Absurd use of Passenger Information Displays...

[61653 HTAFC]

Rather than diverting a similar thread off-topic, I'll start a new one.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself at Micklefield station in West Yorkshire and noticed a strange variation in what appears on the 'Next Service' displays on the platforms. Usually, the passing of non-stopping trains appears about 20 seconds before the train passes, with usual listing of the next 3 services disappearing, and the whole screen displays something along the lines of:

***STAND CLEAR - FAST TRAIN APPROACHING!***​

At Micklefield however, the display actually listed the non-stopping trains as "Passing Train" in countdown of services- Now this might not be the biggest problem ever, but at Micklefield which is served half-hourly by Northern services to/from York & Selby, there are often 3 or 4 fast TPE/XC services between the trains which call. If someone not familiar with train travel were to arrive at an unstaffed station such as this and be presented with:

1. Passing Train
2. Passing Train
3. Passing Train​

On the displays, I imagine this might be somewhat alarming.

To broaden it out a bit, any other absurd/nonsensical messages you've seen on station/train P.I.S screens?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

To broaden it out a bit, any other absurd/nonsensical messages you've seen on station/train P.I.S screens?

In happier times, before everybody could access the internet, Paddington used to display the live test match score on the main display.
While not exactly "absurd", you could not call it operationally relevant!
But it did add to the gaity of nations.
This was in the days when the only other way to get the score was to dial "192" or something to get a voice message.
It also got people talking in the carriage before leaving.
It showed the railway was human.

 

[gazthomas]

Simpler times

 

[TheEdge]

(from usvsth3m.com)

This was spotted at Paddington this year.

 

[yorkie]

I saw this at Micklefield (Platform 1) too. It said about 3 "passing trains" were approaching. However not a single passing train actually appeared before the stopping service!

 

[dk1]

When i was Station Announcer at Norwich on Saturday afternoons i always narrowed the 'Welcome' & 'Your Duty Station manager' special notice screens to display The Canaries latest/full time scores as well as Ipswich (but only if they where losing) then displayed the Lottery numbers later in the evening.

Remember getting off at Lime Street each Grand National Day too & checking the 'Train Announcers Tips' on the main board before heading into Ladbrokes.

 

[telstarbox]

In 2002, Connex/SET managed to get the live World Cup scores onto the station monitors!

 

[Cherry_Picker]

1. Passing Train
2. Passing Train
3. Passing Train​

On the displays, I imagine this might be somewhat alarming.

I'll bet you still got idiots om mobile phones standing half an inch from the edge of the platform leaning slightly over the running rail, presumably in the believe that this will somehow make the train they are waiting for magically appear.

 

[causton]

During the Olympics, at London Overground stations the 'network update' boards and electronic PIS were showing the medal totals for Team GB and other information such as times of particular key events. Was quite nice. In the ticket office I saw a sign saying "Hackney Wick Sportsdesk" as well

Edit: Went to find a picture... didn't realise I actually took one myself! Here you go https://www.flickr.com/photos/0causton0/7750084694/in/photolist-

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I remember back at the height of the West Coast franchise to First carry on, Virgin Trains changed Arrival and Departure screens at their stations to read a thank you [for sticking by us] message every other rotation. Caused quite a stir on here I recall. I also seem to remember LM's screens at Keynes displayed a well done / thank you message to Team GB athletes back in summer 2012.

 

[waterlooroader]

During the 2012 Olympics, every station (Or so it seemed) periodically displayed a message reading "Welcome to all the 2012 athletes and visitors!"

All well and good, until they started displaying at my local station (Coseley) Obviously they were expecting people to run in to Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps in Roseville High Street!

 

[GB]

(from usvsth3m.com)

This was spotted at Paddington this year.

Ha Ha, I like. Took my a few seconds to figure it out tho

 

[fishquinn]

I was at Banbury a couple of days ago and when a class 67 going to Kidderminster was in platform 2 and leaving the announcer said 'Stand back from the platform edge. The next train on platform 2 does not stop here.
It did the same when a class 168 was in platform 3 but it hadn't started moving. Another strange thing is when a non stop train DID pass the announcer didn't say a thing.

