old 1994 shot of Stamford platform

well it was dark I must of not gone far enough down.. I stopped inside the glass resting area due to the cold wind blowing

And I guess they have no plans on changing or putting up any more monitors for the tracks.

Not sure but I know If you walk from the street up the track level from the street it's the steps that takes you to the very end of the platform before the station.. I thought I would take that way to save some time I still found myself having to go in the station just to cross over to the other side of the tracks to go inside the station to make sure the train was on time then go back out and wait for the train.

I think it would be nice if there were some more of the TV like monitors down at platform level, but I don't think the station really needs the LCD displays at each track. Announcements are usually clear and frequent and I think that kind of makes up for the lack of electronic signs. My reference to announcements is just in my experience....I'm sure others may have different opinions.

Was in Stamford yesterday and I counted not less then 10 people come up to the conductor asking if this was the train to New York.. and it was the New Canaan bound train.

While I can't tell the MTA where to place the signs I really do think they should move it in a more viable area.. people coming down the escalator and going out to the platform really don't know out on track 5 that their is a tv monitor in that small cover area.

Maybe the intelect of travelers in Stamford needs to improve , Announcements are made constantly and there are TV monitors with track assignments in overpas area. on connecting tains announcements are made, I got people asking me questions while I do announcements.
stupid stupid stupid.

Passengers may not be as smart as you like, Dutch, but I agree with those who wish there were monitors with track info on the platforms at Stamford.

I've frequently had to go up into the station to figure out where the train I was expecting was departing from. If you arrive a few minutes early, you want to be able to find the track info on your own. Passengers expect to have this basic information handy, even if it's displayed on an old TV hanging from the ceiling.

Compare Stamford to GCT, where they have those large colorful monitors at almost every entrance (and frequent track announcements). Or compare it to any Greyhound terminal - destinations are listed where passengers can see them.

NH Chris

dutch with the weather today people were mislead very badly around 5pm me included. trains showed up on each track that were not even the tv screen confusing everyone in stamford and really irritating some of the conductors be nice if we had screens that showed that train was on what track.

DutchRailnut wrote:Maybe the intelect of travelers in Stamford needs to improve , Announcements are made constantly and there are TV monitors with track assignments in overpas area. on connecting tains announcements are made, I got people asking me questions while I do announcements.
stupid stupid stupid.

Ok now in plain english please ?? if it were not on TV screen how do you suppose the displays would help, the input is from same place.
If you do not know what platform your place is not on the platform but in waiting area. and anouncements would tell you or TV screens would tell you.
If you have complaints get of your duff and attend the Commuter council meetings , belly aching here won't help.
How come I never see any off your belly aching names on their minutes ???
http://www.trainweb.org/ct/

You guys crack me up, seriously. Announcements! TV Monitors! Signs! Flashing Arrows! Clowns! The Second Coming! When it comes to the average traveller, none of things are noticed.

The other day at Stamford, there's a conductor on the platform bellowing out "EXPRESS TRAIN TO GRAND CENTRAL.... METRO-NORTH EXPRESS TRAIN TO GRAND CENTRAL ONLY... THIS IS NOT THE AMTRAK TRAIN..." and I saw no less than three travellers go up to this human megaphone and ask if he was the Amtrak train to Boston.

-otto-

theozno wrote:dutch with the weather today people were mislead very badly around 5pm me included. trains showed up on each track that were not even the tv screen confusing everyone in stamford and really irritating some of the conductors be nice if we had screens that showed that train was on what track.

I have a headache. They let you into college? Oh yeah, I forgot, it's in the People's Republic of Vermont.

Seriously, dude, does your Mommy still make your bed? There are mishaps and delays everywhere in the world, on the highways and railroads and in the skies. You better get used to them and plan for them before you find a career. You spend more time on here moaning about how you can't get there from here, or Amtrak changed their schedule by 10 friggin minutes, or the rain made you wet.

Suggestion: Join the Army, and complain to your Drill about waiting in the chow line. Let's see what he/she does.

Once I was waiting at Poughkeepsie for the next train into the city. I couldn't believe how many people were walking around asking if the train waiting at the platform was the train to New York. P'keepsie is the last stop for MNRR where else would it be going? It clearly doesn't say Amtrak. And then they argue with the conductor when she tells them that it is the train to New York.

Stamford, New Haven, Ok I can understand how some people might get confused, you have two different railroads with a lot of trains going to different places. But I wonder if the same thing happens in Wassaic, where it is literally the end of the line. "Is this the train to NWP" Duh?

I also hate it when people argue with you when they ask for directions. One lady at Yonkers asked me if the next train went to Fordham. I told here she had to switch at 125th. But she didn't want to switch, she just wanted the next train to Fordham. She really started to annoy me so I told her to get off at Univ. Heights and walk.

One lady also got on the #5 subway at GCT, asked if this was the train to North Carolina, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't all there, if you know what I mean.

[/rant]

"One lady also got on the #5 subway at GCT, asked if this was the train to North Carolina, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't all there, if you know what I mean."

If she was riding Redbirds in 2002, you could have told her to stay on the train for a free ride to Deleware!

You know, my friends call me up all the time and ask how to get places by train. The whole concept of maps and divisions are lost on them. I had to carefully explain to my friend Katonah and New Rochelle were on two different lines (and that he would have to go all the way to New York to transfer). Another point- my friend wanted to know how he could find Hudson Line trains at GCT, "You know, with the green stripe?" The New Haven Line is red stripe... Harlem is blue stripe... Hudson Line is... UH-OH!

BTW, Jim, if you're watching this thread and laughing, see if MN can start a campaign to remind people what the names of the lines are. Someone told me I live on the Red Line and I saw an ad for an apartment near the "Tuckahoe Blue Line station." We have to stop this madness before someone ends up in Boston... or worse, LA. I'm envisioning a 30 spot on the radio, "Metro-North! Where the colors mean words!"

-otto-

One day we had a partially-private M-2 set on the Hudson during the evening rush. The first few cars were closed for some book signing event. You can just imagine the confusion at 125th: "Morris Heights next, make sure you're right.", customer: 'but it's a red train' ::confused stare::

hey dutch where do these Commuter council meetings take place at?

rcervel wrote: P'keepsie is the last stop for MNRR where else would it be going?

The yard north of the station?

DutchRailnut wrote:I got people asking me questions while I do announcements.

This may be a silly question, but Dutch, since when do engineers do announcements? Are there no conductors on the NH branch lines?