Developing a Serious Game for Rail Services: Improving Passenger Information During Disruption (PIDD)

Managing passenger information during disruption (PIDD) is a significant factor in running effective and quick-to-recover rail operations. Disruptions are unpredictable, and their timely resolution is ultimately dependent on the expert knowledge of experienced frontline staff. The development of frontline employees by their employers usually takes the form of practice reviews and 'on-the-job' learning, while academic education majors on theoretical approaches and classroom-based teaching. This paper reports on a novel industry-funded project that has developed a serious game (the 'Rail Disruption Game') that combines theory and practice to better manage PIDD for frontline staff in a UK train operating company (TOC). It defines challenges and the development method for the Rail Disruption Game; it also incorporates developer and user feedback. This paper provides insight into how to design, make and deploy a serious game as part of a gamified management process.