KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has started replacing the ageing Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) screens installed across the Metro stations with an in-house cost-effective and locally sustainable alternative, which resulted in substantial savings towards procurement of the devices.
The original display boards were sourced from a foreign company as part of the initial deployment and were running since the Kochi Metro operations began in mid-2017. However, after nearly eight years of continuous service, these displays have outrun their operational lifespan of 50,000 hours, leading to display failures at various stations. Since the specialised units are not manufactured in the country, procuring replacements involves high import costs, extended lead times, and logistical challenges.
To address the same, the Kochi Metro maintenance team has developed an “innovative, cost-effective, and locally sustainable alternative”, which is used to replace the ageing PIDS displays as and when the failures are observed. “The KMRL has stopped importing the display boards. The new arrangement will gradually replace the old imported boards once found faulty. The cost saving with the in-house solution is one-fifth of the imported items and resulting in substantial cost and time saving for Kochi Metro,” said a senior KMRL official.
The team successfully developed a budget-friendly substitute by integrating a commercially available signage television as the display panel and configuring a Bosch decoder unit as the central processing unit. This in-house solution has already been implemented at metro stations like Aluva, Edapally, and JLN stadium.
“Currently, 17 boards have been replaced in various metro stations — Aluva, Pullinchode, Companypady, Ambattukavu, Muttom, Kalamassery, Pathadipalam, Edapally, JLN stadium and Town Hall — with new display boards. The cost of each of the indigenously developed PIDS display boards is around Rs 90,000. They have a lifespan of 50,000 to 60,000 hours of continuous operation, which is around six years,” the metro official explained.
There are two to four Information Display Boards at each metro station to provide the train running updates, like the estimated time of arrival of the next train. However, the indigenously developed PIDS boards will not be used in the Phase-2 corridor, the construction of which is progressing. “The Phase-2 will have its own PIDS system with all components deployed as a complete package. So this arrangement will not be required,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Signalling & Train Control (STC) Department has successfully designed, developed, tested, and commissioned a fully functional onboard ATC (Automatic Train Control) simulator, utilising contractual spares and repurposed scrap cubicles.