GB2584818A

GB2584818A - Information system

Info

Publication number: GB2584818A
Application number: GB1905987.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Grant Alan; Lira Miguel
Original assignee: DW Windsor Ltd
Current assignee: DW Windsor Ltd
Priority date: 2019-04-29
Filing date: 2019-04-29
Publication date: 2020-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 2039-04-29
Also published as: GB201905987D0; GB2584818B

Abstract

A railway platform 125 information system 100 and method comprising an illumination means 110 configured to illuminate a portion 127 of the railway platform and a controller 101 coupled to the illumination means; wherein the controller comprises a communications interface 105 for receiving information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform; and wherein the controller is configured to control the illumination means to provide an indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform. The method comprises receiving a property of information indicative of the approaching train and controlling an illumination means to illuminate a portion of the platform based on the property of the approaching train. The information system may provide assistance for specific need by illuminating disability or wheelchair space, or spaces for cyclists, buggy’s, guide dogs and other animals, or large luggage.

Description

Information system

Field of the invention

The present disclosure relates to an information system, and in particular a railway 5 platform information system.

Background

Not every train that arrives at a railway platform is the same. Some trains have fewer carriages than others, the location of first class coaches may change, and the position of special equipment and facilities on the train (such as ramps and space for wheelchairs) differs from one train to another. It may therefore be difficult for passengers (and in particular those with special needs or requirements) to know where to wait at on the railway platform so as to be in the right position on the railway platform when the train arrives to board the train in a quick and efficient manner.

In addition, even passengers without special needs or requirements may face difficulties in knowing where to wait on the railway platform -for example, if they are in first class or not, or have a seating reservation in a specific carriage. This problem is made worse when the lengths of trains arriving at the railway platform differ.

As a result, many trains that arrive at railway stations have to wait longer than may be desired so as to allow such passengers to travel along the railway platform to board the train at the correct region. This in turn means that railway schedules have to allow such time when the schedules are planned. If a train has to wait at a railway platform longer than the scheduled time, the train operator may be fined.

Summary of the invention

Aspects of the invention are as set out in the independent claims and optional features are set out in the dependent claims. Aspects of the invention may be provided in 30 conjunction with each other and features of one aspect may be applied to other aspects.

In a first aspect there is provided a railway platform information system. The railway platform information system comprises an illumination means and a controller. The -2 -illumination means may be configured to illuminate a portion of the railway platform. The controller is coupled to the illumination means and comprises a communications interface for receiving information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform. The controller is configured to control the illumination means to provide an indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.

Aspects of the disclosure may therefore provide an information system that improves the flow of passengers on a railway platform and means that passengers know where to wait on a railway platform for them to be able to board the train easily and quickly when it arrives. For example, disabled passengers with specific needs (such as those using a wheelchair) may be directed to a portion of the platform where the train will arrive at where the arriving train has a ramp for that passenger to use to board the train and/or space for a wheelchair on board. As a result, this means that the train may not need to stop at the station for so long, which as a result may improve the efficiency of the railway network as a whole.

In some examples, controlling the illumination means to provide an indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform comprises illuminating a portion of the railway platform to provide the indication. In some examples, controlling the illumination means to provide an indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform comprises illuminating another feature of the railway station -such as a wall (for example if the station is an underground/subway station, the wall may be the wall the other side of the railway line which the passenger may be facing when waiting on the railway platform) or portion of the ceiling, or any other feature of the railway station.

In some examples the controller may be configured to receive push notifications via the communications interface, for example from a remote server (such as a central management system, as will be described below) and/or from an approaching train. However, in other examples, the controller may be configured to poll a remote server and/or an approaching train via the communications interface for information on the next -3 -train approaching.

The controller may be configured to control the illumination means to provide an indication of a portion of the platform for a passenger with specific needs to wait at to 5 board a portion of the train accommodating those specific needs when the train arrives at the railway platform.

The specific needs may comprise at least one of: a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair; a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage. However, it will be appreciated that the controller may be configured to provide an indication for other reasons -for example, where the doors of the train will be when the train arrives at the platform, where the first class carriage(s) are and/or where the end of the train will be (so that people do not wait at a portion of the platform that the train won't be at if the train is shorter than the platform).

The communications interface may be configured to communicate with a central management system, CMS, to receive information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform. The CMS may be configured to control other systems, such as the lighting and/or signage, on the railway platform. The CMS may additionally or alternatively be configured to communicate with the train approaching the railway platform.

The controller may be configured to control the communications interface to receive data from a Darwin data feed, such as the National Rail® Enquiries Darwin feed, optionally via a Simple Object Access Protocol, SOAP, Application Programming Interface, API. In some examples the controller is configured to control the communications interface to receive data from a Network Rail® TIGER data feed.

