CTA Testing Train Arrival Times

By Lindsey Miller in News on Apr 9, 2010 5:40PM

The CTA is finally putting those fancy digital screens at some train stations to use. The CTA Tattler reports that the agency is testing for a second pilot of the arrival time program at the Chicago Brown Line station as well as the Fullerton and Polk stations. They're planning on launching an actual pilot of the program "in the near future." The CTA warned in a statement that the arrival times listed will be available intermittently and they're not to be trusted for now:

"We are currently performing some tests of the Next Train Arrival program out on the system using some of the platform LED displays. Unfortunately, having this information up and running out on the system is the only way we can properly test the program, which is why it may appear randomly between the morning and evening weekday rush periods. This is not yet ready for announcement as personnel are still performing accuracy checks and making adjustments. We expect to launch the pilot at select stations in the near future. An announcement will be made once details have been finalized."

The CTA Tattler also has a run-down of the many issues plaguing the arrival times system and a very exciting video of the test running at Chicago.