High-definition departure boards installed at Euston station

Credit: Network Rail

High-definition passenger information screens are being installed at London Euston station over the coming weeks so real-time testing can take place. The new £1.5 million electronic departure and arrivals boards will be positioned in the middle of the station concourse and will quadruple the number of screens available for passengers. Instead of one set of overhead LED screens above the entrances to platforms, two double-sided banks of full-colour displays are being built on posts.

Monitoring passenger movements

The new departure boards at Euston. – Credit: Network Rail

Computer modelling has taken place to analyse how shifting passengers’ focus from the front to the centre of the concourse can improve people flow at the West Coast main line’s London terminus. But over the coming months this will be tested live when the new screens are put into action for trials.

State-of-the-art LIDAR cameras will monitor passenger movements in real time and the data collected will be studied to see how repositioning the boards affects the routes people take between the concourse and trains.

“There’s been a huge amount of work in recent years to make more space for passengers at London Euston, all in preparation for this latest exciting phase to overhaul our departure and arrivals boards,” James Dean, West Coast South Route Director for Network Rail, said. “This will be a big change for passengers which is why we’re trialling the boards first and then listen to feedback from station users. The high-definition displays have been really successful in other stations, so it’ll be great to get them in position and see how they work for the thousands of passengers who use Euston every day.”

The new screens are clearer to read and information can be quickly changed in times of disruption. They also work on a traffic light system to give more information about when trains are ready to board, are delayed or are cancelled. They will eventually replace the outdated LED departure and arrivals boards which are over two decades old. Similar screens have already been installed in stations including Manchester Piccadilly and London Victoria stations where passengers have praised how easy they are to read and follow. Once the trials are complete the old boards will be decommissioned and removed.

Next phase of passenger flow improvements

This work is the next phase of improvements to passenger flow around the station in recent years, including:

• Widening of the ramp to platforms 8-11 after retail units were removed in 2021
• More concourse seating in place of the former London Underground entrance
• Removal of concourse clogging retail units under departure boards in Spring 2019
• Relocation of the underground station taxi rank in January 2019.

Further banks of the same electronic passenger information screens are also due to be put up outside of the station on the piazza in early 2023. The new departure boards are part of a wider £16 million investment into Euston station so it meets the needs of 21st century travel patterns.

Credit: Network Rail