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A safety net when all else fails

41031 Safety information not clearly displayed on entertainment system

November 2010 in Train Operations

tagged Equipment West Midlands South West

CIRAS has received a report about the poor readability of passenger safety information when displayed on the new on-train entertainment system.

The reporter comments that when using the system recently they were only able to read half of the safety information being displayed on the screen as it scrolled too fast. There was no way for the user to control the scrolling speed or go back. However, on the section explaining the system features the user had control over scrolling through the information at their own speed.

The reporter is concerned that some passengers may not be able to view all of the safety information due to their reading speed or ability which could mean they may not know what to do in an emergency situation.

Could First Great Western answer the following:

  • will the use of the on-train entertainment system to display passenger safety information mean that passenger safety information cards are no longer available; and
  • would it be possible to enable passengers to scroll through this information at their own speed?

Response from First Great Western

FGW would like to thank the reporter for highlighting these issues and have made changes to the system as a direct result of this report.

In response to the two questions raised by the reporter:

  • the introduction of entertainment screens in one carriage of our High Speed Trains (HSTs) has meant that the safety information cards in this particular carriage are no longer available, as the information is now available on the entertainment screen. However, safety information posters at each end of this carriage remain in place, as do the posters at each end of every other carriage within our HSTs. The safety information cards on the back of each seat remain in place throughout the rest of the HST;
  • the player controls were previously only enabled once the user had logged in, however, system changes have now been made to enable the player controls to be used pre-login on the safety information page. Audible narration can also be heard if the user has headphones.