My idea to change Departure indicator monitors

[Bletchleyite]

TOC is rather silly. Even more silly for foreigners trying to figure out what it means!

I suspect, to be fair, someone has knocked that up on Excel and printed it out with little actual thought.

Neil

 

[Hyphen]

Looks like plans are afoot to improve things at MAN. Hopefully not precisely like this

Ohh, that's a beautiful looking departure board, even from a low-res picture. For that style of board (listed by destination) I think the bottom third looks best (alternating in colour).

Were you able to tell if that's LED matrix or LCD/TFT (i.e. some sort of TV/monitor sidewards)?

Agree with the 'TOC' thing though. Not sure that's entirely necessary on that sort of board. Also unsure why they'd refer to the franchise name ("Wales & Borders") rather than the TOC's actual name, as that's most likely to be printed on ticket validity/restrictions. If I had a say in it, remove the TOC entirely and space the rest out a bit better.

 

[jon0844]

As it says demonstration I'm giving NR or ATOC the benefit of the doubt for now, as it isn't finished. But I don't get why it even says TOC while on test.

Also Due makes me think these are arrivals, not departures. I guess they can't fit in Scheduled and Actual but I still don't think due is the correct word to use. I know they could at some stations be arrivals and departures (through train), but 'scheduled' works in all cases.

 

[as1981]

Could showing the operator (I agree TOC won't be understood by a lot of people) be useful in avoiding those with operator specific tickets getting the wrong train?

 

[RailAleFan]

Were you able to tell if that's LED matrix or LCD/TFT (i.e. some sort of TV/monitor sidewards)?

I'm pretty sure it's just a very well done cardboard mock-up! Didn't have time to concentrate on a decent shot but here's the original unscaled / cropped.

http://oi62.tinypic.com/svjvuv.jpg

 

[Hyphen]

I'm pretty sure it's just a very well done cardboard mock-up!

That would explain why the font seems so nicely rounded/antialiased then, compared to the standard LED boards

I was hoping at least for some sort of high-res LED to allow that sort of smoothing.

Ah well, I'll drop any hopes and presume it'll just be a standard board (albeit seemingly with multicolour LEDs?) then :P

 

[D1009]

But I don't get why it even says TOC while on test.

Don't people with TOC specific tickets need to know who is running the train?

 

[najaB]

Don't people with TOC specific tickets need to know who is running the train?

I don't think the objection was to having the field, just that 'Operator' makes more sense to Joe Public than 'TOC'.

 

[RailAleFan]

Does the current monstrosity at MAN show multiple entries for a destination where it is served by multiple operators? Macclesfield for example has Virgin, Cross Country and Northern services from MAN.

I _think_ it does but not 100% sure...

Edit: Yes it does

http://www.edades.co.uk/aircraft/tripreports/mando-15-mar-2013/FTMANDo-10.jpg

 

[jon0844]

The landscape layout is probably better, and it shows better headings. But I do hate those screens that are in panels and break up some messages unnecessarily.

 

[RailAleFan]

Ohh, that's a beautiful looking departure board, even from a low-res picture. For that style of board (listed by destination) I think the bottom third looks best (alternating in colour).

It looks like that's partly what they're trying to asses with the thirds being the same info in white / yellow / alternating.

Personally, I don't think that fields of the same type (e.g. Destination) should be of different colours. As you visually scroll down the list, I have a feeling that the eye will be drawn to the next item in the list of the same colour, meaning that you are evens to miss the entry that you are looking for and then have to scroll "back up" if that makes any sense...

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm pretty sure it's just a very well done cardboard mock-up! Didn't have time to concentrate on a decent shot but here's the original unscaled / cropped.

http://oi62.tinypic.com/svjvuv.jpg

Crikey, the roof's got mucky, hasn't it? This always jumps out at me at Stansted Airport as well. Why can't we be bothered looking after public spaces properly? Were it in Germany or Switzerland it'd be spotless.

Neil

 

[jon0844]

It looks like that's partly what they're trying to asses with the thirds being the same info in white / yellow / alternating.

