Can you make the next metro? Prague rolls out smarter countdown screens

Anyone who has descended a long Prague metro escalator wondering whether to walk, stand or make an ill-advised dash for the train could soon have a better idea of how much time they actually have.

Prague Integrated Transport (PID), working with the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP), is gradually introducing redesigned digital countdown screens at metro entrances. The displays show the next two trains arriving in each direction before passengers head down to the platform.

The new design uses stronger color contrasts and makes individual metro lines easier to identify. But PID is also testing a potentially more useful change: keeping the countdown to the next train visible for longer.

PID says it has received feedback from passengers who find that the countdown disappears too early, even though they can often still reach the train being removed from the display.

The existing system was deliberately conservative. A train remained on the screen only if a passenger entering the station could expect to catch it while standing on the escalator for the entire journey to the platform.

In reality, many Prague commuters walk down escalators, meaning they can reach the platform considerably faster.

At selected stations, PID is therefore testing an extended countdown. The goal is to show an approaching train until the point at which passengers can still reach it safely without having to run down escalators or stairs.

PID stressed that passengers should not sprint through stations to make a connection, both for their own safety and that of other travelers.

The screens themselves have an official name: IPOČ, an abbreviation of the Czech Informační Panel na Odbavovací Čáře, or information panel at the fare-control line.

They are generally positioned near ticket validators at the entrance to the paid area of a metro station, though some can also be found inside larger interchange stations. There, the displays can help passengers decide whether they need to hurry through long connecting corridors.

The redesigned metro screens are part of a wider effort to make real-time public transport information more visible throughout Prague.

Digital departure boards have increasingly appeared at tram and bus stops in recent years. Newer versions don't just show when the next connection will arrive: they can also provide information about disruptions and indicate features such as wheelchair accessibility or air conditioning.

The city began introducing digital panels into its new black-and-white tram and bus shelters in 2024, following an earlier rollout of freestanding displays at some of Prague's busiest stops.

Real-time information has also become more prominent in the PID Lítačka app, where passengers can follow public transport connections and check departures before reaching a stop or station.

The next step could bring metro information even closer to street level. PID is asking passengers whether they would like countdown screens installed in additional locations, including outside station entrances before they descend underground.

For now, the upgraded IPOČ screens should answer the more immediate question facing commuters at the top of the escalator: whether that next metro is realistically within reach.