The illumination means may comprise a projector coupled to a gobo. It will be understood and known to those skilled in the art that a gobo is a stencil or template placed inside or in front of a light source to control the shape of the emitted light. -4 -

However, it will be understood that a gobo may not be necessary, and the illumination means may only comprise a projector. In other examples the illumination means may comprise coloured lighting and/or lighting integrated into the railway platform, for example light emitting diodes incorporated into the railway platform. For example, the illumination means may comprise an array of light emitting diodes, and the controller may be configured to control the array of light emitting diodes to display a particular message or shape.

In some examples the illumination means may be coupled to a movement means. For example, the illumination means may be supported by a rail or gantry, and the movement means may be a motor operable to move the illumination means along the rail or gantry. In such examples the controller may be operable to control the movement means to effect movement of the projector along the railway platform based on the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform that the illumination means will provide.

In some examples the railway platform information system comprises a plurality of illumination means distributed along the length of the platform, and wherein the controller is coupled to, and operable to control, each of the plurality of illumination means based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.

In some examples the railway platform information system comprises a detecting means configured to detect a passenger type on the railway platform. The detecting means may be, for example, a camera, and the controller may be configured to process signals received from the detecting means to determine a passenger type on the railway platform. For example, the controller may comprise image recognition software. Additionally or alternatively, the detecting means may send signals to a remote server for processing, and the remote server may send information indicative of the passenger type, based on the processed signals from the detecting means, to the controller. The controller may be configured to control the illumination means to illuminate a portion of the railway platform to display the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform based on the detected passenger type -5 -and based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.

The passenger type may be selected from: a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair, a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage.

In some examples the controller is configured to provide an alert to staff (for example, by sending an alert to wearable devices worn by the staff) working at the railway station. The alert may be based on a property of the train approaching the railway platform and/or based on a detected passenger type. For example, the controller may be configured to alert staff that a disabled passenger is on the platform and/or needs to wait at a selected position on the platform to board the next approaching train, so that staff can help that passenger with boarding or alighting the train. Additionally or alternatively, the controller may be configured to alert staff based on information received from a CMS and/or a data feed such as the National Rail® Enquiries Darwin feed and/or the Network Rail® TIGER data feed -for example, the controller could alert staff if the data feed contains information indicating that there is a wheelchair user on the train approaching the railway platform that will require assistance alighting the train at the platform.

In another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a method of displaying information to passengers on a railway platform. The method comprises receiving information indicative of a train approaching the railway platform, wherein the information comprises a property of the train approaching the railway platform; and controlling an illumination means to illuminate a portion of the railway platform based on the property of the train approaching the railway platform to provide an indication of the property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform.

The method may comprise controlling the illumination means to provide an indication of a portion of the platform for a passenger with specific needs to wait at to board a portion of the train accommodating those specific needs when the train arrives at the railway -6 -platform. The specific needs may comprise at least one of: a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair, a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage.

The method may comprise receiving the information indicative of the train approaching the railway platform from a central management system, CMS, wherein the CMS is configured to control other systems on the railway platform. The CMS may be configured to control other systems, such as the lighting and/or signage, on the railway platform. The CMS may additionally or alternatively be configured to communicate with the train approaching the railway platform.

In some examples receiving the information indicative of a train approaching the railway 15 platform from a CMS comprises communicating with a train approaching the railway platform via the CMS to receive information indicative of the train approaching the railway platform via the CMS.

In some examples the method comprises receiving information indicative of a train approaching the railway platform from at least one of (i) a Darwin data feed, such as the National Rail® Enquiries Darwin feed, optionally via a Simple Object Access Protocol, SOAP, Application Programming Interface, API, and (ii) a Network Rail® TIGER data feed.

In some examples the method comprises controlling a movement means to effect movement of the illumination means along the railway platform based on the based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.

It will be understood that the method may comprise controlling a plurality of illumination 30 means distributed along platform based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.

In some examples the method comprises detecting a passenger type on the railway -7 -platform, and controlling the illumination means to illuminate a portion of the railway platform to provide the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform based on the detected passenger type.

The method may comprise providing an alert to staff working at the railway station based on the detected passenger type on the railway platform. For example, the method may comprise providing an alert to staff working at the railway station based on the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform.

In another aspect of the disclosure there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described above.

Drawings Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example railway platform information system of embodiments of the disclosure; and Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of an example method of controlling an information system of embodiments of the disclosure, such as the railway platform information system of Fig. 1.

