Back when Ewan reviewed version 1.x, he concluded:
the app does what it sets out to do, and it delivers the information that you are looking for in a very fast and efficient manner. One nice touch is that it highlights delays for you. The original departure time is still listed, but underneath in red you have the new departure time, and a text message beside it confirming how long the delay is for. That's a really nice human touch that makes it much more user friendly.
So that's UK Trains for you. On one hand it's an idea with poor execution and vision that fails to be a true 'Windows Phone' app, on the other it's a tightly focused application that does one thing very well. The truth is somewhere in-between. And if that matches with what you need, you've found a useful app.
Now, here's the summarised changelog for the new v2.3 from the version we looked at all those months ago:
- New design
- Improved handling of network failures
- Improved the text of the live tile
- Show expected arrival time to enable to quickly distinguish the fast trains from the slow trains
- Allow to go to the home page when starting from a station live tile
- Open the HERE Maps app by tapping on the directions map in the station page
- Added option to reverse journey
- Support for trains that divide into two destinations
- Refresh departures and arrivals in parallel
- Show last refresh time
- Many other bug fixes and tweaks
Let's have a look at some of the improvements in action:
You can now search for any station by name and then drill down into Arrivals or Departures. Note the new styling and fonts, especially for platform numbers and that non-stopping trains are shown without platform assignments.
On the toolbar now is 'pin to start', wherein any frequently used stations can be put front and centre on your Start screen
Having gone into UK Trains via a Start screen tile, there's now this handy menu option to take you back to the main station browsers....
You can download UK Trains for free here in the Windows Phone Store.