Platform Departure Board (Platform 1) at Cardiff Central, UK
<br>These are the new Tube-style (also called Countdown-style) departure boards being installed by many TOCs, notably Great Western, South West Trains, Connex, South Central and Thameslink.
<br>They are ideal for the intensive services provided by many of the suburban operators (SWT, CX, TL, SC), but of slightly more dubious value on big Intercity stations like Cardiff, as the irregular traveller can be initially confused by them, in a way they are not by TV monitors, since some interpret the "1st, 2nd and 3rd" as "Platform 1, 2 and 3, not First train from this platform, second train from this platform...." It is alway interesting watching the orders swap around at some stations, as the CIS tries to work out which train will arrive first.
<br>The layout is always the same:
<br>First line - "1st", timetabled departure time, Destination, Expected time
<br>Second line - Scrolling R-L - Calling points, and additional information (such as catering, unusual formation, location of First Class)
<br>Third line - Swaps between second and third train's details.
<p>Photo by Timothy Vince (le_random@yahoo.co.uk)