 

[gottago]

During the Olympics, at London Overground stations the 'network update' boards and electronic PIS were showing the medal totals for Team GB and other information such as times of particular key events. Was quite nice. In the ticket office I saw a sign saying "Hackney Wick Sportsdesk" as well

Edit: Went to find a picture... didn't realise I actually took one myself! Here you go https://www.flickr.com/photos/0causton0/7750084694/in/photolist-

I remember the DLR PIDs congratulating Jessica Ennis on Super Saturday!

 

[infobleep]

My nephews, who live aboard, were once welcomed at Brighton when a standard prerecorded message was then broadcast in German. That was some years ago now.

Last night at Woking they were announcing a platform change over the speakers when the train that arrive hadn't changed platform according to the CIS and was the normal platform the train would arrive into. The same happened with my connecting train. It was fortunately the same platform they announced as the change each time.

Another time recently, the train I was on kept being listed as being late at stations when it was on time. At Surbiton it was 1 minute late. At Woking 2 minutes late. My connecting train was then listed as 3 minutes late at Guildford as we arrive in on time. Perhaps some sensor train monitoring problem or software issue that day.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[SpacePhoenix]

I can remember some World Cup results being displayed once

 

[yorksrob]

I think inconsistant displays are a problem.

When Holme tunnel was being done, the destination boards correctly displayed trains as going to Hebden Bridge where they terminated.

Fast forward to today, the board at Leeds shows destination Manchester Victoria. Yet half way through I discover that the destination is infact Hebden Bridge where we're turfed off. If the board had said that I could have taken avoiding action !
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Needless to say, no sign of a connecting train at Rochdale for forty minutes.

Complete fiasco.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Oh, and it gets better. 2 carriage pacer.

 

[34D]

Rather than diverting a similar thread off-topic, I'll start a new one.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself at Micklefield station in West Yorkshire and noticed a strange variation in what appears on the 'Next Service' displays on the platforms. Usually, the passing of non-stopping trains appears about 20 seconds before the train passes, with usual listing of the next 3 services disappearing, and the whole screen displays something along the lines of:

***STAND CLEAR - FAST TRAIN APPROACHING!***​

At Micklefield however, the display actually listed the non-stopping trains as "Passing Train" in countdown of services- Now this might not be the biggest problem ever, but at Micklefield which is served half-hourly by Northern services to/from York & Selby, there are often 3 or 4 fast TPE/XC services between the trains which call. If someone not familiar with train travel were to arrive at an unstaffed station such as this and be presented with:

1. Passing Train
2. Passing Train
3. Passing Train​

On the displays, I imagine this might be somewhat alarming.

To broaden it out a bit, any other absurd/nonsensical messages you've seen on station/train P.I.S screens?

This is just how Northern Rail choose to configure their screens. Can't say I particularly agree with it.

Also, the times before announcements vary wildly. At east Garforth down platform, you hear "stand well back from the edge" when the train is there. Up platform it's 3 minutes before.

 

[londonbridge]

Rather than diverting a similar thread off-topic, I'll start a new one.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself at Micklefield station in West Yorkshire and noticed a strange variation in what appears on the 'Next Service' displays on the platforms. Usually, the passing of non-stopping trains appears about 20 seconds before the train passes, with usual listing of the next 3 services disappearing, and the whole screen displays something along the lines of:

***STAND CLEAR - FAST TRAIN APPROACHING!***​

At Micklefield however, the display actually listed the non-stopping trains as "Passing Train" in countdown of services- Now this might not be the biggest problem ever, but at Micklefield which is served half-hourly by Northern services to/from York & Selby, there are often 3 or 4 fast TPE/XC services between the trains which call. If someone not familiar with train travel were to arrive at an unstaffed station such as this and be presented with:

1. Passing Train
2. Passing Train
3. Passing Train​

On the displays, I imagine this might be somewhat alarming.

