Breh the black signs outside the station tells you what direction the train is going inEhhhhh. I'm not from here. I'll take the L. Like I said earlier. Some stops didn't have sighs saying the direction of the train. In one case. I had to go up stairs to see it.
Ex. This entrance to the L (no pun intended) is going in the 8th Avenue direction (or west).
And on the platform, it tells you which direction
This article should help out-of towners