A note for the train geeks

[eclectic_boy]

Not long ago someone (Noda?) conjectured that the R1...R8 system of organizing SEPTA's trains would likely have a ghostly presence for a couple of years, even though they've now switched to destination-naming, in the form of the banks of monitors at the Center City stations, which show the status of the next few trains on each line... and are lined up in R-numerical order. At the speed SEPTA operates, this person figured, it'd be a year or two before they rejiggered them into alphabetical order, the only one that now makes sense.

Well, I just was in 30th St, and they've got them in alphabetical order already. No idea about Market East or Suburban... anyone know?

Comments

[reldnahkram.livejournal.com]

I believe they're still R-centric in Suburban. I'll check tomorrow morning.

What I'd really like them to do is change the announcements at rush hour - this is very confusing: "The 517 Express to Fort Washington, Local to Doylestown, next to arrive on Track 1, Section B". Better would be "The 517 Doylestown Express; Express to Fort Washington then Local Stops to Doylestown, next to arrive on Track 1, Section B". Even better would be to announce all of the trains' stops, but there are too many trains at rush hour to do this effectively.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

They could announce them just on the platform for the train in question, so people would know if the train they were about to get on was the right one. Alternatively, some sort of display that simply showed all the stops would work pretty well, too, but that would be a more expensive infrastructure investment.

[reldnahkram.livejournal.com]

Suburban is still R-based, though the schedule racks are sorted in alphabetical order and there's a new display on one of the walls listing all of the lines (in alphabetical order) and all of the stations on those lines.