While we're doing Crossrail, let's have a word about Crossrail's Next Train Indicators.
Stations aren't yet open but trains are running and some of the Next Train Indicators are both operational and visible. This set is above the gateline at Custom House (and has been visible for over a year).
One day, in one direction only, that's going to be important. Spotting the next westbound train to Reading in amongst a slew of Paddingtons, Heathrows and Maidenheads may be necessary for some travellers. But here at Custom House every single eastbound train will only be going two stops to Abbey Wood, and always will be, so a list of ten Abbey Woods is very much overkill. Nobody'll be catching the tenth one, nor the fifth, indeed only a slowcoach will be interested in the second.
And for the first few months all westbound trains will be going to the same destination, namely Paddington, so the majority of what's on display will be noise. The only key piece of information everyone'll need is the number of minutes until the next train and that's a single digit occupying a surprisingly tiny proportion of the overall screen. From a distance this squinty presentation isn't ideal.
Also, because I've stood and watched, that digit is going to disappear before the train arrives. TfL are doing what they've done at numerous existing stations and are removing the next train from the list as soon as they don't think you've got time to get it. Here at Custom House the time ticks down to 2 minutes and then the next train magically vanishes, even if you've still got 90 seconds to catch it, because they don't want you to dash down the stairs and slip. It's a psychological thing. Passengers who see "1 min" tend to hurry even if they don't need to, and TfL would far rather you missed a train than had an accident.
We have yet to see how many minutes early TfL will remove the next train from indicators at stations with deeper Crossrail platforms. But all the evidence from the rest of the network is that they're really risk averse (for example five minute drop-offs when interchanging at Bank, eight minutes on the Overground in Hackney and a blanket 2 minutes across the DLR) so prepare to be annoyed/delayed on Crossrail too.
Also note how the Eastbound indicator is titled "towards Abbey Wood", which is fine, but the Westbound indicator says "towards Heathrow or Reading". In the opening stages no trains are going to Heathrow or Reading, only to Paddington, and onward travel will require a split-level change onto a differently branded service.
It's different again at Farringdon, where the Next Train Indicators are again visible from the street. Forgive my blurry photos through the glass.
This time the Eastbound heading is "towards Shenfield or Abbey Wood", despite there being no direct trains to Shenfield because that's the final state of operations. Admittedly there's no reason why the boards should be titled the same on opening day as they are now under Trial Operations, but I bet they will be.
Finally note that every eastbound platform is a Platform A and every westbound platform is a Platform B. This has been known for at least three years, ever since Open Days were held at part-completed stations, but it doesn't hurt to remind you again now. All Abbey Wood trains will run from Platform A, if that alliterative coincidence helps you to remember.