To broaden it out a bit, any other absurd/nonsensical messages you've seen on station/train P.I.S screens?

I'm sure I've seen something similar on the Tyne n Wear metro where the board said "1. (destination) 2. NOT STOPPING"

 

[glbotu]

I'm sure I've seen something similar on the Tyne n Wear metro where the board said "1. (destination) 2. NOT STOPPING"

I think it does similar things on the London Underground, but that kind of makes more sense there, because as a passenger, you expect every train to stop (as opposed to Micklefield, where it seems that only 1 in 4 trains stops). As such, it's quite useful to know that the next train won't be stopping, so that passengers don't attempt to board (if the train stops for a signal etc).

 

[318259]

ScotRail's screens have a ridiculously long rotation. They keep flashing messages about remaining with belongings, underfoot conditions being affected by "recent weather" (all-year round!), offers to download a free ScotRail app, and a reminder to visit scotrail.co.uk

It's annoying trying to keep track of which train is pulling into the platforms at Hyndland when the screens only display that information a quarter of the time. They usually say 'Page 1 of 8' when they're showing that information!

 

[G0ORC]

In the early days of computerised passenger information systems I remember seeing the PIS screen on Platform 4 at Derby showing:-

"Next service - Mystery excursion to Barry Island, calling at Burton-on-Trent, Birmingham New Street and Gloucester only...."

In those days prizes were given on the train for guessing the correct destination!

 

[Bantamzen]

A couple of times I've been on platform 2 at Shipley when a West Coast steam excursion has been arriving for a scheduled pick-up whilst the PIS has been announcing that this is a fast train going through.

But Baildon suffers badly with these systems, if a service coming down from Ilkley towards Bradford gets held up outside of Guiseley (usually if a Bradford - Ilkley is running up late) the PIS will decide that after the scheduled time of departure that it must have run through & advertises the next Ilkley bound service. Not a problem for regulars, but many a Baildon noob has been seen franticly pacing the platform with mobile phone in hand, usually to tell work that their train has been cancelled, only for it to pull in a couple of minutes later.

 

[Taunton]

ScotRail's screens have a ridiculously long rotation. They keep flashing messages about remaining with belongings, underfoot conditions being affected by "recent weather" (all-year round!), offers to download a free ScotRail app, and a reminder to visit scotrail.co.uk

Southern are the same. During a sleet storm last winter there was "when it is very hot weather outside, always have a bottle of water", repeated every two minutes. Presumably on hot summer days they will show messages to always bring your snowshoes.

 

[Muzer]

When I was *VERY* young, I remember an NSE electromechanical clock displaying "HELP" at Windsor & Eton Central. Presumably the controller driving it had lost some sort of connection?

A few months back when there were two German teams playing each other in the football stadium for some reason (I don't follow football), Wembley Central, regular announcements were made in German. Though I could pick out the odd word, my GCSE German wasn't good enough for me to understand much

 

[Michael.Y]

A few months back when there were two German teams playing each other in the football stadium for some reason (I don't follow football),......

The Champions League Final is held at a different venue each year (this year I think it is Lisbon) and last year it was held at Wembley. The two teams which qualified for the final were both from Germany.

 

[nrturner]

I took this one at Sowerby Bridge on the 1st August last year.

 

[Kite159]

Visiting Shrewsbury on the 1st March, it was nice to see "Happy St David's Day" on one of the rotations, in both English and a dying language

 

[Starmill]

I saw this at Micklefield (Platform 1) too. It said about 3 "passing trains" were approaching. However not a single passing train actually appeared before the stopping service!

Cross Gates does this as well... and other stations in West Yorkshire :/

Not sure if it's worse than the ones in Greater Manchester that completely fail to warn you of passing trains.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I remember back at the height of the West Coast franchise to First carry on, Virgin Trains changed Arrival and Departure screens at their stations to read a thank you [for sticking by us] message every other rotation. Caused quite a stir on here I recall.

And a rather odd display at Steeton during some system upgrades: