VoIP technology used for railway announcements

Docklands Light Railway is set to upgrade its public address system using VoIP-based technology.

Serco Docklands, the franchise operator of Docklands Light Railway (DLR), has chosen communications technology provider telent to install the new high performance LAN infrastructure that will make VoIP announcements possible.

The new VoIP announcements system will be controlled from Linux PC workstations at the DLR control station, and will be integrated with customer information displays.

This will prevent conflicting messages in public announcements and on display screens.

A new IP-based PA system called iPAM will be deployed in all 32 DLR stations.

Telent’s LAN design uses gigabit Ethernet Cisco Systems switches across the network, with stackable gigabit Ethernet switches at the edge to allow for future growth.

Michael Evans, communications engineer at Serco Docklands, said: “Over time, other key systems will be bought across to run over the new network, such as passenger information displays on station concourses, and a train management computer system.

“Serco Docklands is also looking to deploy IP-based control systems for its numerous video recorders and CCTV cameras, which are expected to total nearly 1,000 by 2012.”

Roll-out of the project has already begun, and is set to complete later this year.