2023-05-16 19:35:56
At the Asnières-sur-Seine station in the Paris region, there were many of them this Monday, May 15 morning to have their noses raised towards the display screens. Not to make sure you’re on the right platform, but to know which car to rush into. After several months of experimentation on its lines L and J, the Transilien SNCF is inaugurating the launch of a new system called “Information Voyageurs Mass Transit”.
Behind this extended name, the objective is simple: to allow users present at the platform to know in real time the crowds in the cars. On the service panels, stylized train diagrams are permanently displayed, their cars colorized according to three levels of filling.
Vert, orange, rouge
Green, you will find a seat. Orange is a bit more complicated. Red, you will travel upright. “We made sure that the information was simple, sufficiently explicit and as readable as possible”assured Soizic Goasguen, director of the Transilien SNCF Voyageurs affluence program, during the presentation of the system.
Beyond the concern to improve passenger comfort, this system meets two other objectives: to allow better traffic flow by limiting downtime at each station and to reduce the risk of accidents related to crowds.
Infrared sensors
But how does it work? Infrared sensors have been installed above the train doors. The latter count the number of passengers going up and down on the entire train, then a computer compares it to the carrying capacity of the cars. Once the occupancy rate has been calculated, the information is transmitted to the service panels on the platforms.
The new indicator for the Transilien put in place by the SNCF Monday, May 15, 2023. / Lucie Remer
« The affluence begins to be displayed when the train is four stations upstreamsays Soizic Goasguen. The data is then progressively updated, station by station. »
The device was born during the pandemic. The day after the first confinement, a prototype called “Hector” was tested on line H in order to meet health requirements and allow users to avoid the most crowded trains.
Daily use
“It has been ten years since infrared sensors have been installed on all new trainsexplains the director of the program. Until now, they were mainly used to make annual traffic estimates. We have found a way to use them on a daily basis. »
The system has gradually been extended to lines H, J, L and N. It should be deployed on lines K, P, R as well as a few RER E stations by the end of June. “Information on travel conditions on board trains has become a standard expected by travelers »notes Soizic Goasguen.
Perfectible points
On the platform, travelers pass headlong in front of a huge green poster posted behind a plexiglass window. It informs about the implementation of the device. Although 93% of users say they are satisfied with this tool, according to a Transilien SNCF survey, several points can still be improved.
“Once on the train, users move around within the trains to find a place, which can distort the informationobserves Aymeric Anselin, head of media relations Transilien SNCF. We want to develop an algorithmwho will calculate these movements to provide the most reliable information possible. »
A first in Europe
A first problem to which is added that of data processing. « The concern is not so much to collect them as to count themreports the manager. Sometimes the information is displayed on the screens after the users have boarded the train. »
This device is a first in Europe. It would have, according to its designers, no equivalent in the world except in Tokyo, Japan. ” This will become standard on all of our trains “says Aymeric Anselin. Funded in its entirety by Île-de-France Mobilités, the transport organizing authority, the cost of its deployment has not, however, been made public.
Other indicator
It’s almost 9 a.m. at Asnières-sur-Seine station. On the E track screen, the lead car of the next train heading for Paris-Saint-Lazare is colored green. The passengers present at the platform position themselves at its level. Some look at their watch, worried.
If they had squinted more, they could have read additional information on the display panel: “Located at Bécon-les-Bruyères station”. This is the other indicator deployed that same Monday by Transilien SNCF on its lines. Here again, the objective is simple: to allow users to know, ten minutes before their arrival at the station, the real-time position of the next trains.
The prospect of the 2024 Olympics
“These two tools will be particularly useful at the time of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.rejoices Philippe Mouly, director of the RER A and Transilien L and J lines. The influence will be much stronger than usual and many users will be new to the network. » Sixteen million tourists are expected during this period, according to the town hall of Paris. But the effectiveness of these two devices can be tested long before, with the Rugby World Cup, which takes place in Paris in September 2023.
The two world events are still far away. Rush hour at Asnières-sur-Seine station. The next train for Paris is announced at the platform. This time, it will be necessary to tighten: on the screen, the cars are completely red.
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