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Imagine if you could track subway trains like you can buses
By adamg on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 1:00pm
Matt Kurkowski spotted this on one of those four-part monitors that sprouted at the ends of underground Orange Line stations a few months back, in this case at Back Bay:
GPS tracking for the Orange Line?! HAVE I DIED & GONE TO TRANSIT HEAVEN?? (Or another city?)
You may recall how MBTA GM Richard Davey promised to start work on train tracking once the bus-tracking system was done.
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Comments
I've seen one of these at
I've seen one of these at airport T for the blue line too.
Maverick
Before the Maverick rejuvenation project, the station had this. I haven't been back there in a while, but from what I could tell, it seems like they were planning on putting it back in place once they got the wiring all worked out.
Gosh, how year 2000
Other cities have had this for how long?
And if the cell phone system that strung up a few years back is working, you don't need GPS. Plus I not sure GPS works all that well underground.
It doesn't use GPS, rather it
It doesn't use GPS, rather it is triggered when the train passes a certain section of track. This is the same system that triggers the annoying "the next red line train is now approaching."
I like those announcements
I like those announcements about the Red Line approaching and arriving. Pretty much all the other announcements are unintelligible and/or BS.
The worst is the outdoor horn loudspeakers at Fenway Station ordering me not to evade fares and threatening me with repercussions. How about some razor wire atop the fences, too?
Announcements are handy
They tell me when I need to pick up the pace getting down the stairs at Downtown Crossing or other stations where you can't see what is going on until you are down at platform level (or know what is coming by ear). If I don't hear an announcement, I just take my sweet time.
The real value in the train locators, IMHO, is knowing if there really ARE trains right behind the one that seems too packed to get on. If I'm confident that another train is imminent, I can step back and let others play sardine.
It's all about facilitated laziness.
T Announcements - Something wicked..
...this way comes.
I've noticed the announcements of Blue Line train arrivals at Govt Center bear little resemblance to reality after you get down the next flight of stairs. Kind of annoying. Nothing worse than shoving some old nun outta the way and rushing down to catch that arriving train only to find it's not there. Which gives the good Sister a chance to catch up with you and inflict some serious damage.
I used to like trying to gauge the arrival of orange and red line trains by the changing, fetid air currents as you're standing on the edge of the platform (the scurrying mice on the tracks are a less reliable indicator). And has anyone ever come up with an appropriate parfum name for that particular "l'Air du T"?
In the summer, in some poorly
In the summer, in some poorly cooled Red Line stations, the draft is welcome.
Seems to me that different
Seems to me that different stations have the "next train approaching/arriving" prompts at slightly different places - they don't seem uniform to me at all. Hell - even at JFK station, the old "bell" indicators for the inbound trains on either side are timed differently - when the bell goes off for the train arriving on the Ashmont side, it's just about there - but when the alarm goes off for the Braintree side, you have a minute or so before the train can even be spotted in the distance.
I just wish they'd get rid of ALL other announcements except for the approaching/arriving ones. Most of them are nothing but noise pollution. It's also incredibly annoying when that initial 'ding' sounds, indicating something's about to be said over the system - and it's only one of those damn T ads, or warnings about "if you see something, say something" and all that other crap - when the only info I was hoping to hear is that the next train is on its way.
As far as picking up the pace down the stairs, etc, I do wish there was a way to suggest to passengers that the stairs are NOT a good place to check your cellphone messages, etc. People have this habit of walking twice as slow as they check their phones...so the rest of us have to slow down behind them, and frankly, it's horribly inconsiderate.
Priority
I too like the train-arriving announcements, but it seems that they have a lower priority than the "don't throw trash on the tracks" and other announcements. Wouldn't want to interrupt those with actual information.
I always wonder where the
I always wonder where the actual challenge is for this type of system. It doesn't seem like it'd be very hard at all.
I wish I could say I'm happy that the T is doing this but it's a long time coming.
Also, what's up with the ever more annoying "announcements" (I say that because they sound more like angry yelling) to stand away from the doors and let people off the train. Even on my 15 min ride on the Orange line this gets repeated non-stop.
recently at the north station
recently at the north station orange line platform i was standing with my feet half on the yellow stripe (with no train to come for a good 3 or 4 minutes) and blasting over the loudspeaker with a voice that filled the station I hear "SIR, Please stand behind the yellow line!!!!!"
I couldn't see any T worker anywhere, so it must've been observed via camera or a very good hiding place. I was a bit embarrassed and stepped back a couple of feet, but by far the most surprising thing to me was that someone at the T actually was doing their job instead of gabbing or talking on a cell phone. So props to whoever the mysterious T woman was that day.
