St Pancras Departure Boards

[Hadders]

At long last the main departure boards at St Pancras station are being replaced. I passed through the station earlier today and the old boards have been removed and a small temporary departure board installed across one of the exit doors onto Pancras Road (the one that’s usually closed in winter).

Let’s hope the new boards will be better than the old ones (a clock showing exact seconds would be a start), and while they’re at it they could do with replacing the ‘next fastest train to’ board for the Thameslink platforms. This board is positioned just inside the Thameslink gateline but it is too small to read until you have passed through the barriers, so not really fit for purpose.

 

[skyhigh]

Excellent. They were switched off (with no obvious temporary replacements) last time I was there a couple of weeks ago so I wondered if this was happening.

 

[Richardr]

Hopefully they improve them from the photo. Saying there are no Thameslink departures, when the EMR board shows that they are running every 15 minutes northward can potentially mislead people. The Thameslink board should at least show generic information stating that.

 

[spag23]

Let’s hope the new boards will be better than the old ones (a clock showing exact seconds would be a start)

This reminds me of the seconds-displaying platform clocks at Kings Cross Thameslink. The one on the northbound platform was running fast, and after about three weeks it was two minutes ahead of Real Time. Fed up with missing trains, due to their being despatched early, I complained to the platform staff.
"It can't be wrong, it's digital" he replied.
"Is the one on the opposite platform digital too?" I asked.
"Yes".
"But look, it's showing a different time to the one on this platform. Despite both being digital, they can't both be right".
This flummoxed him.
The next day I saw the northbound clock was turned off completely, never to work again before the stop was moved to STP.

 

[SE%Traveller]

I noticed this the other day too. Here's a shot with Thameslink running...

 

[TheHSRailFan]

I'm going to miss those departure boards, knowing them since 2007 or 09 they have been a fun thing I loved about St Pancras when I walk through. I'm unsure why they were up in the first place compared to the UK rail network and other stations. (were they a European speck?) but certainly, they gave character to that main area and were visually pleasing.

They were sadly going to get replaced anyway because if I recall a few boards were broken. A sad sight still.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I'm going to miss those departure boards, knowing them since 2007 or 09 they have been a fun thing I loved about St Pancras when I walk through. I'm unsure why they were up in the first place compared to the UK rail network and other stations. (were they a European speck?) but certainly, they gave character to that main area and were visually pleasing.

They were sadly going to get replaced anyway because if I recall a few boards were broken. A sad sight still.

You may be sad, but I guarantee you 95% of St Pancras users won't be. They were absolutely rubbish, and not great to read from a distance.

I really hope that the new boards aren't segregated by operator but instead ordered by time, maybe excluding Eurostar (you could have "Domestic Departures" and "International Departures" perhaps) because this typically makes it easier to find your train, rather than having to find the right board for your operator.

 

[Hadders]

You may be sad, but I guarantee you 95% of St Pancras users won't be. They were absolutely rubbish, and not great to read from a distance.

I really hope that the new boards aren't segregated by operator but instead ordered by time, maybe excluding Eurostar (you could have "Domestic Departures" and "International Departures" perhaps) because this typically makes it easier to find your train, rather than having to find the right board for your operator.

Agreed. The old boards were awful and segregating by TOC was a bad thing. I agree that Domestic Departures and International Departures would be a better set-up.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Agreed. The old boards were awful and segregating by TOC was a bad thing. I agree that Domestic Departures and International Departures would be a better set-up.

Unfortunately as these small temporary boards continue the practice, I can only imagine the new ones will also.

 

[edwin_m]

Unfortunately as these small temporary boards continue the practice, I can only imagine the new ones will also.

However there is a screen nearby, permanent I think, which shows all departures in time order.

 

[Hadders]

However there is a screen nearby, permanent I think, which shows all departures in time order.

If it’s the one I’m thinking of it’s. It really a proper departure board. Just a single large screen.

 

[dub]

You may be sad, but I guarantee you 95% of St Pancras users won't be. They were absolutely rubbish, and not great to read from a distance.

I really hope that the new boards aren't segregated by operator but instead ordered by time, maybe excluding Eurostar (you could have "Domestic Departures" and "International Departures" perhaps) because this typically makes it easier to find your train, rather than having to find the right board for your operator.

I'm not sure that would be useful for a station with so many distinct routes and the intensive Thameslink service. If there's an issue on Thameslink you could have a board filled with thameslink departures for an hour ago that are delayed that push off all of the on time departures for South Eastern/EMR. Similar to Liverpool St with the East/West Anglia separation.

 

[BluePenguin]

Agreed. The old boards were awful and segregating by TOC was a bad thing. I agree that Domestic Departures and International Departures would be a better set-up.

What is wrong with that? HS1 departures on the left, midland mainline departures on the right. I think it’s quite fitting.

 

[Hadders]

What is wrong with that? HS1 departures on the left, midland mainline departures on the right. I think it’s quite fitting.

It’s confusing when travelling to somewhere like Luton or Bedford that is served by both EMR and Thameslink trains, as sometimes Thameslink will be faster than waiting for the next EMR.

