Next train signs are finally here

After years of protests that it couldn't be done, and six years of study and work, Sound Transit has finally found a way to put next train arrival times on the existing message boards at stations that opened in 2009. Capitol Hill and UW Station opened with this capability in 2016. Between Angle Lake and Westlake, arrival times rapidly rotate with other messages. Riders need wait no more than a few seconds to get the key info.

The picture above is on the mezzanine level. There is a similar sign on the tunnel entrance, a good indicator on whether or not to hustle. At the platform level, the signs only display the relevant direction (see below).

From the agency's blog post:

In addition, Sound Transit will have the ability to interrupt real-time arrival information to update riders in the event of a service disruption.

This allows for the signs to have more relevant information during those times by displaying specific messages until full service is restored.

This feature can be activated for the entire alignment at once, or at individual stations or groups of stations as needed.

By email, ST's John Gallagher said that though they might tweak the format, this is pretty much how it's going to look until ST revamps the whole messaging system in 2023. As far as I'm concerned, now that we have this, they can take their sweet time in shipping a new solution.