RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Back recently from [another] trip to the Wild West ie., Perth a "smaller" city, with a now considerably superior urban rail system, to "World Class" Brissy....   

One of a number of observations I'd make is, why is it, we have not, as the years...and years....and years.....have rolled by, not put in place, a standardised professional array of public address announcements, on all Translink services? (stations AND trains so far as rail goes?)

QR you often get some half hearted, muffled attempt at aahhhh uuhhhmmmm this aahhh train....will aaahhhh....

Over in the West....it's all standardised, professional....."sharp" and you can hear it!

Foo...Sound for thought......

We have prerecorded next station announcements, but the guards can preempt them and many do.

Most, if not all guards prefer to add their own announcements on top (ie Platform on the left/right hand side in the direction of travel) of and/or pre-empt their own, and according to past feedback years back, some customers prefer 'personality' in announcements and.. of course because Queenslander! QUEENSLANDER!

It's not so much that many guards 'prefer' to do it, it's part of their job requirement to make the platform side and station announcements on top of the auto announcements.

Why cant the train say what side the platform is on?

They should turn on the automated announcements at Fortitude Valley Station. No need to have station masters announcing trains there.

Perth trains have automated announcements for platform sides.

Quote from: Gazza on August 19, 2022, 09:56:25 AMWhy cant the train say what side the platform is on?

The station announcements know which platform, but do the trains know which platform they'll be?

Quote from: verbatim9 on August 19, 2022, 11:26:25 AMThey should turn on the automated announcements at Fortitude Valley Station. No need to have station masters announcing trains there.

Perth trains have automated announcements for platform sides.

Fortitude Valley, Central and Roma Street shares the same PA team out of the same building at Central. 

Either way the announcements are definitely not done out of Fortitude Valley as occasionally the announcers gets their platforms mixed up (ie Announcing a Roma Street platform out of Central before correcting themselves.

Quote from: aldonius on August 19, 2022, 14:53:57 PM

Quote from: Gazza on August 19, 2022, 09:56:25 AMWhy cant the train say what side the platform is on?

The station announcements know which platform, but do the trains know which platform they'll be?

Wouldn't they have to know what platform they're coming into since the train protection systems need to know what block they are in?

Regardless though, I don't think the automatic announcements would be able to take in this data. It would probably require a rewrite of the software to implement. That's definitely something they should do... but the reality is they probably won't rewrite (or reacquire) the software until they implement LCD displays. Fingers crossed that will be a feature of the 2025 fleet.

Given the NGRs show on the internal info screens what side the platform is on when the doors are released (arrow pointing to the released side), I imagine they should be able to code something in them that triggers a platform side announcement when doors are released?

Quote from: JimmyP on August 19, 2022, 19:56:40 PMGiven the NGRs show on the internal info screens what side the platform is on when the doors are released (arrow pointing to the released side), I imagine they should be able to code something in them that triggers a platform side announcement when doors are released?

I'd imagine so, however once again that would likely require at least some rework of the announcement system such that it can trigger upon door release. Not to say it can't be done, just that it is unlikely considering QR likely has more pressing matters to focus on. If the guards have to be paid regardless (going driver only is not going to happen anytime soon), there's not much point investing in something which the guards can do.

Quote from: RowBro on August 20, 2022, 08:53:51 AM

Quote from: JimmyP on August 19, 2022, 19:56:40 PMGiven the NGRs show on the internal info screens what side the platform is on when the doors are released (arrow pointing to the released side), I imagine they should be able to code something in them that triggers a platform side announcement when doors are released?

If the guards have to be paid regardless (going driver only is not going to happen anytime soon), there's not much point investing in something which the guards can do.

That goes pretty much against the purpose of this thread then

Might as well not progress at all