Information about the length of the next train has been displayed for trains going to Helsinki Airport since last June. Now the information is displayed for all commuter trains. New platform displays and system installations were needed to provide the information. Most of the new platform displays have now been installed but installations continue in early 2017 at some of the smaller stations.
For long-distance trains, the information has been available from 2005. In practice, it has been noted that when passengers wait for the train in the right place, the boarding is smoother and trains leave the station as scheduled.
“At present, boarding is slow at some stations because all passengers wait in the same place and most of them use the same door to get on,” says Mikko Poutanen from Ramboll Finland Oy. "When passengers are provided information about where the next train will stop, they can spread along the correct area on the platform more evenly. The aim is for people to get on the trains faster to improve the punctuality of the services.”
The Finnish Transport Agency is responsible for passenger information displayed on the electronic displays at railway stations. The agency has collaborated with HSL, VR, Ramboll and Funkwerk to introduce this improvement.