A few weeks ago I made my way north to Brisbane, where I caught plenty of trains.
At the main entrance to Roma Street Station I noticed a useful feature of the next train display boards – they were colour coded.
Note that colours used matching those used in the network map.
The stopping pattern for the next train departing each platform is displayed, along with the colour for the appropriate railway line.
Additional screens list the next three trains on each route:
As well as the next trains heads in each direction out of the city.
Note how the line based colour coding makes the screens incredibly easy to read at a glance.
If only the next train displays on Melbourne’s rail network were as simple to read!
Footnote
Until a few years ago the next train displays at Melbourne’s City Loop stations used colour to distinguish the different lines – unfortunately the upgrade to LCD panels resulted in this useful feature being killed off.
At least Melbourne’s train network map is undergoing a much needed revamp – the almost useless fare zone information is being removed, with the different colours being used to indicate something far more important – which railway line goes where!