Removing trains from departure boards early…

[williamn]

I know there have been debates as to the pros and cons of this, but after two recent tight connections at Brighton due to delayed inbound trains, I’ve realised the fact trains are not shown on platform indicators when you’ve arrived with two minutes to spare is a real issue, especially for the uninitiated who don’t know which apps to use.

It could be negated if announcements cements were made on the inbound train but in neither case did this happen and in each case the connection was the last of the day.

 

[Horizon22]

I know there have been debates as to the pros and cons of this, but after two recent tight connections at Brighton due to delayed inbound trains, I’ve realised the fact trains are not shown on platform indicators when you’ve arrived with two minutes to spare is a real issue, especially for the uninitiated who don’t know which apps to use.

It could be negated if announcements cements were made on the inbound train but in neither case did this happen and in each case the connection was the last of the day.

Sounds like you've just got quite unlucky there.

This is ultimately to prevent rushing for platforms, which is proven to reduce slips, trips and falls and delays of services departing. This is obviously more common at terminals. In normal circumstances, 2 minutes would of course also be below the minimum connection time. If you were coming into Brighton on a Thameslink service, your service would be DOO, in which case the driver isn't going to be able to announce the departures and platforms. Knowledgable station staff might also hold trains for a minute or two if it's the last connection of the day.

Some newer trains have the PIS on board display the next departures at the upcoming station which would help resolve this issue if it was universal. However I have also seen these have cut-offs.

 

[king_walnut]

The device you used to post this can also be used to check platforms for services.

 

[Krokodil]

The device you used to post this can also be used to check platforms for services.

Best site to use:

https://tiger.worldline.global/BRGHTN/mobile

(Link to the mobile departure board for Brighton station)

 

[GusB]

The device you used to post this can also be used to check platforms for services.

That's all well and good if you know where to look.

The OP clearly stated:

especially for the uninitiated who don’t know which apps to use

You're also assuming that the OP is using a portable device to post here. I'm currently using a desktop PC; would you expect me to carry that around with me when I'm travelling by train?

You could at least have suggested a few websites or apps that could be used to check such information, as Krokodil has done in the previous post.

 

[Fenchurch SP]

Also you can look at the destination on the train itself. I used to do that on a particular train at London Victoria which would often depart a few minutes late.

 

[styles]

Also you can look at the destination on the train itself. I used to do that on a particular train at London Victoria which would often depart a few minutes late.

Works at smaller stations but a bit trickier at say Euston or Waverley where the trains can't all be seen at once.

 

[1D54]

Best site to use:

https://tiger.worldline.global/BRGHTN/mobile

(Link to the mobile departure board for Brighton station)

Cracking site but my local station isn't on the list so not much use in bookmarking it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Best site to use:

https://tiger.worldline.global/BRGHTN/mobile

(Link to the mobile departure board for Brighton station)

This shows you what is on the station screens, so if it's gone off those it'll be gone off there too.

 

[Tester]

This shows you what is on the station screens, so if it's gone off those it'll be gone off there too.

True, but of course you have a chance to look earlier, before arriving at the station in question.

 

[Parallel]

I generally use Real Time Trains if I am arriving on a delayed inbound train and needing to make a tight connection, as the train is coming into the platform. Can save up to 30 seconds against finding a departure board, finding my train then making my way to the platform, in some cases.

 

[The exile]

I can just about understand and accept the safety issue about removing it from concourse screens but not from those on the platform itself when a late-running train hasn’t even arrived as I have witnessed at Bristol TM on occasions. To be fair, it was usually reinstated (manually?) a few minutes later but this is of little use/comfort if you’ve already set off for a distant platform for the next option (which then itself is delayed…..

 

[Horizon22]

Cracking site but my local station isn't on the list so not much use in bookmarking it.

Your local station doesn’t run off Wordline CIS therefore.

 

[Krokodil]

This shows you what is on the station screens, so if it's gone off those it'll be gone off there too.

Yes, but as it's on your phone you have the opportunity to check it while approaching the station. Therefore as soon as the doors are opened you know where to go.

I can just about understand and accept the safety issue about removing it from concourse screens but not from those on the platform itself when a late-running train hasn’t even arrived as I have witnessed at Bristol TM on occasions. To be fair, it was usually reinstated (manually?) a few minutes later but this is of little use/comfort if you’ve already set off for a distant platform for the next option (which then itself is delayed…..

I would say that it should be removed from the main departure board at the point that you would no longer be able to walk to it before it leaves. Slightly later for boards closer to the platform (ones in the subway or at the top of the ramps at Euston for example). Then the ones actually on the platform should remain live until the first tip is given to start the dispatch.

 

[Mikey C]

It is common practice. At my local Underground station, the first London bound trains generally never appears on the departure board in the ticket office for example.

 

[mangyiscute]

I would say that it should be removed from the main departure board at the point that you would no longer be able to walk to it before it leaves.

And at what walking speed is this? Some people might take 3 minutes to get from the main euston waiting area to a train, whereas other people will run it in 20 seconds

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Cracking site but my local station isn't on the list so not much use in bookmarking it.

Same for me, that site seems to be very patchy in terms of station coverage.

I had a similar situation to the OP this morning, trying to find what platform my connection at Derby was leaving from.

Tiger Rail doesn't cover Derby, Gaelan was just showing "500 internal error" and RTT was saying "no report" next to the train I wanted to catch.

Why isn't there one reliable website that tells you if your train is on time and what platform it's leaving from?

