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For all its greatness, some things about London are just unavoidably crap. Commuting, for example. There’s not much worse than being crammed into a train like a sardine, having your nose squished into the armpit of a stranger.
So wouldn’t it be handy if there was some sort of technology that could show you which train carriages are the most busy, and which are the ones where you are most likely to get a seat?
Our prayers have been answered, because TfL is rolling out new tech across the Elizabeth line which does just that.
Now, at some Lizzie line stations the train boards feature a graphic showing the most and least crowded carriages. Why didn’t anybody think of this before? The technology measures the weight of the load in each carriage, which is then displayed in the helpful visual that appears on the announcement board.
This isn’t available everywhere, and is currently only shown at the above ground sections of the Elizabeth line on either side of London, not in the core tunnels. Stations including Ilford, Ealing Broadway, Paddington, Stratford and Custom House are displaying this information, according to London transport expert IanVisits.
It’s not clear whether this exciting addition to the Lizzie line will be rolled out across the whole service, but its expected that the information will soon be available to see on third party apps such as National Rail Enquiries.
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