Visual map of user experience of rail touch points.

Rail coexists with many other modes of transport which provide mobility to end users. People make different journey types on all parts of the network, sometimes in a single day, with individual spatial and temporal characteristics. However, different transport modes remain poorly integrated with rail, creating inconvenience and difficulty managing multi-modal journeys.

Digitalisation is proceeding rapidly, but it is not homogenous. Some user groups feel like they are undergoing it passively. A large part of the planning, booking and purchasing of a journey is now on the web, creating a gap between those who can master these processes and those who cannot. These groups aspire and have a right to be autonomous as much as those who with digital access and skill.

The trend towards greater information service personalisation is well perceived by end-users. However, it is believed that in rail, services actually provided are not up to the goals and customisation costs are too high. Also, the number of possible solutions for any one journey is increasing whilst there are few or no tools capable of simplifying the choice for end-users.