UK - ASL Safety & Security has successfully delivered its IP-based Long-Line PA system (iPAM) for use on 40 Docklands Light Railway stations.
iPAM is a monitored PA solution created specifically for the demanding conditions encountered on international rail infrastructure projects. The company says its equipment integrates routing, amplification and CIS software functions into a single fanless 2U unit and is engineered to be exceptionally robust, performing equally well over private or public fibre and FTN legacy copper networks.
Serco Docklands, who operate and maintain the railway, is the first company in the UK to introduce the system, which is being rolled out across 55km of track. For this application the graphical user interface is being provided by ASL's mini-iVENCS software running on Linux PC workstations at dual-redundant control centres in Poplar and Beckton.
As well as providing core PA and CIS functionality such as Digital Voice Announcements (DVA), and Text to Speech, iPAM supplies network-wide fault reports to the control centre workstations. This provides the operators with integrated fault and status reporting on both the PA system and also potentially on other non-ASL equipment such as CCTV and access control. In addition to the requirement for PA, BS5839:8-compliant voice alarm is provided at Bank and Canary Wharf stations using ASL's VAR router and V400 amplifier products, with CIS interfacing using VIPETs giving up to 12 channels of audio.
The Docklands Light Railway is poised for expansion in order that it can transport millions of passengers to competition venues at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Extensions and enhancements are under way including routes to the recently-opened Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford International stations as well as longer platforms at all stations to cater for new three-car-trains. Currently over 67 million passengers are carried annually.
