please empty your brain below

Was on the Central Line yesterday when it broke. (ok, "broke" a stabbing at Leyton caused all trains to be halted whilst the BTP sorted it out).

I was in the front carriage and stood by the door with a trackernet App up on my iPad. The driver saw me and we started chatting, and he lamented how i - the humble passenger - knew more about the train movements overall on the network than he did. I showed him where all the Central Line trains were being held, which he found most useful!

it is shocking to think that people standing on platforms with a £2 App in their hand can have more information - or just ACTUAL information (in the case of the Hammersmith to Paddington branch - shocking) that the tube staff do...
I'm only able to post here because I tapped the time code. Your usual comments link has disappeared.

Interesting screen. It doesn't look very TfL but there has been a similar screen on the footbridge at Plaistow for many years. That one is a dot matrix display (and thus more in keeping with the look of the Underground) but it was a valuable asset as the platform indicators were next to useless for the reasons you mention. I don't think it gives as in-depth information as your version and it rarely mentioned the H&C lines departing the bay platform.

I wonder how your display will cope with glare. I remember the 'futuristic' Network Rail blue displays of the early 2000s that were replaced with dot matrix displays.
"A Next Train Indicator has appeared in the ticket hall. It's like the 21st century has suddenly arrived".
The 21st century will have arrived when there's air conditioning on the trains.
What's the unit cost of one of these indicators? How does it compare to the legacy dot-matrix indicator in terms of cost?
this isn't about Next Train Indicators, it's a general grumble about the District Line.
Currently I have restricted mobility and when getting on/off a train I need to hold onto a rail, or something similar, to keep my balance.
On District Line trains there is only one door with such "grab rails" per carriage and on several occasions I've had to miss a train because I was standing in the wrong place and crowds blocked my way to the right door.
Trains on all the other TfL lines have grab rails at every door so it's a pity the District Line trains are so inadequately equipped.
One of these small new indicator panels appeared a few weeks ago at Chiswick Park station, propped up inside the window of the ticket office when it's closed, which is most of the time now. It show trains in both directions with their estimated arrival times, much like a mobile phone app. This is a great advance, and one normal-ish looking LCD screen must be cheaper than installing more elaborate devices on the platforms. You just have to remember to check it out before you race up the stairs.
If Virgin Media was clever it would have a next train indicator for your station the moment you logged on to its wifi network. At present I switch on the wifi, allow the Virgin page to load and move on to the website I require without noticing the company it's advertising. If I knew it had a next train indicator on the page (even for all platforms on the station) I'd be more inclined to keep that page open. I know I can walk to the other end of the platform for a dot matrix display or use on of my apps but sometimes I don't want to.
Is this the first electronic display in New Johnston typeface?
Glorious!
Dan, whilst the typeface looks very clear, I'm not so sure the typeface is true "New Johnston", as for example the lower case "L" (in Wimbledon and in Plaistow) doesn't appear as any in the typefaces I've downloaded as a free font? Can anyone else shed what font they've used? Regretably District Dave is no longer around to help us (RIP Dave). Oh and to anyone else from TFL who reads this blog, why when I've just got used to the interior furniture (the upright bars to hold on to) being colour coded to the relevant line, do the bars of the recently upgraded Northern Line stock not appear black) but a different colour (as per one of DG's recent blog photos)?
@geofftech

Its the same on National Rail. If a driver used a mobile phone for any reason he would be disciplined or worse.

Consequently if the signaller doesn't pass on the information he is more in the dark than passengers.

@all

I do think the display in the article is the best seen. Gives estimated time and actual location. Until now I have only seen displays with one or the other.
I don't think either the Northern or Jubilee lines ever had colour-coded grabrails - probably because they need to be visually prominent, and neither black nor silver-grey achieve that.

The S stock has yellow poles - even the S8 stock on the Met
Re New Johnson, I believe that the electronic version of the 'rainbow' screens that show the status ('Good service' etc) of all lines use that font.
@ timbo; though I realise that some people may need easily visible rails, and this is catered for in many ways throughout the Underground, my problem is the complete lack of such rails at most doors on the District Line trains. the two that are provided are the appropriate colour.
My gripe with all indicators along the sub-surface lines is that they do not tell you what line you're getting on, which really does confuse a lot of out of towners.

They may well have looked at the map and decided that any District line will get them to their destination, but have no idea which of these destinations on the board are District line trains.

Surely it'd make sense to write District Line to... and Hammersmith and City line to... or at least colour code them.
I don't understand why people are shocked that there is a disparity between what a station system can provide and what can be beamed across mobile phone networks. Many station systems and comms networks have not been upgraded for years due to problems with the Metronet contracts and susbsequent funding cuts. Telecoms and internet / app based technology is roaring ahead far faster than TfL / LU can keep up with. It is only because investment in Trackernet has been maintained that there is the info available to the public via the web / apps.

I expect that whatever display equipment gets installed as a result of the Sub Surface resignalling will be out of date by the time it is switched on. The only hope is that the data generated by the system is accurate and timely and can thus be shared as required. While drivers may be disappointed at not having super duper info in their cabs they are there to drive / control the train as their primary task. I don't see that changing until such time as we have fully automatic trains and whoever is on the train might then have some fancy mobile kit to get such data. The real key is making sure control rooms are able to give drivers the info they need or be able to speak directly to passengers in the trains.

On a final note it's interesting that the screen at Chiswick Park skulks behind a ticket office window. A neat way round the undoubted problems of a fixed installation inside the ticket hall itself due to Heritage / listing issues. Bromley by Bow is clearly not constrained by such considerations.
Happy Harry: Maybe you're looking at the version of the screen that DG has reconstructed in his post? That is set to use "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" i.e. the earliest of those that your browser can render, falling back any sans-serif font if the first three aren't available.

I agree that screen in the photo seems to use New Johnston. The lower case i has the distinctive diamond dot, and the lower case l has a curl at the bottom as you'd expect.
PoP: There is (or at least was) a screen somewhat hidden on the District line platforms at South Ken with current train locations. I think it has estimated times too, and it's been there for years.
@sweek

"My gripe with all indicators along the sub-surface lines is that they do not tell you what line you're getting on"

Amply illustrated by DG's comment that "we local travellers now know that the next service to Hammersmith's the fourth train"

Actually, the next train to Hammersmith on that screen is the second one - one minute away: and it's quicker too!
Trouble with these TFT style displays is screen burn. The idea that only CRT only suffered from this problem is not true. This will likely need replacing in less than 2 years.
The display UI isn't great.

I'd split the screen in two horizontally, Westbound / Eastbound.

Then I'd increase the font size for the station names and the ETA.

And I'd make the Platform numbers larger too.

These things have to be read at a glance by a passenger walking through the station.










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