Specific description

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to an information system that improves the flow of passengers on a railway platform and means that passengers know where to wait on a railway platform for them to be able to board the train easily and quickly when it arrives. For example, disabled passengers with specific needs (such as those using a wheelchair) may be directed to a portion of the platform where the train will arrive at where the arriving train has a ramp for that passenger to use to board the train and space for the wheelchair on the train. As a result, this means that the train may not need to stop at the station for so long, which as a result may improve the efficiency of the railway network as a whole. -8 -

An example information system 100 is shown in Fig. 1. The railway platform information system 100 comprises an illumination means 110 and a controller 101. The controller 101 comprises a processor 103 and a communications interface 105, and is coupled to the illumination means 110. Fig. 1 also shows a train 700 approaching the railway platform 125, and a passenger 900 with specific needs waiting on the railway platform 125.

In the example shown the illumination means 110 comprises a projector coupled to a gobo. It will be understood and known to those skilled in the art that a gobo is a stencil or template placed inside or in front of a light source to control the shape of the emitted light. The illumination means 110 is supported on a gantry 112 above the railway platform 125. In the example shown the illumination means 110 also comprises a movement means 111. The movement means 111 may be a motor operable to move the illumination means 110 along the gantry 112.

The communications interface 105 is configured to receive information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125. The communications interface 105 may, for example, be operable on a short-range radio-frequency network such as wireless local area network e.g. a Wi-Fi® network, a ZigBee® network and/or a Bluetooth® network.

The illumination means 110 is configured to illuminate a portion 127 of the railway platform 125. The controller 101 is configured to control the illumination means 110 to provide an indication of a property of the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125 to people on the railway platform 125 based on the received information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125.

In the example shown the passenger with specific needs 900 is a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair. However, it will be understood that in other examples the passenger with special needs may be any of (but not limited to) a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage. -9 -

In the example shown, the controller 101 is configured to control the illumination means 110 to provide an indication of a portion of the platform 125 for a passenger with specific needs 900 to wait at to board a portion of the train 700 accommodating those specific 5 needs when the train 700 arrives at the railway platform 125. In the example shown the controller 101 is configured to control the illumination means 110 to display shapes and/or patterns corresponding to the desired indication -for example, to display a wheelchair symbol on a specific portion 127 of the railway platform 125 corresponding to where a region of the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125 has space for a 10 wheelchair on board.

However, it will also be appreciated that the controller 101 may be configured to provide an indication for other reasons -for example, where the doors of the train 700 will be when the train 700 arrives at the platform 125, and/or where the end of the train 700 will be (so that people do not wait at a portion of the platform 125 that the train 700 won't be at if the train 700 is shorter than the platform 125). The controller 101 may therefore be configured to control the illumination means 110 to display other shapes and/or patterns -for example to display an image of doors, or to display an image of a bicycle, on the portion 127 of the railway platform 125.

In the example shown the controller 101 is operable to control the movement means 111 to effect movement of the illumination means 110 along the railway platform 125 based on the received information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125 and/or based on the indication of a property of the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125 that the illumination means 110 will provide. For example, the controller 101 may be configured to control the movement means 111 to move the illumination means 110 above a first portion of the railway platform 125 to display an indication based on passengers on the platform for a first train approaching the railway platform, and to control the movement means 111 to move the illumination means 110 above a second portion of the railway platform 125 to display an indication based on passengers on the platform for a second train approaching the railway platform.

For example, the controller 101 may be configured to control the movement means 111 to move the illumination means 110 above a first portion of the railway platform 125 to display a wheelchair symbol on the first portion of the railway platform 125 corresponding to where a wheelchair user needs to be to board a first train approaching the railway platform 125 where the train has space for wheelchairs when the train has arrived at the railway platform 125, and to control the movement means 111 to move the illumination means 110 above a second portion of the railway platform 125 to display a bicycle symbol on the second portion of the railway platform 125 corresponding to where a cyclist needs to be to board a second train approaching the railway platform 125 where the train has space for bicycles when the train has arrived at the railway platform 125.

The communications interface 105 may also be configured to communicate with a central management system, CMS, to receive information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125. The CMS may be configured to control other systems, such as the lighting and/or signage, on the railway platform 125. The CMS may additionally or alternatively be configured to communicate with the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125.

The controller 101 may be configured to control the communications interface 105 to receive data from a Darwin data feed, such as the National Rail® Enquiries Darwin feed, optionally via a Simple Object Access Protocol, SOAP, Application Programming Interface, API. In some examples the controller 101 is configured to control the communications interface 105 to receive data from a Network Rail® TIGER data feed. The controller 101 may be configured to receive data from these data feeds to obtain information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125. In some examples the controller 101 may be configured to receive push notifications via the communications interface 105, for example from a remote server and/or from an approaching train (for example from the Darwin data feed and/or the TIGER data feed). However, in other examples, the controller 101 may be configured to poll a remote server via the communications interface 105 for information on the next train 700 approaching.

