Passenger Information Display System (PIDS)

Transportation Location: Taiwan

Project Introduction: For all mass transportation systems, efficiently communicating important information to all passengers is very important. Arrival times, departure times and weather conditions are all vital subjects, and to transmit such real-time data, the system must have a reliable backbone. By adopting Advantech's fast dual-LAN serial communication products as the core of their display solution, Taipei's Mass Rapid Transit system can now control and transmit real-time information from the control center to all local stations, providing accurate, valuable data to all passengers.

System Requirements:
As in other international cities, Taipei has been experiencing tremendous growth, putting a strain on both personal and public transportation. This growth convinced Taiwan to further develop their Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in Taipei and they contacted a handful of the top automation companies to provide solutions for this new system. After a preliminary period, Advantech was chosen to develop the Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) as real world testing proved its products were faster and more reliable than any of its competitors.

• The system they were seeking to develop included the following requirements:
• Integrate a control center, factory and multiple MRT stations together with one reliable network transmission system
• Reduce data loss to the smallest amount possible, while increasing both speed and reliability
• Real-time data transmission capabilities
• Try to keep the solution as cost-effective as possible
  

Project Implementation:

	EKI-1526	16-port RS-232/422/485 Serial Device Server
	EKI-2741F	10/100/1000TX to SFP Type Fiber Optic Gigabit Industrial Media Converters
	EKI-2528	8-port Unmanaged Industrial Ethernet Switch

System Diagram:

System Description:
The Passenger Information Display System is set up in the central control center to monitor and control all of the devices in the local MRT stations. Each local site also has its own PC to link back to the PIDS at the central room for local control and emergency use. Each local PC can monitor and control the all of the PIDS devices in its own station, allowing the staff to control the flow of information on the PIDS board at each platform.

The MRT communication system conforms to the PCM transmission architecture of CCITT PCM-30, which allows them to connect to the operation center, machine factory and each station. These communications can include voice, digital data, signals, and warning massages. In order to reduce the noise interference of the high power use (750VDC) within each train station, the PCM system uses a single fiber optic architecture to link the operation center, machine factory and all of the stations. To ensure accurate information can be transmitted to the PIDS board without any data loss, the MRT system adopted Advantech's fast EKI-2741F fiber optic converter, EKI-2528 unmanaged Ethernet switch, and high throughput EKI-1526 Serial Device Server.

Conclusion:
This solution allows Taipei's MRT system to control and transmit real-time information from its control center to all local stations, providing the entire commuting city of Taipei with accurate, travel information, (including regular train status, banner propagation, and emergency information) to improve travel efficiency, safety and ease.