Euston station to put travel information back on the Big Board
Network Rail is reverse ferreting and has announced that it will put travel information back on the big board where it was originally.
Moving the travel information to the smaller freestanding displays was intended to break up the large monolithic crowd in the station into smaller groups, which worked as planned. However, the decision to turn the old display wall into a gigantic advertising screen provoked considerable backlash from pretty much everyone.
A few weeks ago, the adverts were switched off, and now Network Rail says it will switch the old board back on, displaying train times once again. One advantage of the mess around is that the old train times wall was replaced with a modern digital display screen, so it can display more varied information for passengers rather than just walls of platform announcements.
Network Rail said that the change is being made in response to feedback from passengers wanting to see a return of a large focal point on the concourse for travel information.
The display screen will be switched on later on Wednesday evening (11th Dec), although they’re advising that it’ll be in test mode until next week, so people should still use the freestanding departure time displays until then.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I’m pleased to see Network Rail taking action and making progress on its five-point plan to alleviate some of the issues faced at Euston – particularly at this time of year, when the festive period brings an increase in passengers.
“We’ve been clear the station simply hasn’t been good enough for customers, and that’s why we recently tasked Network Rail with making immediate improvements to address crowding and give passengers the experience they deserve.”
Messaging about the testing will be displayed in the station to keep passengers fully informed.
The trial builds on the other initiatives introduced as part of Network Rail’s five-point plan, including the earlier boarding of Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway trains.
When surveyed by Network Rail staff, the response from passengers who’ve been able to board trains earlier has been positive, with many people expressing an improvement to their travel experience. By allowing passengers to board at a more relaxed pace, early boarding has created a calmer station environment, especially during peak times.
Based on that photo of it being tested I suspect the ends of the big screen will be used for advertising, which is similar to what happens at other London stations.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the desire to restore some advertising revenue was a factor in this decision. At least if it’s limited to the ends it won’t be as off-putting compared to when it took up the entire screen.
“the response from passengers who’ve been able to board trains earlier has been positive”
This is ridiculous stuff isn’t it? I mean, how many passengers, when asked, are likely to say “no I prefer standing around until the last minute and having to rush in a massive crowd”?
I understand trains have to be cleaned and so on, but it seems bereft of any sense to have routinely held passengers back until the last possible moment, as apparently was happening.
Yes, I have wondered for years how they could possibly justify this. Expecting everyone to rush for the train with less than 10 mins until departure is just stupid.
People need to be able to decide for themselves whether to wait on the concourse or on the platform, just like non-terminal stations. This is one of the factors that makes train travel more pleasant than flying – passengers are not corralled and herded to the same extent at a station as in an airport.
Whilst I’m sure it’s interesting for some people to see an Arrivals board showing arrivals at Waterloo, I hope they fix the display so it’s showing trains arriving into Euston instead!
And if they could sort by platforms so those physically on the left of the screen have their platform info displayed on the left, and those on the right on the rhs of the screen that would be handy.
Umm…and what happens if the platform needs to be changed to one on the other side? I don’t think you’ve thought this through…
Mike
Um, no
Do it by sorted time-of-departure, as Liverpool St does
Much more useful
Apparently it hasn’t happened today.
I passed through Euston shortly after the new earlier boarding policy came into place. The possibly unintended consequence was that I couldn’t get onto a train to Crewe, some 20 minutes before departure as it was packed to standing – and I couldn’t stand for 2 hours.
I was lucky enough to be able to cross the platform and get on a Manchester train which had only just started boarding and therefore had some spare seats left.
I’m actually quite surprised that this has only become ‘an issue’ of late. Boarding at Euston has been a nightmare for at least 30 years. The beauty of the original (now reinstated) departure board was that it was orientated so that it was visible as you entered the station. The new boards forced everyone towards the centre because they were perpendicular to the entrance AND the view obscured by other station ‘furniture’ and columns.