# Where are we?



## DET63 (Feb 15, 2011)

Last night, I was on a BART train whose operator announced that the train was at the end of the line at North Concord, and that everyone had to get off. That was fine, as the train was one of the commuter trips that doesn't go all the way to Pittsburg/Bay Point. Problem was, the train was approaching Concord (not _*North*_ Concord) as she made the announcement.

Why doesn't BART have automated on-board station announcements? Often passengers can't hear the train operators anyway. Some of them sound like they're taking orders at the drive-through window at McDonald's.


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## GiantsFan (Feb 15, 2011)

The problem is that bart is too noisy. Even if it were automated... we still wouldn't hear anything!






Bart needs to find a way to quiet down the trains... I read somewhere that the noise levels on bart are loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss!


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## Nexis4Jersey (Feb 16, 2011)

How Noisy are we talking about?


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## Devil's Advocate (Feb 16, 2011)

GiantsFan said:


> The problem is that bart is too noisy. Even if it were automated... we still wouldn't hear anything!


On other metro systems they have automated speakers _and_ LED screens. That way you can still see what's coming up even if you can't hear a thing.


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## The Davy Crockett (Feb 17, 2011)

DET63 said:


> Last night, I was on a BART train whose operator announced that the train was at the end of the line at North Concord, and that everyone had to get off. That was fine, as the train was one of the commuter trips that doesn't go all the way to Pittsburg/Bay Point. Problem was, the train was approaching Concord (not _*North*_ Concord) as she made the announcement.
> 
> Why doesn't BART have automated on-board station announcements? Often passengers can't hear the train operators anyway. Some of them sound like they're taking orders at the drive-through window at McDonald's.



Good to know the operator was fully paying attention to her JOB. :angry: Afterall, its not like people's lives depend on her or anything! :help:

Some Metro operators here in the DC area have gotten into "hot water" for yapping on their cell phones while on duty. I wonder if she was not distracted in some similar fashion. hboy:


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## Trogdor (Feb 17, 2011)

The Davy Crockett said:


> Good to know the operator was fully paying attention to her JOB. :angry: Afterall, its not like people's lives depend on her or anything! :help:
> 
> Some Metro operators here in the DC area have gotten into "hot water" for yapping on their cell phones while on duty. I wonder if she was not distracted in some similar fashion. hboy:


Oh, for crying out loud. The operator announced the wrong station name. How you can equate that to endangering someone's life is beyond me.


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## The Davy Crockett (Feb 17, 2011)

Trogdor said:


> The Davy Crockett said:
> 
> 
> > Good to know the operator was fully paying attention to her JOB. :angry: Afterall, its not like people's lives depend on her or anything! :help:
> ...



The operator doen't know if she is at the end of her run or not, and you can't see that she seems distracted? It is her job to be paying attention to where she is and what is going on in and around the train she is in charge of. Some people don't see driving and being distracted as a problem, but the reality is that it can have deadly results.

And, BTW, I expessed an opinion, not a fact, if you disagree, fine, but there is no reason to express your disageement with such a %&@# attitude. It is not appropriate.


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## GiantsFan (Feb 17, 2011)

Nexis4Jersey said:


> How Noisy are we talking about?


underground sections were tested to be as high as 100 db


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## GG-1 (Feb 18, 2011)

GiantsFan said:


> Nexis4Jersey said:
> 
> 
> > How Noisy are we talking about?
> ...


Aloha

Actually I would have guessed a little higher.


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## GiantsFan (Feb 18, 2011)

GG-1 said:


> GiantsFan said:
> 
> 
> > Nexis4Jersey said:
> ...



And it probably is ... That might be a conservative number


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## Nexis4Jersey (Feb 19, 2011)

GiantsFan said:


> Nexis4Jersey said:
> 
> 
> > How Noisy are we talking about?
> ...


The older trains on the nyc subway are that loud , but not the newer trains..


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## DET63 (Mar 6, 2011)

It's pretty noisy in the Transbay Tube, and there are underground station stops at the San Francisco end of it. The Berkeley Hills tunnel is noisy, too, but the trains exit the hills before reaching Rockridge or Orinda, so usually the announcements aren't made until the train is out of the tunnel. Some operators are impossible to understand, especially when giving the transfer information to passengers on trains approaching MacArthur station, even though it is not underground.


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## the_traveler (Mar 11, 2011)

GiantsFan said:


> GG-1 said:
> 
> 
> > GiantsFan said:
> ...


SPEAK UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!


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## DET63 (Mar 12, 2011)

BART trains are actually pretty spartan. There are no destination signs, except on the end cars. There are no internal message boards or other indicators of where the train is or the the name of the next station. The best way to tell where you are is to look out the window as the train pulls into the station and see the signs on the platforms. Otherwise, every car has at least one system map, and if you know which station you just left and which direction you're going, you should be able to figure out which is the next stop. Being able to make clear announcements is not a priority for train operators (though some are much better than others). I believe that BART assumes that most passengers know already know where they are going and what transfers they need to make.

If you are at the station, frequent announcements tell when the next train is coming and where it is going. These are also shown on reader boards placed on each platform (usually if not always four for each track).


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## Nexis4Jersey (Mar 17, 2011)

DET63 said:


> BART trains are actually pretty spartan. There are no destination signs, except on the end cars. There are no internal message boards or other indicators of where the train is or the the name of the next station. The best way to tell where you are is to look out the window as the train pulls into the station and see the signs on the platforms. Otherwise, every car has at least one system map, and if you know which station you just left and which direction you're going, you should be able to figure out which is the next stop. Being able to make clear announcements is not a priority for train operators (though some are much better than others). I believe that BART assumes that most passengers know already know where they are going and what transfers they need to make.
> 
> If you are at the station, frequent announcements tell when the next train is coming and where it is going. These are also shown on reader boards placed on each platform (usually if not always four for each track).


I thought BART was ahead of its time?


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## DET63 (Mar 17, 2011)

> I thought BART was ahead of its time?


It probably was when it opened. But it hasn't changed much since, AFAIK.


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