Tram destination signs

[Route 723F]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone could help me by telling me what the different destination signs and programs the teams here use. I know many utilise the Hanover/Helen equipment, is it the same for the new E class ? And what about the D class?

Thanks

[Heihachi_73]

The E class destination equipment/PIDs are different to the Z3/A/B/C class ones, including the internal announcements (the E class announcements are slightly different to the A/B/C class trams despite using the same male voice - Z3s are not fitted with the PIDs (yet, if ever) thus have no automated announcements). I don't know what it used to be called, but the Alstom destinations on the C/C2 Citadis trams were all replaced with the Hanover LED ones over the past year or two, which coincided with the PIDs actually working, as the original Citadis ones were completely useless thus were never turned on (except the C2, but all that did was show the date and time I think) because they simply didn't do anything useful.

The original Siemens destinations are still installed in the D1/D2 Combino trams, complete with the male voice on the A/B/C class trams which replaced the forgettable "M>Robot" as gunzels used to call it (M>Tram and M>Train used to have a very British sounding voiceover, and while Connex replaced the voices in the M>Train units in the mid-late 2000s, AFAIK Yarra Trams didn't upgrade the D classes until recently). VicSig could have been a good help but the site doesn't seem to be updated much these days, particularly the destination sign page which still lists the old Z3 rollsigns but not the Hanover ones. Fun fact, the original Z3 signs were practically identical in design to those used in the MAN SL200 MK1 (of course, both trams and buses were ordered by the MMTB at the same time - the Z/A/B class trams themselves had doors almost identical to Leyland National buses!)

Prior to the upgrade, the original B2 class flip-dot destinations were the same as the ones used in the MAN SL200 MK2 buses (note the tram behind the L and I in the Bus Australia header image above), which I believe you guys threw out the old destination signs when we dumped our old buses on you, so these might actually be rare now.

The Z1/Z2 trams also had their own unique dot-matrix signs, I don't know who made these. Going back to the 80s, Z1 67 was test-fitted with a dot-matrix sign which no other tram had (not the "normal" Z1 dot-matrix type - this tram was used as a prototype for a refurbishment* prior to being reverted back to a normal-looking dot-matrix Z1 in the 90s), with the destination equipment moved to Z3 173, and was eventually replaced with the Hanover displays fitted to all the other Z3s in the late 2000s. Z1 67 ended up with the normal dot-matrix sign that almost all Z1s and Z2s had to the end of their lives - a couple of Z1s actually retained their 1970s analog flip-over signs until the trams were withdrawn (notably Z1 5, which now lives in Sydney). Speaking of flip signs, PCC 1041 also had a unique sign which was based on the Swedish (Gothenburg M28) tram style the MMTB wanted to replicate, this was the first tram to have a three-digit route number although three-digit tram routes weren't used at the time (109 is the only one these days, but in the 90s/2000s there were a few routes beyond 100, probably the most notable being the 112).

* The original refurbishment was going to be done with the W and Z class trams but never happened beyond the prototype stage. W6 922 and Z1 67 were the test mules however what ended up as W8 922 was cancelled half way through refurbishment and left to rot, while Z1 67 was eventually stripped of its unique front ends (which actually did away with the pointless blank ovals seen on the fronts of Z/A/B1 trams where the rope reels used to be - and notably still a feature on the A2s despite the A2 class not even being designed for trolley poles) and reverted back to a Z1 with only minimal changes that remained. The new front also had unique head/tail light clusters which looked like a precursor to the A/B class ones but aligned vertically - 922 also received this modification, or at least the lights were test-fitted. I believe Z1 67 was therefore the first Z1 to be fitted with a pantograph.

[Connex]

A, B2, C and Z3 class trams utilise Hanover headboard equipment, however the systems that control those units are different. The rollout of Hanover headboard equipment took place with the A and Z3 class trams in the mid-2000s, and B2, C trams progessively from 2015.

The external Hanover headboards on the Z3 class trams is controlled by Hanover ERIC++ destination controller. The controller is loaded with a list of destinations, and the Driver is responsible for entering the correct combination of route number and destination. There is no Vehicle Passenger Information System - or VPIS fitted to Z3 class trams.

In the remainder of the fleet, VPIS is split up by four different systems.

• A, B2, and C2 class trams are fitted with a Thoreb Next Stop Information system that controls internal LED PIDS, on-board announcements, and external Hanover headboards.
• C1 class trams are fitted Thoreb Media Cloud system which operate dual LCD screens within the passenger saloon, and external Hanover headboards.
  • Both Thoreb systems utilise GPS to determine the location of the tram, and update on-board announcements and information in real-time.
  • The systems can be updated over the remotely via wi-fi or the cloud; and by bulk upload.
  • The systems has a list of fixed routes and destinations, reducing the possibility of an incorrect route and destination combination; however errors still occur.
• D class trams utilise an ANNAX system, which is standard kit in most Siemens products, including other Combino trams around the world.
  • The ANNAX system fitted is an end-of-life product, and is manually updated tram-by-tram.
• E class trams utilise a proprietary Bombardier system, which is similar to that installed on Flexity trams found in Blackpool, England; and Toronto, Canada.

[Route 723F]

Thank you for your help Heihachi_73 and Connex, answered what i was looking for

[Heihachi_73]

Also, the two B1 trams were fitted with the Hanover signs around the same time as the A classes (I don't know if the B1s were fitted with PIDs though, can't remember if they were still in service when the PIDs were rolled out). They previously had the same destination rolls as the A class trams, unlike the B2s which had digital signs from the beginning.