Interalia supplies Metro trains with pioneering DDA compliant passenger information system

Currently Metro passengers have to rely on audio announcements made by the Metro driver. The new Interalia passenger information system will provide more clearly audible pre-recorded announcements currently heard on the Metro system. To aid hearing-impaired passengers, the same message will be displayed on a signboard in the carriage using electronic display equipment supplied by Data Display in Eire. The system is operated using an advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) in conjunction with an Inertial Navigation System for the underground portion of the network that tracks the exact location of each Metro train.

Developed from technology supplied by Interalia to other Light Passenger Rail (LPR) systems in Canada, the new passenger information system will be of particular benefit to passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing as well as those who are blind or partially sighted. The equipment has been successfully trialled on board a single train with a group of passengers representing a wide range of advocate groups for those with hearing and sight impediments and learning difficulties. It will begin being rolled out to the rest of the fleet from November, and by June 2010 all 90 trains will be equipped with the new system.

David Cummings, Project Group Manager (Communications & Signalling) at Nexus said: “We chose Interalia to partner us in this project as it has been a leading provider of voice announcement for underground and overground train systems for over 15 years. This new passenger information system will improve the travelling experience of all Metro users especially people who are blind, partially sighted and those who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

More than 40 million passengers use the Metro every year, to reach work and education, health services, shops and beaches, restaurants and sports activities. Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro will re-invigorate Metro over the next 10 years through its £300m Metro: All Change programme. Stations and trains will be modernised and millions spent on renewing track, overhead lines, communications and technology systems, bridges, tunnels and other structures.

For over 33 years Interalia has been a global leader in the design and manufacture of audio and visual message delivery systems for business, having installed more than 250,000 systems in 60 countries around the globe. Interalia employs approximately 100 employees and maintains four major facilities in Canada, the United States and Great Britain as well as smaller branch offices in various locations