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Upgrades mean you might actually hear SkyTrain platform announcements

TransLink is looking to improve the sensory experience for SkyTrain users.
skytrain
Photo: Dan Toulgoet

TransLink is looking to improve the sensory experience for SkyTrain users.

The transit agency has launched a program to replace existing information displays, improve the sound on platforms and boost safety measures at 33 SkyTrain stations along the Expo and Millennium Lines.

“Over the next 18 months, TransLink will replace the existing 1980s-era information displays and audio systems with modern equipment that givescustomers the ability to see when the next train is arriving and clearly hear in-station announcements,” said a news release.

The program will also install new cameras on guideways and improve TransLink’s ability to quickly check into the cause of alarms triggered on guideways.

Improvements will roll out station-by-station, beginning with Edmonds and Lougheed.

Real-time digital signage

  • 140 new ‘next train’ signs on platforms replacing the existing signs
  • 140 new information signs outside SkyTrain station entrances and on platforms

Better sound in stations and on trains

  • 1,000 new speakers along the Millennium Line
  • 320 speakers in stations and at designated entrances
  • Enhancing the Expo Line speakers

Better visibility on platforms and guideways

  • 1,200 CCTV platform cameras improving safety and security
  • 265 guideway cameras reducing delays when intrusion alarms are triggered

The funding for all of this is coming through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, which is shared by the Government of Canada at 50 per cent, Province of British Columbia at 33 per cent and TransLink at 17 per cent.