please empty your brain below
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So far, from last Saturday's comments box, we've got the following:
• Earl's Court: Destination indicators cunningly placed to draw a dense crowd, thus blocking the head of of the stairs from the Piccadilly Line.
• Stations north west of Rayners Lane: Platform indicators for display purposes only. No actual indication of train information until other bits of the upgrade work are completed.
• Northfields: Useless train indicators tell you that an eastbound or westbound train is approaching, a minute before it does (and you can the train by this time anyway).
• Time on DLR indicators is special DLR time. 1min is not 60 seconds as measured by any other means. Length of the DLR minute expands and contracts with the predictability of Brownian motion.
• Paddington (circle & district): indicator boards useless until a train is due in 1 min
diamond geezer | Homepage | 11.10.08 - 8:17 a.m. | #
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You know why this is, right? I'll agree with you on the badly placed ones, and that there are a lot of stations that can use more next train indicators. But the reason some NTIs aren't working yet - or can only show a train when it's only 1 minute away - is because NTIs are installed at every station during refurbishment, but also require parts of the signalling system to be upgraded. In order not to have to refurbish the station again, they're also installed at station where they are (for now) not needed.
sweek | 11.10.08 - 8:34 a.m. | #
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How about Cannon Street, Circle & District Westbound, which doesn't have a next train indicator of the flicky scrolling type, just a box which lights up a nect train, with no anticipated arrival time, with or without TfL's elastic minutes
EddyGuv | 11.10.08 - 10:17 a.m. | #
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Just one point and it always makes me smile when I'm in the UK.
The British obsession with 'Seconds' on train indicators. On the continent and in the USA 'Hours and Minutes' suffice.
I've always wondered who on earth can be interested in these seconds and what purpose do they serve? Apart that is, from making the railway service look ridiculous.
IsarSteve | Homepage | 11.10.08 - 11:57 a.m. | #
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Barcelona's metro shows a countdown in minutes and seconds.
Can I nominate North Greenwich westbound? It usually only shows the first train - a pain when the rush-hour Jubilee Line is packed and the service is so bad the next train could be anything between one and nine minutes away.
TfL have said this is due to technical issues (see sweek's comment) but I've seen two/three trains on that indicator from time to time, and it certainly worked properly when the station opened.
Inspector Sands | Homepage | 11.10.08 - 1:23 p.m. | #
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West Ham (District and Hammersmith & City) Westbound: Trains generally aren't displayed until after they leave Plaistow, just in case one comes out of the bay there.
Barry Salter | 11.10.08 - 1:33 p.m. | #
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Aldgate East (both directions)
Bowroaduk | 11.10.08 - 1:34 p.m. | #
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Canary Wharf DLR (obscured by 'way out' signs)
Bowroaduk | 11.10.08 - 1:34 p.m. | #
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Upton Park WB (permanently illuminated with both DIS and H&C display
Bowroaduk | 11.10.08 - 1:35 p.m. | #
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Barking bay platform 3 (at west end of plat.2). Not worked for 20 years?
Bowroaduk | 11.10.08 - 1:36 p.m. | #
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I suspect Earl's Court indicators are listed heritage features and cannot be altered.
Given that there seems to be a feeling here that the time displays on next train indicators is a waste of time, does that mean people prefer the Earl's Court/Cannon Street indicators that can only show the next train destination?
Anyway, my personal least favourite is South Kensington eastbound. This is one of the locations falls under the heading of signalling kit constrained (as explained in Sweek's email) and will only show that a train is approaching when it is practically in the platform.
Alan | 11.10.08 - 2:07 p.m. | #
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Seconds? On the tube? I've never seen them.
I nominate:
Wembley Park
Acton Town
Baker Street (for a good game of musical platforms)
But also - stations doing it well (if you're interested):
Canary Wharf (tube)
Ani | Homepage | 11.10.08 - 2:32 p.m. | #
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@ Ani..
No not on the tube.. but did you see the link?
I didn't realise we were only talking about the tube..
@Inspector S.. I knew when I wrote that comment.. that there would be an exception.. even so.. 'Seconds' are much more common in the UK than anywhere else.. and pretty useless things they are too..
IsarSteve | Homepage | 11.10.08 - 5:32 p.m. | #
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I know of a few. The new indicators at Earl's Court seem to be a bit odd: last time I was there, it said the next Circle Line train would be in two hours, and as far as I aware, the Circle Line was running normally that day. Of course, that could well be normal service on the Circle Line these days...
In addition, the ones at Bank on the Central Line - to me, they're notorious for elongating minutes, so that a train supposedly turning up in one minute instead turns up in five.
Andrewh | 11.10.08 - 5:50 p.m. | #
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And further to my previous answer, by Earl's Court, I actually meant Gloucester Road. Same old, same old... 
Andrewh | 11.10.08 - 5:53 p.m. | #
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Bond Street jubilee line northbound (or possibly Green Park jubilee line northbound): the indicator is obstructed by a "way out" sign on one side, and a bridge over the tracks not far away on the other side, meaning that it can be seen from a tiny section of the platform only.
Wembley Park southbound met: trains leave from either platform 5 or platform 6: but the indicators on platform 5 often include trains to both platforms, but without indicating which train will stop at which platform. Absolutely useless, as by the time a train has arrived there generally wouldn't be time to run up the stairs, over the bridge, and down the other stairs to get to the other platform. Stupid stupid stupid.
