LIRR introduces improvements to rider app and station displays

The Long Island Rail Road is rolling out several new technological features aimed at improving their riders’ experience, both by giving them new information that they need, and taking away some they don’t.

The LIRR "Digital Experience," which will be formally rolled out at a Hicksville news conference Wednesday, includes new displays and announcements at railroad station platforms and new functions on the railroad’s Train Time mobile app—including exact passenger counts for every train car.

Using existing global positioning technology and weight sensors built into train cars, the LIRR was able to incorporate several new functions into its app. New accessibility features show users where elevators and escalators are at every station, and their relative location to every arriving train car. A new "smart swap" feature automatically switches out the origin and destination stations when a user completes a trip. And "radar view" shows users, on a map, the real-time location of the next several trains that will arrive at their stations.

"It’s not new infrastructure. It’s really just updating and taking advantage of the data that existed," LIRR president Phillip Eng said in an interview Tuesday. "We’re doing everything new we can to give our riders the information that we think they need."

Even riders without the app will notice several technological changes at stations, including new digital displays that use a color-coded system to show crowding conditions on every car in a train. New audio messages can also let riders know in which car they are more likely to find a seat, with messages like: "There are more seats toward the front of the train."

The updated audio announcements are introduced by a new chime tone, and are all read by a voice actor, Locust Valley resident Julia Ireland.

LIRR officials said improving the quality of their audio messaging at stations also meant jettisoning some unnecessary information, including the "Attention Long Island Rail Road customers" introduction that used to precede every announcement.

The extra information available to riders comes as the railroad prepares to add extra service. Following complaints about service reductions that were enacted on March 8, the LIRR has said it will return to its previous schedule on Monday, March 29.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.