Re: Passenger Information Displays

[Alex Borodin <alex.borodin@qrail.com.au>]

Adam Joyce wrote:
> 
> >Passengers need to know if the train they
> > are waiting for is now scheduled to go off another
> > platform.
> > Are count-down clocks more useful for estimated departure
> > times than actual times? Do you need the current time on
> > the sign? Do you need the complete stopping pattern (as is
> > done in Sydney) or just something like "Express to Caboolture"
> > or "All Stations Caboolture"?
> 
> Why buy and install expensive LED displays that can only display a small
> amount of the above information, when for a far lower price (both
> installation wise and maintenance) you can display almost ALL of that
> information using a regular TV or monitor connected to the right computer
> software. There are several monitors in the Adelaide station which give
> patrons different information. Firstly, there is the screen displaying the
> current time and a list of the closest scheduled departures with
<SNIP>
> Whilst this may sound complicated, it is all interconnected and managed by
> the same software. Although this may sound like a lot of monitors, the cost
> of a lot of monitors compared to a lot of large LED displays comes out
> favourably (doesn't it?).... unless of course you want to use big screen
> TVs to give that full cinema effect. : )
> Oh well, I like our system anyway. It's simple and quick to read, yet
> supplies all the information you could possible need.

Thanks for your reply Adam and you have got a good point about using
CRT monitors instead of LEDs. We already have three inner city stations
(soon to be 4) which use this technology very successfully. We love it,
actually, but it's not real useful when you want to show information
at remote stations in full sunlight and weather conditions, and
where there is a vandalism problem.

LED's are available these days which can show in full sunlight, which
are weatherproof, vandalproof and which are so reliable that they
hardly need touching.

Apart from that, you're right, CRT's are great.

-- 
 o Alex Borodin B.Eng(Hons)        o Queensland Rail  
 o Software and Systems Engineer   o Ph: +61-7-3235-2482   
 o Signal and Operational Systems  o Fax:+61-7-3235-2747
"What you do is what you are. As a man thinketh, so he 
becomes"