The photo I took on Saturday said there were no Thameslink departures scheduled which was totally incorrect. They were operating from the EMR platforms.

 

[Sly Old Fox]

It’s a shame to see them gone. They always felt a bit more special to me, being one of a kind at the only international station.

 

[Haywain]

Glad to see the back of them. They couldn't show enough trains on the Thameslink panels and many of the panels had long since given up working. The challenge with anything new is being able to show all Thameslink users when their next train is.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think by TOC makes sense in this specific context. You'd not want to clutter up the board at Liverpool Lime St with all the Merseyrail departures (that just needs a separate one with "next train to X" for each of the four Wirral Line destinations), and I've never quite been sure that cluttering the main board at Euston with Overground services every 15 minutes really makes sense either (and I think the new ones don't). And generally everyone knows which one (or at most two*) is relevant to their journey.

It's worth mentioning that Manchester Piccadilly's board in BR days had separate bits for InterCity/Express (including TPE) and regional.

* I could see sense in a separate panel with "Next fastest train to Bedford/Luton/Luton Airport Parkway" on it, as it could be EMR or it could be Thameslink depending on time of day/disruption. But only those three destinations have any overlap between TOCs at St P.

 

[dosxuk]

The photo I took on Saturday said there were no Thameslink departures scheduled which was totally incorrect. They were operating from the EMR platforms.

Actually separating by TOC, not by platform area, would solve this though. Some way of combining the EMR Connect and Thameslink service information should be shown though, but as others have said, you don't want to hide the longer distance stuff just because Thameslink has fallen over (or vice versa).

 

[williamn]

I think having a departure board for all domestic trains would be a huge improvement. Many people (and especially anyone not the from the UK who has just come off Eurostar) will have no idea who is operating their train.

 

[ainsworth74]

It’s confusing when travelling to somewhere like Luton or Bedford that is served by both EMR and Thameslink trains, as sometimes Thameslink will be faster than waiting for the next EMR.

I wonder if a specific "Next Fastest Train to..." is required for those specific stations where Thameslink and EMR overlap?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Actually separating by TOC, not by platform area, would solve this though. Some way of combining the EMR Connect and Thameslink service information should be shown though, but as others have said, you don't want to hide the longer distance stuff just because Thameslink has fallen over (or vice versa).

Because there are only three stations (Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway) where there is an overlap between the three TOCs at the station, a "next fastest train to..." board handles this fine.

A lot of the time it doesn't make sense to separate by TOC, but in this specific instance it very much does, as almost everyone will know which they're going to use and there is very little overlap.

 

[Haywain]

Because there are only three stations (Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway) where there is an overlap between the three TOCs at the station, a "next fastest train to..." board handles this fine.

Plus stations from Gravesend to Rainham, served both by direct Southestern and Thameslink trains.

 

[spag23]

where there is an overlap between the three TOCs at the station, a "next fastest train to..." board handles this fine.

Are the tickets interchangeable between TOCs? If not, we'll be inviting a lot of confused (and penalised) tourists onto the wrong trains.

 

[sjoh]

Plus stations from Gravesend to Rainham, served both by direct Southestern and Thameslink trains.

I suspect that in that instance, barring no major issues on HS1, Southeastern will always be the faster...

 

[Haywain]

I suspect that in that instance, barring no major issues on HS1, Southeastern will always be the faster...

Oh, they are faster but not so frequent. Some people will be happy being on a train rather than standing around at a station.

Are the tickets interchangeable between TOCs?

Other than Advance tickets, yes. There are no dedicated EMR walk-up fares for those journeys (although they could reasonably be justified).

Edit: there are tickets which are only valid on Thameslink, such as GroupSave discounted tickets, and Easyjet tickets from Luton Airport to London.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Oh, they are faster but not so frequent. Some people will be happy being on a train rather than standing around at a station.

And those people will know to check the Thameslink board, just as any Watfordian preferring London Overground over LNR will know to check that.

For everyone else (!), next fastest train to... does it.

 

[Haywain]

And those people will know to check the Thameslink board,

But people going to Bedford and Luton don't know what the options are?

just as any Watfordian preferring London Overground over LNR will know to check that.

That's nothing to do with St Pancras.

 

[Bletchleyite]

But people going to Bedford and Luton don't know what the options are?

At various times of day, the next fastest train to those destinations may vary between TOCs.

But in any case there should be a "next fastest train to" board which solves that without needing to do the chronological one not by TOC.

That's nothing to do with St Pancras.

It's comparable. People wanting to use a slow service in preference to a quick one because they prefer it for some other reason is a niche pursuit, and those people will know where to look.

 

[Hairy Bear]

Oh, they are faster but not so frequent. Some people will be happy being on a train rather than standing around at a station.


Edit: there are tickets which are only valid on Thameslink, such as GroupSave discounted tickets, and Easyjet tickets from Luton Airport to London.

That's now being dropped according to the latest retail brief.

 

[Haywain]

That's now being dropped according to the latest retail brief.

What is being dropped?

At various times of day, the next fastest train to those destinations may vary between TOCs.

I use these trains regularly, so I'm fully aware of the two TOCs and their services. I still find it useful to know which services are available.