NYC Transit expands countdown clocks to numbered lines in Brooklyn
Written by jrood
MTA New York City Transit officials said that real-time train arrival countdown clocks or message screens are now operational and being tested at several stations along the 2 3 lines in Brooklyn. Funded by the 2000 - 2004 MTA Capital Program, the PA/CIS system is now in the process of being activated for customer use at stations along the IRT or numbered lines (123456) system-wide. PA/CIS offers subway customers audio and visual train arrival information. The expansion of the screens to Brooklyn follows the successful rollout of similar message boards at eleven stations in the Bronx along the Pelham 6 line.
The Public Address
Customer Information Screen system is a major component of the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority’s effort to substantially upgrade customer
communications across its entire network and marks an important milestone in
the effort to provide subway customers with up-to-date travel information
employing 21st Century technology.
The PA/CIS screen
provides train arrival messages in audio and video. The messages indicate when
the next two trains are due to arrive at the station and their destinations.
Aside from train arrivals, the system also allows NYC Transit to provide both
audio and visual messages to customers, keeping them fully informed about
service delays or emergency situations. PA/CIS is being rolled out
incrementally with 152 stations on the IRT numbered lines operational by the
first quarter of 2011. PA/CIS was first introduced along the Canarsie L line in
January 2007.
The information distributed
through the PA/CIS system originates from NYC Transit’s Rail Control Center.
From the RCC, customer service agents will be able to provide subway customers
with service status and other information either as audio only, visual only or
as synchronized audio and visual information. The system includes signs and
speakers that are located on the platforms
and in the fare control areas prior
to entering the station. PA/CIS will be installed in additional IRT stations in
Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan throughout the city in the coming months.