 

[bahnause]

I would say that it should be removed from the main departure board at the point that you would no longer be able to walk to it before it leaves. Slightly later for boards closer to the platform (ones in the subway or at the top of the ramps at Euston for example). Then the ones actually on the platform should remain live until the first tip is given to start the dispatch.

Where are all these clairvoyants who can predict train departure times supposed to come from?

 

[Trainguy34]

Same for me, that site seems to be very patchy in terms of station coverage.

I had a similar situation to the OP this morning, trying to find what platform my connection at Derby was leaving from.

Tiger Rail doesn't cover Derby, Gaelan was just showing "500 internal error" and RTT was saying "no report" next to the train I wanted to catch.

Why isn't there one reliable website that tells you if your train is on time and what platform it's leaving from?

Best idea would be to use a signal map (Traksy, OpenTrainTimes etc) to find it in that case, if it's not coming up then it's probably not there

 

[800001]

Same for me, that site seems to be very patchy in terms of station coverage.

I had a similar situation to the OP this morning, trying to find what platform my connection at Derby was leaving from.

Tiger Rail doesn't cover Derby, Gaelan was just showing "500 internal error" and RTT was saying "no report" next to the train I wanted to catch.

Why isn't there one reliable website that tells you if your train is on time and what platform it's leaving from?

National Rail website?

 

[Deepgreen]

The device you used to post this can also be used to check platforms for services.

The OP talked of not knowing which apps to use, not that he had no device...

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Oct 2025 ==

National Rail website?

Almost amusing!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Oct 2025 ==

I generally use Real Time Trains if I am arriving on a delayed inbound train and needing to make a tight connection, as the train is coming into the platform. Can save up to 30 seconds against finding a departure board, finding my train then making my way to the platform, in some cases.

Yes, coupled with Traksy, which is very handy if you can guess/know the headcode. I have used it several times lately to check stuff, including discovering platform information announced to be wrong! It will show which platform to head for but won't show whether the train is still available to board; just which signal berth it occupies.

 

[WestCountry]

And at what walking speed is this? Some people might take 3 minutes to get from the main euston waiting area to a train, whereas other people will run it in 20 seconds

Well, that's the entire point, they want to avoid people running it in 20 seconds because of the perceived risk of doing so. The time would be for whatever the fastest 'safe' walking pace is.

Personally I think this, along with a lot of other policies on the railway and elsewhere, is nonsense - harming sensible users when it's over-conservative (as it normally is) to mostly protect people from the consequences of their own actions. It's true someone might run into and injure a third party but not often enough to do this over.

 

[Krokodil]

And at what walking speed is this? Some people might take 3 minutes to get from the main euston waiting area to a train, whereas other people will run it in 20 seconds

The whole point is not to encourage running.

Where are all these clairvoyants who can predict train departure times supposed to come from?

You assume that the train will depart on time unless there is a delay in Darwin.

 

[bahnause]

You assume that the train will depart on time unless there is a delay in Darwin.

This would be challenging enough under normal operating conditions, but during periods of disruption involving significant and unpredictable delays, or while waiting for a connecting train, it would render the product completely useless to customers. I consider the premature removal of departure displays to be a customer-unfriendly strategy anyway, as people would at least not have to get used to something new.

 

[takno]

Well, that's the entire point, they want to avoid people running it in 20 seconds because of the perceived risk of doing so. The time would be for whatever the fastest 'safe' walking pace is.

Personally I think this, along with a lot of other policies on the railway and elsewhere, is nonsense - harming sensible users when it's over-conservative (as it normally is) to mostly protect people from the consequences of their own actions. It's true someone might run into and injure a third party but not often enough to do this over.

It's increasingly ingrained into UK culture though. Pretty much everywhere else has pedestrian crossings which (where there is a countdown) count the time until the crossing goes red and traffic starts. We have pedestrian crossings which count down to when the crossing goes red, and there is still time for a reasonably fast walker to get across the road and back, possibly stopping for a small picnic in the middle. The information is obscured or removed based on an unreasonably conservative reading of a one-size-fits-all model of walking, with a special just-in-case factor of another 50%.

The situation at Kings Cross is actually better now than it used to be, where they'd sometimes draw the barrier across the end of the platform while the train was still visible on all the boards, and when there was still time for a normal-paced walker to get all the way from the barrier to the front of the train.

 

[williamn]

As I implied, I know which apps to use, but all of us on this site are total outliers.

Most people will rely on it being displayed on the screens. Even I felt it was slight guess work, as I don’t feel 100% confident in apps - often they get the front / rear portions of trains wrong for example.

Both trains had guards btw so announcements could have been made, they just weren’t.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Oct 2025 ==

In normal circumstances, 2 minutes would of course also be below the minimum connection time.

The advertised connection in both cases would have been ten plus minutes but the inbound trains were delayed.

 

[physics34]

The whole point is not to encourage running.


You assume that the train will depart on time unless there is a delay in Darwin.

Even though door close alarms promote running.

 

[saismee]

Even though door close alarms promote running.

The whistle tends to be what makes people run in my experience.

 

[josh-j]

It's the passengers who know how urgent it is that they make the train before it leaves. Sometimes it might be a very good idea to run, even though there's a risk and even if it technically isn't allowed. I don't really see why deciding to stop people running but also making people more likely to miss their train is a net benefit, to be honest. Although, it's hardly the worst thing in the world to have decided to do, there is at least logic behind it.

 

[edwin_m]

Even though door close alarms promote running.

You'd have to be pretty close to a door when the close alarm starts to be able to get on board before it actually closes.