Automated stop announcements on M-8 cars.

Forgive me if this has been already answered, but I was unable to find any mention. How are the automated stop announcements programmed on the M-8 cars? While traveling from New York to New Haven last evening, as we left Milford the message came on that the next stop would be West Haven. This message played twice, and it wasn't until we were about to pass the West Haven station that the message was cut off as it was starting again.

Bill

crew programs the stations at initial station, they forgot to skip west haven station in ASI system, no big deal.

Thanks for the explanation.

Bill

Sounds like a Twilight Zone story. Next stop Willoughby!!!

Clean Cab wrote:Sounds like a Twilight Zone story. Next stop Willoughby!!!

That episode actually is set to take place on the New Haven Line.

There's a vid of an M8 with a West Haven announcement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AFW_qiBFuU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We know

I can see how this could happen, since the train I was on was making all local stops between Stamford and New Haven. Does each stop have to be entered every trip, or can presets be programmed for common stop combinations?

Bill

each stop has to be clicked individually.

DutchRailnut wrote:each stop has to be clicked individually.

Isn't 21st technology great! At least the crew kept the first four cars closed on the trip I rode, minimizing the need for the "first x car passengers walk back / last x cars move forward to exit" announcements at the shorter station platforms. Thanks for the info.

Bill

Bill D wrote:

DutchRailnut wrote:each stop has to be clicked individually.

Isn't 21st technology great! At least the crew kept the first four cars closed on the trip I rode, minimizing the need for the "first x car passengers walk back / last x cars move forward to exit" announcements at the shorter station platforms. Thanks for the info.

Bill

Be careful what you wish for. Back home in the UK on the line I used to commute on we got some new trains about ten years ago (Bombardier class 375 ElectroStars if anyone's interested). These came with a GPS-based location system which automated not only the station announcements but also the selective door operation at short platforms, the trains being run in up to 12-car consists.

Whilst this generally worked fine at outlying stations out in the open, the terminal stations in central London have roofs and many of them have office buildings over the tracks. So of course at these stations the system couldn't get a GPS fix, and so would be unable to locate the train, and so would refuse to release the doors, as it couldn't tell whether the train was on a platform long enough for all the doors to be opened safely. The crew could over-ride the system, but this took time, and often the passengers would get impatient and activate the emergency door releases so they could get off, especially on morning peak arrivals. And that would then delay the turn-around of the train as the crew would have to walk along and reset all the door releases.

I believe they eventually fixed the problems by installing some sort of radio beacons at the terminal stations to allow the onboard system to know where the train was without a GPS fix. I can't help think it would have been easier to have built the system to allow a simple manual override, a "yes we are now at Victoria" button or something, but apparently the management didn't trust the crews to work such a system properly.

^ The LIRR's ASI system works off GPS too, and they usually act a little funny coming out of Penn.

The LIRR's ASI system is just a little bit more technologically advanced...if I recall correctly the engineer types in the train number at the beginning of the trip and that automatically sets the stops the thing announces.

rpjs wrote: Whilst this generally worked fine at outlying stations out in the open...

I didn't know that was still a word!

But no, LIRR's ASI setup is not different from MNR's. It's just that MNR doesn't have the train data pre-installed into system. The option to do it is there it's just not used.

rpjs wrote: I believe they eventually fixed the problems by installing some sort of radio beacons at the terminal stations to allow the onboard system to know where the train was without a GPS fix. I can't help think it would have been easier to have built the system to allow a simple manual override, a "yes we are now at Victoria" button or something, but apparently the management didn't trust the crews to work such a system properly.

I can't remember the outfit that makes the most common ASI system (I think its Bombardier?) but I know in several systems, they put in GPS active repeaters at stations above the track.