For the better part of two years, new LCD displays have set wrapped and unused at Brooklyn stations along the IRT lines. At Bergen St. and at Grand Army Plaza, at Eastern Parkway and at Kingston Ave., these countdown clocks have been idle, a reminder of promises of MTA technology to come.
Today, Transit announced that four stations along the 2 and 3 line in Brooklyn are now enjoying the countdown clocks. The PA/CIS system has been activated at Bergen St. (above), Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum, Nostrand Ave. and Kingston Ave. with more stations to enjoy countdown clocks in Kings County over the next few months.
The Public Address Customer Information Screens are a part of a project nearly ten years in the making. It was originally funded under the 2000-2004 capital plan, and the A Division rollout won’t be completed until the spring of 2011. In addition to arrival information, the screens can also allow Transit to provide important audio and visual messages to customers in the event of an emergency. All information originates from Transit’s Rail Control Center.
Since the MTA announced a 2011 completion date for the project in October, we’ve seen the clocks debut along the 6 as the rollout has continued incrementally. Soon, Brooklyn and Manhattan’s IRT stops will enjoy the necessity of late-20th Century technology as well. One day, peering into the tunnel to look for a train will be the wave of the transportation past.
Photo via Twitpic and courtesy of New York City Transit.
14 comments
Oh, THAT Bergen Street. Damn, Ben, why’d you have to go and get my hopes up like that?
Wow! It’s good to see this technology rolling out, though I wonder why they’ve moved from the 6 to the 2/3 on the IRT… unless this is the chosen “pilot” for stations shared by two routes (not counting the improvised IND approach)
Do the two colors of text have any significance? Orange for the 3 and green for the 2 seems odd. Unless it’s just to make it easier to separate the two lines of text.
the orange is for the train that is arriving and the green is the up coming train when the train is in the station its orange only when its there but no its not too show the different lines watch my video on youtube i show how it works chrisjct
I think the red/ orange colored text means that the train is in the station. Seeing as the displays are also located in the fare control areas, this colored text is helpful for those that like to make insane leaps down the stairs to the platform to desperately attempt to place some part of their body between the closing doors.
Does anybody else feel that the announcements are way too loud? I have somewhat poor hearing, and I find the sound to be very loud. I’d imagine that people with better hearing must find them even worse. Is there a requirement that announcements are made at a certain decibel level for customers with hearing difficulties? They should really turn them down a bit.
yes it is if you ever take the njt are take Amtrak the announcements are loud so people can clearly hear it this is just the first time for the mta so its new but all other places they have it loud
Yes, if it’s red, there are delays, orange/amber/yellow and blinking means a train is arriving imminently or has already arrived and will have the 0 minutes, and the green means that the train(s) are expected to arrive in the time indicated.
Are there audio anouncements that reflect the message on the screen?
I usually get on at Atlantic Ave! Why couldn’t they just bring it up one more station?
Probobaly because a lot of trains stop there.So they most likey want to do the least populated stations first.
Why did they skip Grand Army Plaza if the signs are already installed there?
Looks like 110th on the 1 is about to be the next station to get the treatment, as I noticed signs in testing there tonight!
Wow, congratulations. We’ve progressed to 1980s LED technology!
Phil – you will get Atlantic Ave in a couple of weeks. Be patient.