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New PIS at last on the 365s!
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Just spotted this on 2R45 (Letchworth to King's Cross). So far not saying anything and just showing Great Northern!
(photo: A 365 with new dot matrix screen)
I believe it uses the same voice from Stevenage, the male voice belonging to a member of staff. It does work as I've heard it but updated units can only function with updated units and it causes errors if a pair don't match but from what I am told an updated one can be in the middle of a 12 car.
This is a single 4-car, so probably just not set up yet.
(Are the 319s working yet or still under test btw?)
Edit: 365525 in this case. Much clearer screen outside too. What I didn't check was if they've added CCTV?
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The male announcer at Stevenage is very good. Had us giggling one morning last week when he fluffed his words and said 'I hate this thing sometimes'.
The screens don't look new but an update to the PIS is welcome, the first since the trains were introduced over 20 years ago!
The screens don't look new but an update to the PIS is welcome, the first since the trains were introduced over 20 years ago!
D365
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I imagine that the dot matrix is designed as a like-for-like replacement of the original system in order to minimise installation costs.
In any case, only a few years late! Will they get around to doing the entire fleet before the 21 'spare' units are seemingly to be withdrawn?
The train I'm on now has the new screens but old voice (announcing as West Anglia Great Northern).
Display stuck now on Great Northern and since I left Peterborough hasn't actually said anything at all.
It's 8 car so perhaps that's the problem mentioned above.
Meanwhile, I've been on others where it works and it's exactly like the 387 for voice, including the male stand clear bit.
Display stuck now on Great Northern and since I left Peterborough hasn't actually said anything at all.
It's 8 car so perhaps that's the problem mentioned above.
Meanwhile, I've been on others where it works and it's exactly like the 387 for voice, including the male stand clear bit.
D365
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Yeah I imagine that the new system needs a degree of backwards compatibility in the interim before the fleet-wide upgrade is complete.
It's good that you now get detailed information of other services available from stations, as well as 'alight here for xxxx', e.g. Alight here for Hatfield House.
I'm not even sure the 387s say that much.
I was on a single 365 with the new system. The announcements sounded like they used the same scripts as the 700s. "This station is x. This train terminates at y." Same voice too as the 700s and the old system. Much clearer announcements though and the PIS screens were much better than before.
bramling
Veteran Member
The 365s used to announce Leeds Castle at Bearsted during their South Eastern days.
It's a vast improvement. The old system was great for its time, but very limited and often turned off as a result.
The cab display is far better too, and when I saw a train go by (when I was also on a moving train), I saw a reflection that made me wonder if some of the stock now have screens on the carriage sides?
I've looked on 365525 and didn't see any, but wonder if they're being added later?
One quirk - the screens are quite high. If you're standing in the train, there's a chance you'll lose the top few rows of pixels. Not a biggie, and possibly adjustable.
I was on one of the 365s with the upgraded PIS yesterday. It announced that the service was going to "Cambridge. .... North"
Quite amusing to hear it advising passengers to alight at WGC for the Howard Centre.
I was on a 365 on Saturday - I assume this one has the old PIS as the driver played an automated message that said something along the lines of: "This is a special announcement to advise you that a new timetable twill come into effect this Sunday. For details please check the leaflet racks and posters at the station, or call our telephone advisory bureaux or ask the conductor on board the train"
Maybe something that was done for when the 365 were in Kent? as the 365s were introduced to GN route several years after trains went DOO. also obviously recorded pre-internet !
Quite amusing to hear it advising passengers to alight at WGC for the Howard Centre.
I was on a 365 on Saturday - I assume this one has the old PIS as the driver played an automated message that said something along the lines of: "This is a special announcement to advise you that a new timetable twill come into effect this Sunday. For details please check the leaflet racks and posters at the station, or call our telephone advisory bureaux or ask the conductor on board the train"
Maybe something that was done for when the 365 were in Kent? as the 365s were introduced to GN route several years after trains went DOO. also obviously recorded pre-internet !
I travelled in a 319 on Sunday and it still had a label on it (instead of a working display) about improvements under development. The 319s should have left Thameslink before they are used in anger.
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D365
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It's not just me then! Always makes me chuckle.
To be fair the PIS on the 365s has been pretty good. I wonder how many of the current systems will still be working after 20+ years.
It worked on some of the 319s when it was installed (indeed I've seen the system functioning underneath the label) but don't think the drivers agreed with its use.
I hope the 365s with the new system will not have problems like the 365s used to - namely getting confused about where it is (remember the Finsbury Park announcements as you leave the tunnel to arrive at Potters Bar). 387s seem to get confused a lot, and not the problem of reading backwards like the 317s not set up properly - as in crashed and just saying the same station over and over (examples being Finsbury Park and Huntingdon on recent journeys).
One train where I think they got the announcements on the PIS system just right was the Class 365. Very clear, no strange gaps in between words (actually sounded like a real voice) and most of all the messages were just simple. No messing about, just 'the next station is Cambridge' or 'this train is for London King's Cross'. I find more modern announcements such as 'we will shortly be arriving at Clapham Junction' or 'change for London Victoria, London Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Willesden Junction, etc etc. etc...' to be quite frankly over the top and annoying! Surely if anyone was planning on making a journey involving changes, they'd have looked in to how to do it prior to boarding the train? 
The best other example I can think of is LU D stock.
The best other example I can think of is LU D stock.
I'm on a 365 right now (two sets but both with the new CIS) and it's pretty rock solid so far. Good clear announcements with additional info, the different voice for safety announcements (like the Electrostars) and so on.
Even seems capable of announcing the next station correctly!
Even seems capable of announcing the next station correctly!
317666
Established Member
Or "The next station, is Kitchen!" (Hitchin).
Doesn't the original 365 system use wheel rotations to work out when it's approaching the next station? It's noticeable when approaching Letchworth heading towards Cambridge that the announcement plays quite early, presumably due to the extra wheel rotations going over the flyover compared to going over the flat junction.
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bramling
Veteran Member
Yes. The same effect could be seen if the train should be routed via Hertford for any reason.
Do extra wheel rotations over non-original routings mean that the announcements are always early or is the distance counter reset once the next station has been reached?
If the latter, could someone explain what system is used to achieve this?
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