-end journeys with ease.”

The platform will be trialled on the National Rail website for six months.

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