Indicator Screens out last night at Baker St

Although I am not certain of the exact reason, this tends to occur when
a)work is being carried out on the signalling computer,
b)the signalling computer is suffering some slight difficulties,
c)planned maintenance is being carried out.

To be honest, our largest influx of customers is not at 2330 on a Monday night, so if work needs to be carried out "under traffic conditions" but not when lots of people are travelling, this is a pretty good time to do it.

shocking news, im shocked.

The system - despite its age - remains the most up-to-date "reliable" computerised signalling system LU possess. It is rare - extremely rare - to have the service delayed by a total loss of signalling control. The system has back-ups similar to some Victorian constructions, which, when the surface is peeled back, reveal extreme over-engineering.

When the service is disrupted, the information can be updated more or less straight away - indeed the system updates itself and whatever it "talks" to every 15-30 seconds. Dependant on the disruption, the operator may not always have the chance to insert all of the information to allow the computer to make informed decisions with regard to passenger information displayed.

The system was designed with an "optimistic" view, and as such, when things go wrong it will always try and predict the next train - even if that won't be for some time.

If the screens are out you should make your way to platforms 1 and 2. There is normally a member of staff there and if a train comes in from the city you wont have to run to catch it.

When you come down the stairs to the platform there will be 2 screens to your right, one is platform 2 arrivals, the other is all departures.

It's been a few days since I was at work, but on my last day, the majority of screens were back in action, with a fault rendering those in the immediate area of Platform 5 still out of action. It's one of those "could be tomorrow, could be weeks" type faults whilst replacement parts are awaited.

The boards that are very important are at Harrow, has the board on platform 4 been replaced? Is there any news on the board? I noticed platform 3 was fixed before I went on leave.

What surprises me is why not just take the first train to Finchley Road or Harrow on the Hill and change there.

Agreed that it'll be the same train BUT unless it's a system wide failure then at least the info will be available at Finchley Road/ Harrow or you'll have the chance to see the front of the train.

One of my former landlady's friends got as far as Buckhurst Hill before realising that the train she got on at Mile End wasn't going to take her to Newbury Park...

But - they - can't- it - is - not - possible - why - are - lightboxes - dissappearing - so - fast?

If you count Aldgate East as the Met, I think there are still some there.
I hope they are going to preserve some lightboxes at at least one station, they are becoming rarer than dancing arrows!

The board on platform for had actually been totally missing for a week or so, and had not been replaced as of yesterday morning. In the last few weeks, I've been on a couple of Uxbridge trains whose destination blind had not been set - causing confusion to those waiting. Before being removed the board had a note attached saying "check front of train for destination" - I bet they were not expecting it to say "Baker st"!. On those occasions the doors have opened and I have gone to get off, to a chorus of "where's this train going?"




The problem there is that a northbound train can depart from three different platforms, with possibly several minutes or more before those reversing depart. So you don't know which will be first. Also the stairways to the platforms are very congested - If you realised that a train was departing from the other island, you'd not be able to get there in time.

During a period of disruption several weeks ago (AM rush hour), I arrived at the concourse, to find just one NB train displayed, and it was about 15 minutes away. One of the station staff trotted up looked at the boards, and without being prompted, got on his radio, and whistled us up more current information - top marks!

How dare you ;D



How dare you again ;D ;D
Whatever they were is certainly not what they are.



For the first point, generally a train approaching platform 2 from the city will leave before platforms 1 and 4. If there is a good service advertised, then travelling to Finchley Road will then mean you can "step back" to any train without the need to climb/descend stairs or swap platforms.

The station staff, whilst pretty much excellent at Baker Street, do not have the ability to "whistle-up" the information. They need to contact the Signalling Centre, and if it can be displayed, the chances are it is already being displayed. A train that does not exist in the immediate area cannot be made to exist if you see what I mean. Chances are the screens were being updated / trains were approaching at the same time. Don't want to burst the bubble there, but at least through whatever means we showed you what you wanted to see.