Personally, I don't think that fields of the same type (e.g. Destination) should be of different colours. As you visually scroll down the list, I have a feeling that the eye will be drawn to the next item in the list of the same colour, meaning that you are evens to miss the entry that you are looking for and then have to scroll "back up" if that makes any sense...

I think you're right. These are the things picked up in usability testing, where eye tracking can be used very well to see how people look at things (like lists) and to design around the way people scan documents/web pages/lists.

Having a demo board and asking people what they like most is one way to do things, but I am not will actually result in the 'best' method being chosen. Some people will just guess, or like the colour, without putting much thought into it.

Such testing isn't necessarily cheap, but NR would of course be doing such testing for the entire railway network so only has to shell out once!

 

[theshillito]

It would be nice if "via X" was correctly set on existing displays to be honest. All Crewe departures to Manchester are listed as "via Wilmslow", regardless as to whether it goes via Stockport or via Manchester Airport, which seems like a major oversight.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

It would be nice if "via X" was correctly set on existing displays to be honest. All Crewe departures to Manchester are listed as "via Wilmslow", regardless as to whether it goes via Stockport or via Manchester Airport, which seems like a major oversight.

Quite! Didn't Manchester -> Crewe services in the past used to be designated as either "via Styal" or "via Stockport"?

 

[theshillito]

Quite! Didn't Manchester -> Crewe services in the past used to be designated as either "via Styal" or "via Stockport"?

Considering most services via the airport don't stop at Styal any more, I would suspect a change was necessary, but broke it in the process.

 

[Clip]

Seemingly passengers have enough trouble trying to read the CIS properly at the minute to see if their train really does stop where you said it will yet you want to actually cancel out the calling points?


Words fail me

 

[Bletchleyite]

Seemingly passengers have enough trouble trying to read the CIS properly at the minute to see if their train really does stop where you said it will yet you want to actually cancel out the calling points?

Words fail me

Are you familiar with the Manc Picc displays? There are no displays showing a full set of calling points per train other than on the platforms, which makes the "via" tagline (added on the end-destination-only type displays where there is ambiguity) more important than elsewhere.

Neil

 

[Starmill]

It would be nice if "via X" was correctly set on existing displays to be honest. All Crewe departures to Manchester are listed as "via Wilmslow", regardless as to whether it goes via Stockport or via Manchester Airport, which seems like a major oversight.

At Manchester Piccadilly, only trains via Manchester Airport are qualified as such. Other Crewe trains aren't given via points. London trains are never given via points, except the morning one that goes Via Birmingham New Street.

Crewe seems to do just fine in advertising correct via points. They do advertise 'Manchester Piccadilly Via Manchester Airport' sometimes, I have seen it!

There's a morning train 'London Euston via Birmingham & Northampton' - advertised quite correctly.

I recently saw a train at Crewe advertised as 'Wolverhampton Via Stoke, Rugby & Birmingham'.

Wakefield Westgate advertises some trains to Leeds that call there as 'Via Outwood' - which to me seems unnecessary. After all, all trains to Leeds from there are via Outwood, even if they don't stop!

 

[Bletchleyite]

At Manchester Piccadilly, only trains via Manchester Airport are qualified as such. Other Crewe trains aren't given via points. London trains are never given via points, except the morning one that goes Via Birmingham New Street.

You sure? I thought they did get "via Crewe" or "via Stoke-on-Trent"?

On the old Merseyrail Solari displays I remember "Ormskirk via Orrell Park", though there was no other option. It turns out that the other one was something like "Ormskirk via Bootle New Strand" had the North Mersey Branch been reopened as planned.

Edit: Ormskirk via Ford, apparently: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/uk.railway/FYGB2t5a0NU

Neil

 

[Starmill]

Had a quick look this morning, not even the 0627 had a Via Point! Most odd.

 

[Clip]

Are you familiar with the Manc Picc displays? There are no displays showing a full set of calling points per train other than on the platforms, which makes the "via" tagline (added on the end-destination-only type displays where there is ambiguity) more important than elsewhere.

Neil

Never noticed when I have been there. But I am talking from direct experience at many London terminals and out lying stations even outside the zones.