The worker was probably sitting behind the big
glass window near the Charlie Machines, where at least two or three people in there monitor the cameras mounted throughout the station.
Oh, yeah, the Orange Line door guy
I was on an Orange Line train recently where the driver started out fairly calmly at Green Street telling people to get away from the doors (and to use all doors and move to the center of the train), but each stop got him more angry so that by the time we got to Downtown Crossing he was not just screaming at us, he was doing it several times per stop. Maybe there's something to be said to banning coffee at T stops.
Complete sidetrack: Shouldn't the announcements at Forest Hills go "next train to Oak Grove, now approaching" instead of "next train to Forest Hills, now approaching?" Yes, my life must not be that bad if this is what I worry about.
Forest Hills
I think the same thing every time I hear it. I don't care when the train is arriving, I want to know when it's leaving.
"System integration is hard, let's go shopping."
The T has had this data internally for trains (not the green line) for years - if you take a tour of the operations center, they have a large version of this display. Making the data digested enough for the riders rather than the operators of the system is a challenge; the finicky details of communicating to a display device deep in a station is . Not, clearly, insurmountable, but not things that are going to get done by themselves, either. The approach that they've taken with the buses - put out the data, let other people worry about presentation - has worked pretty well, but it's very dependent on modern smartphone/web context.
Let them eat cake (on the T - but you pay for it).
Knowing that a train is at Forest Hills does not change the fact that trains are removed in the middle of rush hour. Nor does knowing the current location of a train change how long I have to wait or how suffocatingly crowded it is when it finally arrives.
The T spends money with the atitude of "If they want bread, let them eat cake." Resources are too often spent where the net return is nominal instead of on keeping the trains at their top condition.
Commuters need the money devoted to the trains themselves instead of audio-visual "aids." While there have been improvements over the past couple of years there are still far too many trains that are breaking down, cars out of service, broken junctions, messed up schedules, etc.
Instead of a stream of non-stop noise pollution of droning announcements from Deputy Chief so and so trains that are timely, consistent and working would be far better. Instead of maps that say where a train is located trains that arrive when they are supposed to arrive are what's needed.
Worth knowing where the train
Worth knowing where the train is and roughly how long it'll take to arrive at many of the transfer stations. One can switch lines if it's going to be a long wait or grab a bus instead.
Well, unlike a bus, a train is on a fixed
right of way. So if you run the trains at a regular and proper frequency - which provides far greater benefits to both the passengers and the efficency of the overall system than announcements or video screens do, there is no need for a train arrival information system. By maintaing a proper schedule, it I get to the platform just after a train leaves, I will know the next train will arrive no later than X minutes later.
It's really unfortunate that the MBTA has become so obsessed with the "penny wise - pound foolish" concept of packing the most amount of people into the fewest number of vehicles.
Couldn't disagree more
Based on my experience with using the NextBus app, I can definitely say that my bus transit experience has been hugely improved by my knowing where the next bus is and how long I have to wait for it.
Yeah, we need more and better transit, but don't discount the helpfulness of knowing if the next bus is three minutes away or 30, and that would be just as useful on the subway and streetcar lines.
Totally agree
Next bus is a totally wonderful thing.
next Bus is
Now if only they could put the bus stop numbers on the signs so that those of us want to text Nextbus for an update can do so if we don't know it off the top of our heads.
I totally agree. I've even
I totally agree. I've even thought about making my own signs for the bus stops I use, with the stop ID and instructions on how to get real-time data by text or phone call.
yep
Totally agree as well. I've been using CatchtheBus (or something like that) and it's really changed my transportation life when I'm taking (or considering taking) the bus. One of the great things about the app is that you can see if the busses are all stacked up, so you can skip getting on the super crowded bus and wait another minute for the almost always emptier one. The same thing with the trains would be awesome. I can decide to take the #1 or the red line, whichever is soonest.
Thank god. I've waited for
Thank god. I've waited for this for a long time. Although like another poster I wonder why it was so hard to impliment? The MBTA trains already have some sort of tracking system since they play automated messages when the trains get near the station. How hard is it to take that information and put it on a display for customers to see?
One more thing
They need to include, not just the last station the train stopped but also, the places of limbo the train can sit and wait. Hopefully this will help do away with the useless "the next ... line train to...is now approaching." because I can usually see/hear the train before these announcements occur.
Now if they could just do something about that f@#$ing bates college kid who needs 13 bucks.
I hope this display makes it
I hope this display makes it clear when there's a big backup of trains waiting to get into terminals and other busy stations. That' along with trains that don't show up for 15-20 minutes, are what screw up my commute the most.