INTERALIA PROVIDES PLATFORM FOR PASSENGER INFORMATION

With between 40,000 and 45,000 passengers passing through Liverpool Street Station in rush hours, and trains arriving and departing every two minutes, First Great Eastern required a system that would enable it to change announcements every hour, or more frequently if there was a disruption to the service, and provide it with good sound quality and flexible message times. It chose the Interalia XMU for its ease and speed of use and the provision of up to 2 hours of recording time.

We have used Interalia announcement and call processing systems in the past and have always been delighted with the products quality, reliability as well as the after sales service provided by the company, says Bob Davies, Customer Retail Manager. The XMU+ was part of a £9 million investment programme undertaken by First Great Eastern in customer service and trains. The XMU+ is not only a cost effect system that enables a more productive use of our personnel, but it also provides us with data on the number of people calling the information line.

The Interalia XMU+ purchased by First Great Eastern been supplied with 8 channels. A stand-alone unit, it fills the gap between the simple passive announcer and voice-mail or IVR systems. Delivering call processing, Audiotext and music/messaging-on-hold, the XMU+ is compatible with all major telephone systems and is easy to install and operate.

The XMU+ offers numerous highly developed features. It enables companies to create a time-and-date stamp that automatically activates messages for holidays and prescheduled events up to one year in advance. The system can in addition play a specific message during peak hours to alert callers of extended wait times or indicate when their call will be answered. Offering between 1 to 63 port systems and from 2 minutes to 2 hours recording time, the XMU+ is one of the most advanced announcement/call processing systems available today.

Serving an estimated population of 1.125 million from the conurbations of Essex, part of Suffolk and the London boroughs of Having, Newham and Redbridge, First Great Eastern handles around 48 million passenger journeys each year and has a turnover of £170 million. A rail franchise operator, First Great Eastern is a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstGroup PLC a company with a range of transport interests that include rail, bus and airports.