GTR On board recorded announcements, how often do they get updated?

[bubieyehyeh]

My local station had it platform extended from 8 to 12 carriage opened about a month ago.
However both thameslink and Southern trains pre-recorded are still warning people they need to be in the front 8 coaches to alight at this station as they approach the station.
There is no need for any announcement now since all 12 coaches fit on the platform.
Any ideas how long before GTR will update the announcements.

 

[fkofilee]

Littlehaven?

 

[bubieyehyeh]

yes Littlehaven

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Sep 2023 ==

I'm yet to hear the OBS on the Southern Trains do a correcting announcement.

 

[PGAT]

The announcements (at least on Southern) always say the length of the shortest platform

 

[bubieyehyeh]

I think the northbound platform is only 8 carriages, so that maybe the reason.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

So after the longer platform opened at littlehaven, all 12 coaches doors were opening, but on board announcement continued to say you had to be in first 8 coaches to alight.

Now its changed... two trains I've been on heading south (one last week, one this week) have stopped at Littlehaven and only the front 8 coaches, as per the on board announcements.

Does anyone know what is going on?

 

[Javelin_55]

I'm pretty sure the onboard PIS systems have to be individually updated by a fitter (or similar) with a laptop while the unit is stopped on depot. With 55 Thameslink FLUs this will probably take a while.

Not sure about the stopping short though. Odd that it would happen twice too, maybe some issue with the front of the platform? Littlehaven is my local too so will watch out for this. I still get nervous waiting in the rear coach as we pull in!

 

[aleggatta]

So, on southern the 377s have an ‘SDO database’ that, as it sounds, is a database of all platforms and the number of cars that are released at each station platform. At stations with multiple platform lengths these generally have to be reinforced with platform beacons to ensure the correct amount of doors are released. No two units with differing SDO databases can work together. Normally the procedure would be for a number of platform modifications to take place, before a large amount of overtime is offered on a weekend, to deploy the update to all the units at all stabling points via laptop and rs232 lead. Control will have a plan of units, where they are due to be stabled, and when they should be updated. This is so that any splitting/joining services are not of mixed software versions. Normally PIS databases are also updated at the same time.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

This evening, another southern train heading south only opening the front 8 carriages at littlehaven. So I guessed they are keeping in-sync with on-board automated announcements.