06.05.16
New information screens to be fitted on Thameslink stations
New and improved passenger information screens are to be installed on Thameslink stations in central London in preparation for the arrival of new Siemens Class 700 trains.
The screens improve on existing information screens by showing, at a glance, 30 minutes worth of departures instead of three or four departures at a time, and including information about where facilities such as first class, bicycle storage and wheelchair spaces are available.
Keith Wallace, programme director at Thameslink, said the new screens were “essential” to cope with Thameslink’s “dramatic” planned expansion.
The company intends to introduce Siemens Class 700 trains, which Govia Thameslink Railway are also using on their Greater Northern suburban route, later this spring, with services running between Blackfriars and St Pancras every two and a half minutes by the end of 2018.
Wallace said: “Passengers in central London will need to know quickly and easily which service is the one they want.”
There will be eight screens on each station instead of four, designed to reduce overcrowding. The screen design was devised by industry experts from Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway, the screen supplier, InfoTec, and ATOS WorldLine. ATOS will provide the back office systems and supply train running data to the screens.
The last edition of RTM contains an interview with Mark Somers, rail systems director on the Thameslink programme, discussing Thameslink’s latest developments at London Bridge station.
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