Hannah Crowley

Said the following about Thameslink Telecoms Team:

“Aiming to design, develop and deliver a high capacity infrastructure scope to support the introduction of new Siemens Class 700 trains, Linbrooke’s telecommunications team were selected by Network Rail to design and install 225 innovative new CIS displays across Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon and London St Pancras stations. Working towards an Office of Rail and Road (ORR) deliverable, we were required to establish and implement the screens in order to display a greater wealth of passenger information. This includes a diagram of all specific platform and train access points, every journey calling point and 30 minutes’ worth of departure times. With the original screens only displaying 3 or 4 departures at any one time, the new model was explicitly designed to give passengers more information, allowing a longer notice period for their journey and subsequently promoting less urgency, increased efficacy and 'signposts' to more journey options.

Providing the exact platform standing points for disabled access, cyclists, first class passengers and regular travellers, the CIS screens will also enable a more streamlined boarding and exit time which will facilitate the scheme's continual aim of increased safety and passenger risk reduction.

Keith Wallace, Programme Director at Thameslink said the new screens are absolutely “essential” to cope with the “dramatic” planned expansion of both passenger and train flows.

As the Thameslink project represents the first official application into service of the new CIS display screen formats, Linbrooke were extra vigilant in planning the project. Completing GRIP 5-8 of the project works, we provided a full turnkey delivery from the design and installation through to the test, commission and handback into service.

One of the first challenges while planning the project was to ensure the information on the screens interfaced with various Network Rail and TOC train reporting services, including Darwin, Trust and Genius. We worked with ATOS - our chosen delivery partner - to develop a solution for a new data feed, which streamlined the information to be presented. This also enabled logical presentation of the combinations of data for the first time, making it more accessible and useful for passengers.

As London St Pancras is one of England’s busiest stations, with 24 hours a day passenger access, it was essential for us to develop a schedule to work within a number of mixed access arrangements and possessions – including night shifts – both underground and over ground, to ensure minimal passenger disruption and a mitigation of health and safety risks for passengers.

Utilising the new and upgraded CIS displays for the first time ever, Linbrooke and their chosen delivery partners designed screens that were entirely innovative in their presentation, installation and design. Collaborating with Network Rail, London Underground, GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway) and numerous statutory bodies, we facilitated a number of screen formatting changes that were required throughout the project to meet stakeholder needs.

We assembled and tested all equipment offsite both at Infotec and our own Sheffield based premises. This involved undertaking a number of Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) to facilitate each format change, subsequently ensuring equipment uniformity and the opportunity to rectify any potential functionality issues before being deployed on site.

Due to the weight of each screen - as well as the time and man power it would take to carry out all works on site - screens were assembled and tested on Linbrooke designed, bespoke ‘rapid deployment brackets’ prior to site possession, further facilitating a shorter commissioning time. Our creation of 2 diverse screen sizes also overcame the stations’ aesthetics and clearance constraints.

Already providing more detailed and comprehensive passenger information on travel and journey interchange at St Pancras, Linbrooke’s telecoms team have established a strong foundation for the remainder of our Thameslink works delivery. Playing our part in improving and expanding the existing train services through the provision of a more streamlined passenger information service, developments are already being noted regarding the increase in boarding time efficiency and the heightened safety of passengers across all the targeted areas.

As the first implementation of these CIS screens, the project success has provided the industry with a pioneering example of how to contribute to the further modernisation of the railway and increase journey efficiency.“