PRIDE, Melbourne rail network

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The PRIDE II system is an electronic timetable and announcements system used on the Melbourne suburban rail network. PRIDE stands for Passenger Realtime Information Dissemination Equipment.

As a whole, the system contains several main parts;

The control system, situated at Metrol.
Control stations, at which staff update information
Public address systems at each station on the network. The PRIDE system automatically announces when a train is due soon, delayed, or cancelled. This is done via the rail telephone network.
PRIDE "Talking Boxes" installed on each platform of all stations (see below).
Electronic information displays (see below).

1 Operations
2 CRT Displays
3 LED displays
4 Talking Box
5 External links

[edit] Operations

There are two places PRIDE information can be entered from; Metrol, and Control stations. Control stations are significant stations on the network, where announcements and CCTV recordings are dealt with, for nearby stations assigned to it.

A diagram of a CRT PID screen pair

Melbourne's Metropolitan network features several types of equipment which inform passengers of next services. Stations will feature some sort of 'next-train' information. Many will have a 'Talking Box,' and some other stations feature information displays (PIDs), that are driven off information supplied by the PRIDE system.

[edit] CRT Displays

CRT PIDs are found at all stations on the city loop (including Flinders Street and Southern Cross), in addition to North Melbourne, Richmond, and Box Hill. These displays show in detail the destination, time, and all stations the next train stops at. Also shown is the destination and time of the following train, and the system is capable of providing suggested connections and warn of service interruptions.

At Southern Cross, these displays are being replaced by an LCD-based system (which currently use Widescreen LCD TV/Monitors. They still are pending the installation of a suitable adaptor for the PRIDE information. At current they still operate with 'temporary' CRT Displays

A diagram of a two-line LED PID

[edit] LED displays

Electronic LED PIDs were installed at many smaller stations following privitisation of the network. These displays show the destination, time, stopping pattern summary, and minutes to departure for the next train on the platform.

[edit] Talking Box

A PRIDE Talking Box panel at East Camberwell station

The Passenger Real-time Information Dissemination Equipment (PRIDE) "talking Boxes" measure 270mm width by 130mm height. They are horizontal form "Sentry" units produced by the Dallas Delta Corporation of Melbourne.

Most boxes have two buttons and a small speaker; a red button on the left (used in cases of emergency), the speaker in the centre, and a green button on the right.

The green button, when pressed, contacts the PRIDE controller over the rail telephone network, identifying itself by the DTMF tones that correspond to the ID number assigned to the box. The system then reads out times and destinations for the next two services to depart that platform (or, in the case of stations with a single island platform with departures either side, both platforms).

The red button, when pressed connects one to the closest control station (Clifton Hill, Reservoir, Heidelberg, Eltham, North Melbourne, Broadmeadows, Footscray, Newport, Werribee, Sandringham, Caulfield, Dandenong, Pakenham, Cheltenham, Frankston, Glen Waverley, Camberwell, Box Hill, Ringwood or Upper Ferntree Gully). Staff can then handle the situation alerting the proper authorities. They have access to CCTV at the station.