Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Don't know about you, but I worked it out in about 2 minutes when I first saw that style of board. And if you don't know, can't work it out or are colourblind, you can just read the text the old way.
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Deliberate msinformation on departure boards at Euston?
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Don't know about you, but I worked it out in about 2 minutes when I first saw that style of board. And if you don't know, can't work it out or are colourblind, you can just read the text the old way.
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RailUK Forums
Green is boarding and red is cancelled at the airport, it is quite intuitive.
Surreytraveller
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Could apply to the train operator. Just another piece of information with which to confuse the public
Red being negative and green being go definitely very confusing and not intuitive. Got it. Nothing should be any colour in case someone thinks it corresponds to the colour of the trains or something.
PG
Established Member
I've not seen the new boards myself but those colours sound like most people would understand them - even non drivers are able to say what the colours mean on road traffic lights.
PG
Established Member
Ah yes so true, my apologies
miklcct
Established Member
In such case it's fairly easy to understand blue as South Western Railway, red as Gatwick Express and green as Southern.
See here:
Check out the huge new train departure board at London Victoria station
A huge new departure board screen has appeared at London Victoria station, and it's big, bright, and offers a lot more information than the old screens could show.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
Saw the new screens at London Euston for the first time yesterday and imo, they are a vast improvement on the previous set up. Clear, well presented information with intuitive colors.
Also, very easy to identify who operates the train. On the main listings, the operator is clearly stated at the bottom, with the company logo. And on the next train screens, text switching from destination to train company every 3-4 seconds left me in no doubt that the next train to Milton Keynes Central was London Noethwestern
Also, very easy to identify who operates the train. On the main listings, the operator is clearly stated at the bottom, with the company logo. And on the next train screens, text switching from destination to train company every 3-4 seconds left me in no doubt that the next train to Milton Keynes Central was London Noethwestern
Class800
Established Member
I find the new boards decidedly tricky, but don't believe it's a conspiracy - just innovation that in my view doesn't work. I find it hard to focus given all the colours. I used real time trains instead as I couldn't make sense of the board
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I think they work fine but they are in the wrong place. They are quite dazzling up close - a row of "TVs" would have been easier to read in the location they used (and about a tenth of the price). Or that type of board placed where the old one was.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
They are clear and easy to read and much better than the orange on black approach previously. I cant understand how you couldn't make sense of them!
Class800
Established Member
I find the colours over stimulating and confusing and the white text very hard to read - but realise I am not neurotypical
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I do think they are very bright up close and can see how they may cause some people problems. Do you find the similar board at Victoria in the place of the old orange LED one similarly unpleasant?
The main issue I have with them is that I can't stroll in through the most-used entrance (the Tube/M&S side one) towards the platform tunnel and read one on the way, because the one on that side is turned off due to it causing crowding. Totally removing the structure on that side would be better, then you could read the far one from there. There is the one by the entrance itself, but "Northampton" doesn't always tell you enough on its own if you want an intermediate, and "Birmingham New St" definitely doesn't.
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I prefer monochrome displays, too.
The new displays are intended to appeal to people who wouldn’t be able to understand RTT in a million years!
zwk500
Veteran Member
I think the bright colours would be a lot less problematic if they were mounted where the old boards used to be. The crowding issues would then also be better. Just put up some stanchions to create a clear waiting area and 'exit lane' to stop the crowd spilling over.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
The way the crowds at Euston surge that could cause a Hillsborough like situation, which is why I suspect no crowd-control fence type things have ever been installed, as otherwise they'd make a lot of sense.
zwk500
Veteran Member
Not suggesting a fence at all - just a pole, with big wide gaps between so that when the train is called the crowd can move through. The objective is to mark an area, not corral people into it.
Class800
Established Member
Yes actually - but I realise my colour and light perception is unusual
Both sets were in operation when I passed through Euston last week, but with one showing chronological departures and one showing ‘next fastest train’ departures.
This suggests to me that they are experimenting with different arrangements to see what effect that has on pedestrian movement and bunching in the hall.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I'm sorry, do you use the same railway as me? It's not fit for purpose as it is now, though it'd not be too hard to fix it so it was.
I believe there's one due to be added outside? Are more coming inside, if so where?
At first, I wasn't a fan on the placement however it is far easier for me to quickly pop to the shop in turnaround time now as I can just walk under the new screens where nobody is waiting beats the old huddle filling the entire hall.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I think overall it solves the wrong problem anyway. The scrum issue would be considerably reduced if Avanti offered easy-to-obtain last minute reservations on your phone like LNER do, so only a few people would be left scrabbling for Coach C. While the issue with LNR would be solved if they just stopped suppressing the platform numbers - there's no need now there's no longer splitting/joining at Euston. They haven't always done so, it started in the mid 2000s when Network Rail took over operating the PIS from Virgin. There even used to be a paper printed list of peak time Silverlink platforms stuck on the partition in the Tube station - they're almost totally consistent. I'm sure there are more options.
The scrum is the problem, not the location of the departure boards which just tweaks around the edges.
The scrum is the problem, not the location of the departure boards which just tweaks around the edges.
cactustwirly
Established Member
Maybe they could do something like New Street.
Have zoned lounges for people to wait?
I think they should do this at Paddington.
Ie display something like "this train departs from platforms 1-5" or "platforms 8-11" or "11-14"
Hopefully going where they old departure board used to be? One problem with the new boards is you can't really reasd then from ther mezzaine food court, this wan't a problem with the old departure board.
On a related subject I see some temporary departure boards have been istalled at St Pancras by the entrance door that gets closed in winter. Does that mean the boards there are finally being replaced?
zwk500
Veteran Member
There's not really the room for that at Euston, which just has one central concourse with a wide but not excessive walkway across the back of the platforms for the ramps down. It's not helped by the fact that slow line platforms are in the middle of two groups of fast line platforms, and trains do get swapped between P1-7 and P12-16 at times. @Bletchleyite has identified the easiest solution - stop suppressing LNWR platforms.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
They did used to do that at Padd when trains were going to depart from the suburban platforms which were way out of the way, a bit Manc Picc 13/14 esque. Doubt they do now that's all been rejigged. It used to go in the notes at the bottom.
I’m at Euston to catch the 18:39 LNR departure to Harrow & Wealdstone. FastJP says it is the fastest way to make this journey and NRE confirms the train calls at HRW.
The new departure board at Euston claims this train doesn’t call at HRW (it’s not marked as pick up only or anything like that). The departure board shows the next train to HRW is at 18:54. Staff claim it doesn’t call at HRW.
I know better and made my way to the train where the guard has just announced the first call as HRW!
Does anyone know why this is happening. I can’t see any disruption on LNR out of Euston, there a some London Overground cancellations but if anything you’d want to put people onto LNR if LO is disrupted.
The new departure board at Euston claims this train doesn’t call at HRW (it’s not marked as pick up only or anything like that). The departure board shows the next train to HRW is at 18:54. Staff claim it doesn’t call at HRW.
I know better and made my way to the train where the guard has just announced the first call as HRW!
Does anyone know why this is happening. I can’t see any disruption on LNR out of Euston, there a some London Overground cancellations but if anything you’d want to put people onto LNR if LO is disrupted.
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