New clock unveiled

Turtle · 31 May 2026

thenorthern said:
I know this will be controversial but GBR should bring back the old NSE clock. A large number of millennials don't know how to tell the time from a standard 12-hour clock face.
ll
While it was bulky the old NSE clock was easy to understand, easy to find and just worked.

I find your remark about the so called millennial rather hard to believe. What is your source for this?

RailUK Forums

AlterEgo · 31 May 2026

Turtle said:
I find your remark about the so called millennial rather hard to believe. What is your source for this?

That poster is possibly misunderstanding what a millennial is. I am a millennial, and I will be 40 this year.

This however may be of use: https://www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/1-in-6-people-cant-tell-the-time-according-to-research - it's Gen Z who apparently have the most difficulty, because they have mostly grown up with the time being shown on digital devices in HH:MM format.

Horizon22 · 31 May 2026

thenorthern said:
I know this will be controversial but GBR should bring back the old NSE clock. A large number of millennials don't know how to tell the time from a standard 12-hour clock face.

That's not really true, but under 25s do have more of an issue.

Even then, the railway works on a 24 hour clock, so it wouldn't make sense to have a standard clock face. Old NSE clocks (many of which are still about on some platforms), also used 24h timings and they are now 30+ years old.

ainsworth74 · 31 May 2026

thenorthern said:
A large number of millennials don't know how to tell the time from a standard 12-hour clock face.

How old do you think Millennials are?

Russel · 31 May 2026

ollyexe2808 said:
We're just too busy staring at our avocado on toast and iced lattes to look at an analogue clock you see....

Which is why we can't afford mortgages. :lol:

sh24 · 31 May 2026

HH:MM is quicker to read than an analogue clock so Millenials/Gen Z or this Gen Xer would prefer it.

Silent · 31 May 2026

thenorthern said:
I know this will be controversial but GBR should bring back the old NSE clock. A large number of millennials don't know how to tell the time from a standard 12-hour clock face.

While it was bulky the old NSE clock was easy to understand, easy to find and just worked.

I don't believe you. I think I would believe you if you said Gen Alpha's or late Gen Z's. Most early milllenials were teens, or even adults, when they would've gotten their first mobile phones so I assume they would have been surrounded by analogue clocks. But digital is better as it's more inclusive to people with learning difficulties I assume. Both is probably best as some would find analogue easier to read than digital I bet, if they see images or patterns better than digits.

gg1 · 31 May 2026

sh24 said:
HH:MM is quicker to read than an analogue clock so Millenials/Gen Z or this Gen Xer would prefer it.

I'm also Gen X, if I can see the clock clearly, both are about as quick and easy to read as each other for me, if I had to pick one I'd say analogue is marginally quicker.

Where there is a significant difference is when it's a clock which is some distance away, then analogue is far quicker. Blurry clock hands are easier to interpret than blurry numbers.

frankmoh · 31 May 2026

I like the NSE clock, and I hope the ones at Victoria and Liv Street stick around for a long time. There is also a flip clock in Waterloo East's tunnel, but I'm not sure if it's NSE or Connex because it doesn't have seconds.

thenorthern · 31 May 2026

dosxuk said:
Citation needed

A lot of people I work with born in the 1990s don't know how to tell the time from an analogue 12-hour clock. You have to remember in the 1990s we saw the start of the digital "sports watches" made by Casio so many kids born in the 1990s grew up with that type of clock rather than clock faces.

ollyexe2808 · 31 May 2026

thenorthern said:
A lot of people I work with born in the 1990s don't know how to tell the time from an analogue 12-hour clock. You have to remember in the 1990s we saw the start of the digital "sports watches" made by Casio so many kids born in the 1990s grew up with that type of clock rather than clock faces.

We did but also, as someone born in 1990, I distinctly remember telling the time on an analogue clock was part of primary school education and pretty much everyone I know can use analogue clocks without a problem. I think it is less of a generational thing and more of what has become more normal. I'll be honest, I love the aesthetic of an analogue clock but find digital more useful for timetable-based things - so knowing a train goes at 15:42 and arriving at the station at 15:36, it feels intuitive to assess how much time I have got using a digital clock face.

