Faulty Next Train Indicators at Wimbledon

Even though I'm no longer a local, I can recommend this website as a temporary fix. Granted, it is often more useful for arrivals rather than departures (in that you can find out which platform you are going into by the time you are passing the loading bay at Waitrose) but for arrivals it can also work fairly well. You can either go for an Edgware Road train (in which case go for the lowest one there, unless you've got 2I77 & 2I70, in which case, go for 2I77), memorise the timetable, and the sequence of departures around the times at which you are travelling, or to watch that page for about 10 mins beforehand and note which one came in first. I believe the indicator boards worked on a similar principle of watching trains in and out. Of course, in disruption, it's anyone's game, hang back in that bit facing the tracks for P2 and P3, and watch out for drivers going to plunge their TRTS'.

That tells you where each train is going, but not which one is going first. There are four platforms at Wimbledon.

The station is run by a TOC, rather than TfL - whether that has anything to do with the paucity of information is not for me to say.



You can now, as the destination is displayed on the side of the cars as well as the ends. However, until very recently you didn't need to read the destination - as long as you could tell your C stock from your D stock!

In any case, most people just get on the first train and, if they are going beyond Earls Court, change there. (Indeed, when I go to the Royal Alert Hall, I take the first train - HSK and Gloucester Road are both about the same distance from the RAH)

The important thing at Wimbledon is to know which is the first train out!

neither of them are very useful. No-one needs to know when eastbound trains are running to Wimbledon. Especially as you get this (at 1403)


1408 to East Putney plat 1 Departed on time
1413 to East Putney On time
1418 to East Putney plat 2 At platform

So the first train is due out in five minutes but has actually already left (at 13:58;15). And the only train that is here is not expected to be the first train out. (although in fact it was - further investigation reveals that all ERD services (identified by a "7" as the penultimate figure in the headcode/train number (2I74, 074) are running 10 minutes early, but City services are running to time - and for some reason platform numbers are only given for ERD services).

The online departure materials are a bit useless really! It's besides the point a little too. The average Joe wouldn't and shouldn't have to try and figure it out online! The information should be provided. Even if it's just a guy who has to change a number on the whiteboard before each departure! There should be something!

A good fun bit of chaos going on again this morning. As I walked on to platforms 1 & 2, the announcements were going out;
"Next train to depart will be from platform 1, to Edgware Road", (cue half the population of the Dagenham East train on platform 2, making a mad dash to platform 1 (made particularly chaotic by those panicking when they hear the door chimes of the Edgware train)); "Next train to depart from platform 2 will be a City via Victoria service" (cue the mad dash of the confused back in the opposite direction).

As I got to the end of the platform I've never seen so many people standing watching the signals, waiting to see which will go green. Even the Train Ops were unsure as to what was going next. One told a passenger, "you need to start complaining, they've been like that for a couple of weeks now"...

Finally, the Op for the Edgware train came walking to his cab around 07:27, "What time you due out?" the Dagenham operator asked him. "28" came the response. Cue those waiting by the signals making their way to the Edgware train, an announcement to the Dagenham bound passengers, and the final mad dash, to enjoy a wonderfully packed train up to Earl's Court.
Good times.

As South West Trains operate the station, they would be my first suggested contact as I would presume that they are responsible for displaying information to passengers. If they come back saying "Nothing to do with us, it's all X's fault" then you know who to talk to next.

Cool, thanks both. I'd hope they're aware!!
I'll try and email them at some point. I want an explanation of some kind! Plus the more noise made the better now I think at this stage!

It's not unusual to find all four platforms at Wimbledon occupied. As soon as a train departs the next one arrives. In general, trains to Edgware Road use platform 1 or 2, those to Tower Hill or Barking use platform 3 or 4. It's not immediately obvious which train will leave first. If the trains get out of sequence on the way in then the platforming goes out of the window.

John

We get routed into a vacant platform there is no plat 1 or 2 Edgware rd or plat 3 or 4 city so it is pot luck where we get routed too

That surprises me as casual observation suggests that ERD trains usually use platforms 3 and 4 and City trains 1 and 2 (which means that if your destination is beyond Earls Court you know which island to hover on awaiting a green). Assuming more than one platform is available to an approaching train, are they usually routed to fit that pattern?

There are several legs in the chain when it comes to train information.

It all starts with the train described at the signal box which is pretty essential to keeping things running in an orderly fashion. Hence if trains are still running to time it's unlikely to be that which is an issue.

Data from the train described is then sent to out to a data hub which the customer information systems and websites like real time trains get their data.

The customer information systems then have to send the info out to the stations, which then have to get the information individual groups of indicators.

All these separate stages are linked by communications links of course - and that is normally where the problem lies, particularly as they are not direct lines and as such they tend to be at the mercy of the likes of BT rather than NRs own telecoms network. Then you have the issue that stations are leased out to TOCs - so a damaged customer information data cable is the responsibility of the TOC to resource and arrange.

Commonly known as the PTB syndrome (Passing the buck in the tick box culture)