Great Western Coffee Shop

Arrived at Reading yesterday by train 07:13 to catch the 07:33 Penzance.

Originally not showing saying next fastest train to Exeter the 07:59 as next train.

Then appeared with no time and then finally on time. By which time there were announcements to the effect that it would be at least 20 minutes late.

It stayed as ontime until 07:50 a couple of minutes before it arrived in platform 7 when it changed to 07:52.

Station staff said this was common  and it would change when it hit the signal outside the station.

Delay according to TM was finding a driver.

In general the I find the CIS at Reading totally inadequate once you are past the barriers,

Very few full train screens like at Paddington with stopping points particularly on transfer deck, except above actual platforms.

And with A and B ends you often have trains to different destinations at either end.

Several next fastest to X however that is not a comprehensive list so you have to know to where else the train stops.  And as I said was showing the 07:59 to Exeter when we arrived. So you have to look both sides.

Even knowing where your train is going doesn't help. If you know that Taplow trains are usually shown as Ealing Broadway trains.That doesn't help because only 2 of the 4 tph stoppers to Ealing Broadway stop at Taplow and Burnham and not Langley and Iver and the other 2 don't stop at Taplow and Burnham but do at Langley and Iver.

Still Crossrail will cure that as they'll stop every where.

Please move second   half of this post to new topic if considered appropriate.

I do not like the "next fastest train" stuff. I have noticed trains will disappear from that when they still haven't departed (presumably they think there is not enough time to get to the platform); much prefer the traditional destination screens which are clearer for me at least.

A lot of the time now I use my phone. Indeed at King's Cross the platform number showed on my phone before it came up on the station screens (and of course there are ways of finding out the booked platform well before the train leaves). They like cutting it fine there for some reason, I could well imagine people missing their departure if they were not paying hawk like attention.

I would be putting www.traintimes.org.uk/live/rdg/tap into my browser and ignoring the screens at Reading!

I used King's Cross on Monday and my train showed the platform 20 minutes before departure time. I find Paddington much worse, the Bristol trains often don't show the platform until less than 10 minutes before departure time, which if you have a bike booked, and have to get to the farthest end past a lot of other passengers all making their way through the barriers and then down the narrow platform, is definitely not enough time. I returned from Paddington yesterday and the platform appeared on the screen just under 8 minutes before departure time. Fortunately it wasn't too busy (middle of day) but I still only got on with about a minute or two to spare.