Train describer at Bank gone mad!

[Deleted]

Frequently, trains show up on the describer in the wrong order, which keeps changing, but I'm used to that now,

Sometimes, however, very long (and wrong, fortunately) intervals show - 17 then 18 then 17 then 2 minutes for a King George V, with a Lewisham after it in 18 then 25 minutes, then that disappeared.

Sometimes this train describer is so mad I expect a train to King George III to appear on it. It seems not even staff can work out what it is doing, though, so what hope the rest of us? (Also, what hope of persuading people to stand clear of the doors of trains they do not wish to board?)

[Tubeboy]

Why dont you bring a deckchair and some sarnies, sit on the platform all day, notice and record observations, and then submit a full report including recommendations and conclusions to the DLR management. I am sure they would find it interesting.

[Deleted]

Ahh, but then he'd probably have some inqusitive CSA or other official cack it all up, by asking him to leave or show ID for his reasons being there...

[Tubeboy]

But he is there on important business!!

[thirstquensher]

No, seriously, DLR 'train describers', PIDs, VIDs, VEIDs, DAISYs, WANDAs, call them what you will, have definitely become very fickle of late.

It's quite usual to see two trains for one destination following together than a third train for the other destination at 11 minutes+, only for that one to keep dodging up and down the league table.

Almost every day now at Canning Town you never know whether the next train will be for KGV or Beckton because you often see

King George V 3 min
King George V 8 min
Beckton 11 min

Then a minute later

Beckton 1 min
King George V 3 min
King George V 8 min

Then a KGV turns up a minute later and a Beckton one about 90 seconds after that (not appearing on the PID at all).

Travelling from Bank today, it was the same situation as above but substituting Beckton with Lewisham.

All in all, a right old mess.

[Deleted]

Has anyone noticed that the PIDs are now only showing trains arriving in the next 19 minutes instead of the next 29 minutes. So at stations with only one route, you only have two trains appearing on the PID.

I wonder why they made that change? Not that it really matters I suppose. There can't be that many people that want to know where the train thats due in half an hour goes!

[Chris M]

the describer at Bank seemed to be about 2 minutes behind reality this evening. Reporting the Beckton train as still in the platform when it had been and gone and the new train had arrived with a service to Stratford (although the front of the train still said "Bank" until part way along the platform.

At Stratford the describer was showing three trains at 3, 13 and 23 minutes - all to Bank.

[pib]

The PIDs had new control software a couple of weeks ago, and problems ever since.
PIDs sometimes appear to be in error,when what has happened is that an individual unit has 'frozen'. Confusingly the time will be correct. They have to be individually reset by the control room, but it can take time before the problem is reported to them.

[thirstquensher]

When you say the 'unit' has frozen, do you mean the PID unit (i.e. display device), or do you mean unit as in vehicle?

[pib]

I mean the actual PID, its quite common for them to freeze although the clock will show the correct time. In theory its the PSAs job to check them, but as you can imagine, particularly in peak periods, this doesn't happen, and an individual PID could stay frozen for many hours causing untold confusion until its reported to the control room and they reset it.

[Deleted]

I was watching it turn trains couple of mins away going up and down as low as 2mins upto 26mins then when a train comes reset and behave!

Tho having just a "1" for a few mins caused confusion!