East Croydon departures board CIS change

[GodAtum]

They recently changed the main departures board from showing trains arriving in order, to each section being a platform. I personally don't like this as I cannot see at a glance what trains are coming in and when, which makes quick planning difficult.

 

[Clip]

Do they not still have the large alphabetical destination board?

 

[Ibex]

They recently changed the main departures board from showing trains arriving in order, to each section being a platform. I personally don't like this as I cannot see at a glance what trains are coming in and when, which makes quick planning difficult.

Virgin do this at Coventry and Birmingham international, I agree it doesn’t make information at a quick glance very easy.

 

[Bedpan]

If people condition themselves to going to a certain platform I can imagine them not seeing a train if it is the subject to a platform alteration. Even I have done this sort of thing - automatically go to platform 1 to catch a train to London, stressing because I have assumed that the train must have been cancelled because it does not appear on the screen on the platform, and then feeling stupid on looking on the main departure board and seeing that it will be leaving from platform 3, as it always does.

 

[edwin_m]

Might this be because if trains are displayed in departure order there isn't room for calling points? Someone heading for Victoria who doesn't know the service too well might go for the next London train to depart, and find themselves on a slow that is overtaken by one or more fasts from platform 1. Showing the train on (usually) 1 calling only at Clapham Junction and the one on 4 with lots of other station stops might help people make the right choice.

Somewhere like Croydon really needs "next fastest train to" boards for any destination served by both fast and slow trains. I think they were there before - are they still? The other problem is that the main concourse is very small in relation to passenger numbers, and ideally needs more space both for the departures screens themselves and for the people standing and staring at them.

 

[takno]

Might this be because if trains are displayed in departure order there isn't room for calling points? Someone heading for Victoria who doesn't know the service too well might go for the next London train to depart, and find themselves on a slow that is overtaken by one or more fasts from platform 1. Showing the train on (usually) 1 calling only at Clapham Junction and the one on 4 with lots of other station stops might help people make the right choice.

Somewhere like Croydon really needs "next fastest train to" boards for any destination served by both fast and slow trains. I think they were there before - are they still? The other problem is that the main concourse is very small in relation to passenger numbers, and ideally needs more space both for the departures screens themselves and for the people standing and staring at them.

I can kind of see your point, but there are plenty of fasts into London going from platforms 4 and 5.

 

[edwin_m]

I can kind of see your point, but there are plenty of fasts into London going from platforms 4 and 5.

So people could see at a glance whether the train from 4 or 5 was a fast or a slow by whether it had one calling point or lots.

 

[Bedpan]

Might this be because if trains are displayed in departure order there isn't room for calling points? Someone heading for Victoria who doesn't know the service too well might go for the next London train to depart, and find themselves on a slow that is overtaken by one or more fasts from platform 1. Showing the train on (usually) 1 calling only at Clapham Junction and the one on 4 with lots of other station stops might help people make the right choice.

Somewhere like Croydon really needs "next fastest train to" boards for any destination served by both fast and slow trains. I think they were there before - are they still? The other problem is that the main concourse is very small in relation to passenger numbers, and ideally needs more space both for the departures screens themselves and for the people standing and staring at them.

I agree about the next fast train to board......it would make life so simple! As for the possibility of a slow train getting overtaken, the railway in general doesn't seem to hesitate in showing an earlier destination poinT (i.e.Battersea Park in this instance) when this happens. Confused me no end at Didcot last week when the wires were down at West Ealing/Hanwell and a train was shown with a termination point of Ealing Broadway, particularly as the problem was reported as being "between Paddington and Slough".

 

[Andrew S]

East Croydon does have "Next fastest train to...." boards.

 

[Bedpan]

I was on platforms 1 and 2 yesterday, changing trains on the way back from Brighton (only yesterday did it impact on me how many Thameslink trains still aren't running) and they had a "Next train to" screen showing a number of local destinations, but it didn't state whether the trains shown were the next fastest trains. Maybe there is something different on the concourse or footbridge.