DIRECTING RAILWAY TRAVELLERS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 17, 14 October 1927, Page 10

DIRECTING RAILWAY TRAVELLERS

NEW USE FOR BROADCASTING Dominion Special Service. London, August 28. The advantages of wireless are ’ no longer confined to the transmission of messages, for the discovery is being increasingly adapted to meet domestic needs. The latest experiment is being made at York railway station in order to assist the travelling public to ,hnd the trains during the busy hours, when many trains from various points arrive at the same time, and passengers have to change. Formerly there was a scene of much confusion at holiday times, which has been in some measure alleviated by a new system of indicating the platforms, but greater reliance is placed on announcements broadcast to the waiting passengers. Three loud speakers of powerful range have been installed. One is placed over the area opening from the booking hall, and the other two are fixed underneath the overhead bridge on No. 4 platform (the up main), one pointing north and the other south. Two others will be installed on the western side of the station, when the authorities are satisfied as to the best sites. At present the points selected on No. 4 platform are temporary and experimental. The amplifiers are of a special type, with long range, and when there are no engines shutting off steam, but merely the ordinary noises of the station, the announcements can be heard near the end of No. 4 platform, which is 1692 teet long—the longest in the British I s !es. if one excepts the new platform which links up Victoria and Exchange Stations at Manchester. Even while engines are blowing off steam and trains are moving, the voice of the announcer can be heard above the traffic well down the platform. The announcements are made from the central signal box, that placed on the up mam platform. The announcer uses a microphone specially designed for the purpose, which excludes all sounds m the box except the voice of the speaker.