Golders Green southbound: no point whatsoever to them
And - any of those (westbound between East Ham and Aldgate East) that STILL - - - is it 18 years too late - refer to the Hammersmith & City Line as the Metropolitan Line. While one is all for heritage features, accurate, non-misleading information is more important..
Venichka | 11.10.08 - 7:41 p.m. | #
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Tower Hill EB which tonight alternated from "DISTRICT & CIRCLE LINES" to "CIRCLE 1 MIN, BARKING 1 MIN, CIRCLE 1 MIN" for at least 15 mins. Attempts by passengers to use the help(sic)-point was repeatedly met by an automtated f-off message saying (precied) "sorry, not available, contact staff in ticket hall". I took that option up, only to find the ticket office closed, gateline unstaffed, just a contractor from the TranSys PFI present who denied all responsibilty. Even a trip down to plat 1/2 and a bang on the supervisors'; door produced no resonse. Is this station legal?????
Bowroaduk | 12.10.08 - 2:04 a.m. | #
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The new-era signage at Tower Hill EB now announces the next trains out loud. Sometimes the announcements match what's written on the display. And sometimes the announcements match reality. But not always both.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 12.10.08 - 2:34 a.m. | #
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Finsbury Park, Victoria line southbound. It's obscured by a random and completely redundant piece of ceiling pipe that has no apparent use: no camera, no light, no sign, nothing. Still, it does a fantastic job in pbscuring the next train indicators! Wonderful ...
Antman | 12.10.08 - 4:32 a.m. | #
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Edgeware Rd (Subsurface) eastbound platforms seems to only ever say 'listen for announcements'
James | 12.10.08 - 10:10 a.m. | #
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I'll stop saying this after I've written this, but again, as with the previous map post, it's not really reasonable to expect TfL to read any blog post that is put on the internet. If there are particular examples where things could clearly be improved why not write in? It's easy to do and allows them an opportunity to respond and gives you a chance to point them in the right direction.
Tom Page | Homepage | 12.10.08 - 3:52 p.m. | #
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That is possibly why DG wants the details!
Another Andrew | 12.10.08 - 7:04 p.m. | #
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Wood Lane (H&C), which opened for the first time today, doesn't have any, nor any obvious place for them to go.
Eric | 12.10.08 - 8:39 p.m. | #
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Wood Green (southbound): the indicator only tells you about the next train as it's pulling into the platform.
Apparently this is due to the system's inability to cope with trains which might be emerging from the sidings just to the north of the station. Although that doesn't happen very often.
martin | 13.10.08 - 12:28 a.m. | #
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Given that there seems to be a feeling here that the time displays on next train indicators is a waste of time
Absolutely 110\\% disagree. The time displays work more often than they don't, and when they don't work you can often still get useful information for them (e.g. cycling between three "1 minute" trains for 10 minutes means that everything's knackered and you might as well get a bus).
On a similar basis, I'd list Whitechapel as the worst station for indicator boards - it's got four platforms which are all bi-directional, but only has two indicator boards, which have no time display and which don't show anything until a minute or two before the train arrives.
john b | Homepage | 13.10.08 - 4:12 p.m. | #
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Mile End, without a doubt. Unless you're right near the thing you can't see it. Obscured by way out signs and all the rest of the clutter. Mile End is a good canidate to have the thing suspended over the tracks so most people can get a good view.
Agree the H&C/District one at West Ham is a bit rubbish - they never modernised the describer boards east of there, hence the train is in view before the board updates.
Brendan | 14.10.08 - 12:06 a.m. | #
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There's a cracker at Holborn Eastbound - a brand new display has gone up... right behind the Exit sign meaning that anyone standing to get on the rear of the train can only usually see:
Cock#################
Cock#################
Cock#################
...Very useful...
Marc | 14.10.08 - 1:01 a.m. | #
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They're now putting up what must be the 3rd or 4th generation of dot matrix indicators (DMIs) at White City - yet stations Upminster to Upney WB have never had any in the first place. Also the new Wood Lane station doesn't have DMIs at all!!!
Bowroaduk | 14.10.08 - 9:37 a.m. | #
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Every DLR indicator where the "weekend engineering work etc..." message scrolls for longer than the "next train" data is displayed
Bowroaduk | 14.10.08 - 9:39 a.m. | #
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Isar: In Moscow they used to have a seconds indicator at the end of the platform. It started as the train left. If the second train hadn't arrived with 90 seconds there was a phone under the clock for people to complain. But that was under the oh so inefficient communists. I wonder if it still happens?
Ian | 14.10.08 - 2:42 p.m. | #
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They want to get the next train indicators that are used on Merseyrail.
The next 3 trains are shown.
The times of the trains are shown.
The terminating station is shown.
And they even show how many carriages that train will have, an added extra.
Neil | Homepage | 14.10.08 - 5:07 p.m. | #
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Edgware Road (Dist/Circle/H&C) has already been mentioned, but I love the fact that the main dotmatrix display is on the concourse (as Eastbound trains can leave from any of three platforms), and, instead of having another repeater display on the platforms, they have... a CCTV screen fed from a camera pointing at the concourse display.
Ben | 14.10.08 - 11:11 p.m. | #
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