But....having been through many European Train stations this week, I am a sucker for a DB or Swiss Style analogue clock with a sweeping second hand!

takno · 31 May 2026

ollyexe2808 said:
But....having been through many European Train stations this week, I am a sucker for a DB or Swiss Style analogue clock with a sweeping second hand!

How about a digital clock for hours and minutes, with a countdown-style sweeping hand to the side for seconds?

thenorthern · 31 May 2026

ollyexe2808 said:
We did but also, as someone born in 1990, I distinctly remember telling the time on an analogue clock was part of primary school education and pretty much everyone I know can use analogue clocks without a problem. I think it is less of a generational thing and more of what has become more normal. I'll be honest, I love the aesthetic of an analogue clock but find digital more useful for timetable-based things - so knowing a train goes at 15:42 and arriving at the station at 15:36, it feels intuitive to assess how much time I have got using a digital clock face.

But....having been through many European Train stations this week, I am a sucker for a DB or Swiss Style analogue clock with a sweeping second hand!

I was born in 1993 and my mum refused to let me have a digital watch at the time. I must admit I don't like 24 hour clocks and all my digital clocks are on the 12-hour format.

I googled it and apparently 1 in 6 adults struggle to tell the time with an analogue clock. To be honest, that is a lot higher than I thought it would be.

Leyland Bus · 31 May 2026

ollyexe2808 said:
We did but also, as someone born in 1990, I distinctly remember telling the time on an analogue clock was part of primary school education and pretty much everyone I know can use analogue clocks without a problem. I think it is less of a generational thing and more of what has become more normal. I'll be honest, I love the aesthetic of an analogue clock but find digital more useful for timetable-based things - so knowing a train goes at 15:42 and arriving at the station at 15:36, it feels intuitive to assess how much time I have got using a digital clock face.

But....having been through many European Train stations this week, I am a sucker for a DB or Swiss Style analogue clock with a sweeping second hand!

I have a feeling that whilst it is likely some people cannot read an analogue clock, it is more likely a story peddled by certain newspapers/media outlets that has been overly exaggerated and devolved into "fact"...

dosxuk · 31 May 2026

Leyland Bus said:
I have a feeling that whilst it is likely some people cannot read an analogue clock, it is more likely a story peddled by certain newspapers/media outlets that has been overly exaggerated and devolved into "fact"...

Most likely "struggles with" is shorthand for "prefers the alternative". Or showing people an analogue and digital clock (with different times) and timing how long it takes them to read it.

If people were actually unable to read an analogue clock, that's what the headline would be "1-in-6 people are unable to read a traditional clock" not that they struggled with it. But "1-in-6 can read a digital watch quicker than an analogue watch" isn't as interesting a headline.

Islineclear3_1 · 31 May 2026

how about this then...?

OscarH · 1 Jun 2026

ollyexe2808 said:
We did but also, as someone born in 1990, I distinctly remember telling the time on an analogue clock was part of primary school education and pretty much everyone I know can use analogue clocks without a problem.

I was born in 2001 and similarly we did a lot of work on reading analogue clocks in primary school, I don't know anyone that can't read one

boiledbeans2 · 1 Jun 2026

thenorthern said:
I know this will be controversial but GBR should bring back the old NSE clock. A large number of millennials don't know how to tell the time from a standard 12-hour clock face.

While it was bulky the old NSE clock was easy to understand, easy to find and just worked.

You could recreate it digitally, as seen at Charing Cross:

https://x.com/MrTimDunn/status/1917280928038035542

New clock unveiled

Turtle

Member

RailUK Forums

AlterEgo

Verified Rep - Wingin' It! Paul Lucas

Horizon22

Established Member

ainsworth74

Forum Staff

Russel

Established Member

sh24

Established Member

Silent

Member

gg1

Established Member

frankmoh

On Moderation

thenorthern

Established Member

ollyexe2808

Member

takno

Verified Rep - Traksy

thenorthern

Established Member

Leyland Bus

Member

dosxuk

Established Member

Islineclear3_1

Established Member

Attachments

OscarH

Established Member

boiledbeans2

Member