【Local Rail Station】Realizing fulfilling information delivery to unmanned stations with minimal staff
Multilingual operation information provides information to foreign customers.
Amagi Railway Co.,Ltd
Interviewee
Section chief Mr. Kawakami
Headquartered in Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Amagi Railway Co., Ltd. operates the Amagi Line as a third sector company. Previously, the train service was guided by Japanese voice broadcast only, but to enable multilingual operation, they have installed CMP at Kiyama and Ogori stations and are using a digital train service guidance system. We interviewed Mr Kawakami about the reasons for choosing CMP, his impressions of the system and his vision for the future.
Issues they wanted to solve
Previously, operation information was provided only in Japanese, and foreign customers were not informed of the information.
Key points for choosing CMP
Because it is a cloud-based digital signage system, the display can be updated remotely from the user's own seat, and it can be operated by a small number of people.
Effects after introduction
Multilingual information is now available. In addition to posting timetables, video and still images can be displayed, and event information can be announced with a ticker.
Enhanced operation information that can be communicated to foreign passengers
- Please tell us how you started to consider a digital operation information system.
Previously, train operation information was provided only through station announcements in Japanese. With the recent occurrence of guerrilla downpours and natural disasters, we were wondering if there was a way to inform foreign passengers of train delays and other information.
The government also strongly requested that information be shared with foreign passengers, so we adopted a digital operation information system because it can provide multilingual information in a form that can be easily understood as visual information.
The key factors were the system's ability to be operated by a small number of people and its flexibility in terms of display content
- Why did you choose CMP?
Since we have a small number of employees, we were very attracted to the fact that we could operate with a small number of people and that we could distribute the information from Amagi Station to the display units. Another attraction was the fact that we could handle everything from a single computer, even when there was a schedule revision.
The flexibility to change the display content of the design, the ability to display tourist information, and the freedom to display video and still images were also decisive factors in the decision to introduce the system.
Currently, CMP is being installed at two stations, Kiyama Station and Ogori Station, which have particularly large numbers of passengers. I think it is very attractive that we can use the same system even if we need to add additional displays in the future, such as when the number of foreign passengers increases, and that we can change the display design from the existing displays according to what we want to display.
- Let us know what you think of CMP.
I think it was a good decision to introduce CMP. First of all, I think the system has become very efficient, not only because it can provide information on departures and arrivals, but also because it can display video and still images, and can show tickers when informing customers of events, etc. I feel that passengers who use the station also see the information on the system.
In addition, we could show announcements on a ticker tape, and at the Corona Disaster, information about the new type of coronavirus was provided in multiple languages. I felt that it was good that we could provide information that suited the situation of the world at that time.
From a train-specific perspective, the departure time is only listed in terms of hours and minutes in the system, but in reality it is determined down to the second, so it is nice to be able to control even the number of seconds.
- What do you think about our support response?
We have had no problems and you responded very kindly. As for the operation of CMP, the most frequently used function is the ticker display of announcements, but it has only been operating for about a year and a half, so I think we will get used to it.
- Finally, what do you want and expect to achieve with CMP in the future?
As for multilingualization, we currently display only in Japanese and English, but we expect that the number of foreign passengers will increase, so we would like to display not only in English but also in Chinese, Korean, etc.
- As a future prospect, we are considering installing cameras on signage at unmanned stations so that the station status can be seen as a security camera.
I think security cameras would be very nice. We are a small railroad company, so it is difficult in some ways to use communication systems to remotely view security cameras, so it would be very attractive to be able to take advantage of the systems we have and view the cameras in real time.
- Thank you very much. We will continue to make every effort to meet your expectations.