Hi-tech display of waiting lists at City stn

Hi-tech display of waiting lists at City stn
By S Lalitha, DH News Service, Bangalore:
It will soon be goodbye to print-outs of waiting list charts pasted outside the coaches of trains and notice boards at the City railway station.

The Bangalore Division of South Western Railway will soon put up an electronic display of the status of waiting list passengers at the station’s premises.

As many as 12 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panels have been installed in the concourse hall of the main entrance, informed Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Akhil Agrawal. “The infrastructure has been set in place. The process is in the trial stage now and will be launched by early February,” he said.

Six screens are presently installed on either side of the Passenger Facilitation Centre. The plan is to utilise three panels to display the list of each train. So, the waiting list of four trains can be displayed simultaneously. “In case, the number of trains awaiting departure at the station exceeds four, then a scrolling system will be introduced in a few panels,” the DRM added.


The languages would be the same presently used by Railways all over the country (Hindi and English). The main advantage of this system is that the moment one enters the station, one can view the name list clearly displayed. This will do away with the problems posed by poor printing on the display charts or even the removal of print-outs by certain miscreants. It would also do away with the overcrowding and verbal arguments witnessed among passengers the moment the chart makes its appearance.

LCDs and printouts

“Initially, we will have both the LCD display as well as the print-out system until the passengers get a bit used to it. Later, only the electronic display will be in place,” the DRM said.

Installation of these at other stations in the Bangalore Division will have to wait though. Introducing these screens at other places depends on the response from the public for this initiative. Introducing similar panels on the second entrance of the station is the next venture.