Unusual Announcements

Yes !

When setting up the destination between stations (ie. after leaving Upminster Bridge eastbound). The CIS screen will ask for a basic route (ie. Upminster - Richmond) it will decide from it's sat nav that it is not at longitude and latitude that match a station. So it will ask the driver where he wishes to start from ? With a default answer of Upminster. It will then ask the ultimate destination? With a default of the end point for the chosen route (say Richmond in this example).

So if starting from the start of the basic route and terminating at the end of it, the system merely requires the "enter button" to be pushed twice !

BUT ! If the driver pre-empts being asked the destination, and simply pushes "enter" twice in quick succession, which you may think seems reasonable, the system will then default the destination to the second station on the basic route ! Don't know why it does this ...but it has several times resulted in my arriving at a terminus showing "Upminster Bridge", "Kew Gardens" or "Wimbledon Park" ...if the driver doesn't notice this has occured when changing ends then the train will proceed as if it is terminating one stop away, and will then go blank until a new route is entered into the system !

All rather irritating, but then this piece of kit, is incredibly slow, even at registering key-strokes ! And not really fit for purpose !

I have a theory that these electronic destination displays cannot stand up to being shaken around on buses and trains, especially when they are retro fitted, as on the D stock. We had a Scannia L94/ Wright at First Northampton which would often insist on wishing pax a happy new year - trouble was it was August ;D

I don't think that bombardier products are that good. A Desiro feels much better built than an Electrostar.

Having to manually switch off the 'Not In Service' indication seems pretty lame IMO. Surely all of the displays and announcements should say the same when they recieve the correct code from the leading cab?

I think those of us who have met you know that sarcasm is your favoured medium!

Their attempt at a high speed train ends in defective brake systems while an aircraft of theirs have continuous landing gear problems which forced SAS to ground their entire fleet of Bombardier Dash 8-400s!

I have encountered "lost" trains several times. Even C stocks get lost!

I heard that at Tower Hill! Must be the same t/op having some fun! ;D

"The front three coaches coaches, will call at Faversham, the rear four coaches will call at Faversham... please ensure you travel in the correct part of the train... This is coach 9 of 7..."

The software was designed by Faiveley, a french company apparently, and installed under licence by Bombardier!!! Says it all really!

This occures wherewhen trains were joined during a previous journey, one driver did not take his key off and reset the computer... therefore, the train knows its a 7 or 8 or 11 car train, but the previously individual trains tell the software summat different... Bring back the CEP's , CIG's and VEP's!!! Simple system of joining a train...

I hope I am not collecting these, but there was a different announcement error on Sunday morning. When we reached Bow Road the announcment and indicator continued to say, "The next station is Bow Road. Change here for the Docklands light railway etc." It continued it all the way to Mile End where I got off.

Seems pointlessly complicated to me! Are the District refurbs the only ones to use this Sat Nav type technology? I know that the 92 TS on the Central doesn't.

Standing at South Kensington once, an eastbound district came in showing Blackfriars as the destination. The driver twigged it at Sloane Square and changed it to whatever it was meant to be. None of the xplanations so far seem able to account for this - unless of course the driver was bored and just having a wind up.

It's possible on the C-stock to set up at Hammersmith "this is a Hammersmith & City line train to Upminster Bridge", or any station east of Barking for that matter. No idea why...

I would hazard a guess that the train was originally a Tower Hill service and had been told to reverse at Mansion House.

When the T/Op reprogrammed the CIS (the correct term for a DVA on the D Stock) he has to scroll back from the 'Upminster' default destination and I reckon he overshot the mark by one station and hit the 'enter' button, hence the Blackfriars description.

On a general point, 'in cab' there is no visual indication of the destination the train is showing, so it is only when one hears an announcement or notices the front of the train in a mirror/monitor that one realises a misprogramme!

I raised this shortcoming with one of the FOCON (the company that makes the equipment) project team (and who incidentally is a member here) and enquired why such an in cab display was missing. The answer, simply, is that no-one asked them to include such a display; they could easily have done so.......

Shows out-date I am..I knew Victoria's #-over had gone, thus leaving Embankment as a reversing point, but never knew that Blackfriars was still one and that trains coud be reversed there. Next I will be finding out that Q Stock had been withdrawn!

re sophisticated CDSE - I'd have thought that a simple system of a projecting beam beneath the door towards the platform would work. Have a strip of material at the same approximate height on the platform edge that reflects the beam back to the train. If the train detects the beam being reflected back within a safe distance, that door opens. If it doesn't the door remains closed. If parts of platforms are disused, then just don't stick the reflective material on that bit of the platform.

There are no cross overs at Blackfriars - nor is it a reversing point

The refurb D stock is capable of showing any station as a terminating point regardless of whether it's really possible or not, and that's half the problem with it's system.............