My guess ...
There are probably a few items beyond physics that Id have a tough
time figuring out but if someone can look @ a board w/ blinking
lights of some type and see the B train is arriving at Broadway/
Lafayette and physically pick up a mic and announce it that taking
out the man-in-the-middle is probably not so union friendly @ this
moment in time :-)
- Jon
On Oct 23, 2006, at 9:25 AM, Dustin Goodwin wrote:
Now this is funny. I had the privilege to see the new all digital
dispacth center the MTA built. When I got a peek it looked operational
from technology perspective but was not yet staffed. Every single
car on
ever single train on the covered lines was tracked down to the track
segment (point and click switching, signal status, train
communication,
etc). I am not sure how hard it is to go from knowing exactly where a
train is to displaying an estimated arrival time on a sign board.
But my
informed guess is, not that hard.
- Dustin -
Jon Baer wrote:
Saw this in the NYPost this morning ... I find it really hard to
believe that between RFID, WiFi, WiMax, etc that no technology can
tell me simply when the next train is arriving. The question is
what the real problem is? Since Siemens has been in the rail
business for a long time ... makes me wonder if there will ever be
wide area signal coverage underground.
http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/signal/siemens/
- Jon
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10202006/news/regionalnews/
no_eta__firm_flubs_160m_subway_tech_regionalnews_jeremy_olshan__trans
it_reporter.htm
NO ETA: FIRM FLUBS $160M SUBWAY TECH
By JEREMY OLSHAN Transit Reporter
October 20, 2006 -- When is the next train coming? Don't ask the MTA.
The $160 million digital message boards that transit officials
have long promised will take the guesswork out of the platform
waiting game do not work, The Post has learned.
MTA leaders are furious at German technology powerhouse Siemens,
which has already been paid $45.2 million since getting the
contract in 2003.
Siemens has been unable to deliver on promises to fix its
software, forcing the MTA to consider looking for another company
to finish the job.
There has not been "any tangible evidence that the fixes we have
been promised are in fact fixes and can work going forward," New
York City Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said. "We have begun
the process to explore whether we should pursue a different course
of action with other parties."
Despite several delays, a separate system using a different
technology has been installed on the L train. That system does
work and will be up and running by "year's end," Fleuranges said.
Subway systems in cities such as Paris and London have been able
to provide passengers arrival information for years, note transit
advocates, who say the MTA has a lousy track record when it comes
to bringing in new technology.
"It's really disappointing. With the exception of the MetroCard,
they have a terrible history with anything that needs software,"
said Beverly Dolinksy, director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory
Council to the MTA.
In 2000, the MTA scrapped a contract with Orbital to provide a
satellite bus-location system, which failed to work around
Manhattan's skyscrapers. "That contract is 10 years old, and we
still don't have that system," Dolinsky said.
Since May, the MTA has stopped paying any invoices for work
related to the Siemens software, according to a report by the
agency's independent consulting firm, Carter Burgess.
"Payments to the contractor for software-related work are being
held pending resolution of which direction the software
development will proceed," the report said.
Though the contractor may have failed to deliver, Gene Russianoff,
of the Straphangers Campaign, contends the MTA has only itself to
blame.
"The buck stops with transit officials, because they are the ones
who drew up the specs," he said. "They spend tens of millions of
dollars and promise their customers real-time information. Their
own studies and polls show riders crave knowing what is going on -
even more so in a 9/11 world."
Siemens contends it will resolve the problems.
"Siemens is confident that we have the solution," spokeswoman
Paula Davis said. The project will be completed to "the
satisfaction of the New York City Transit and New York City
commuters."
In the meantime, riders can still employ the more low-tech method
of staring into the void for signs of that telltale light at the
end of the tunnel.
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