In the example shown, the controller 101 is also configured to determine how far away (in terms of time and/or distance) an approaching train 700 is from arriving at the railway platform 125. In such examples, the controller 101 may be configured to display an indication of a property of the train when the train 700 is closer than a selected threshold distance and/or a selected threshold time interval away from approaching the railway platform 125.

Operation of the information system 100 will now be described with reference to the method 200 shown in Fig. 2. In use, the controller 101 registers with a data feed, such as the Darwin or TIGER data feeds. The controller 101 receives 201 information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125 via the communications interface 105. The processor 103 of the controller 101 may, if required, process the received information to determine properties of the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125, such as its length, where there is space for a wheelchair and/or bicycles etc. When the train 700 is closer than a selected threshold distance and/or a selected threshold time interval away from approaching the railway platform 125, the controller 101 controls 203 the illumination means 110 to provide an indication of a property of the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125 to people on the railway platform 125. In the example shown, this comprises illuminating a portion 127 of the railway platform 125 to provide the indication -for example with a wheelchair symbol.

In some examples the railway platform information system 100 comprises a plurality of illumination means 110 distributed along the length of the platform 125, and wherein the controller 101 is coupled to, and operable to control, each of the plurality of illumination means 110 based on the received information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125. For example, one illumination means 110 may display the position of a space for bicycles on the approaching train 700, whereas another illumination means 110 may display the position of where there is space for a wheelchair on the approaching train 700.

In some examples the railway platform information system 100 comprises a detecting means configured to detect a passenger type on the railway platform 125. The detecting means may be, for example, a camera. The controller 101 may be configured to process -12 -signals received from the detecting means to determine a passenger type on the railway platform 125. For example, the controller 101 may comprise image recognition software. Additionally or alternatively, the detecting means may send signals to a remote server (such as a CMS server) for processing, and the remote server may send information 5 indicative of the passenger type, based on the processed signals from the detecting means, to the controller 101. The controller 101 may be configured to control the illumination means 110 to illuminate a portion 127 of the railway platform 125 to display the indication of a property of the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125 to people on the railway platform 125 based on the detected passenger type and based on 10 the received information relating to the next train 700 that is approaching the railway platform 125.

The passenger type may be selected from: a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair; a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage.

In some examples the controller 101 is configured to provide an alert to staff working at the railway station based on the indication of a property of the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125. For example, the controller 101 may be configured to alert staff that a disabled passenger is on the platform 125 and/or needs to wait at a selected position on the platform to board the next approaching train 700. Additionally or alternatively, the controller may be configured to alert staff based on information received from a remote server, the CMS and/or a data feed such as the National Rail® Enquiries Darwin feed and/or the Network Rail® TIGER data feed. For example, the controller 101 could alert staff if the data feed contains information indicating that there is a wheelchair user on the train 700 approaching the railway platform 125 that will require assistance alighting the train 700 at the platform 125.

It will also be appreciated that where a railway station has more than one platform, the information system 100 described above may be used on each platform. In such examples there may be a single controller 101 controlling the illumination means 110 on all of the platforms 125, or each platform 125 may have its own respective controller 101 controlling the illumination means 110 for that platform.

Although the examples above describe illumination a portion 127 of the railway platform 5 125, it will be appreciated that in some examples, controlling the illumination means 110 to provide an indication of a property of the train 700 approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform 125 comprises illuminating another feature of the railway station -such as a wall (for example if the station is an underground station, the wall may be the wall the other side of the railway line which the passenger may be facing 10 when waiting at the railway platform 125) or portion of the ceiling, or any other feature of the railway station.

It will also be appreciated that although the examples above describe use of the information for a railway station on a railway platform, the information system 100 may be used in other environments, for example in other public infrastructure where passengers are boarding vessels -such as in airports, underground/subway stations, bus stations, harbours etc. It will be appreciated from the discussion above that the embodiments shown in the Figures are merely exemplary, and include features which may be generalised, removed or replaced as described herein and as set out in the claims. In the context of the present disclosure other examples and variations of the apparatus and methods described herein will be apparent to a person of skill in the art.

Claims

-14 -CLAIMS: 1. A railway platform information system comprising: an illumination means configured to illuminate a portion of the railway platform; and a controller coupled to the illumination means; wherein the controller comprises a communications interface for receiving information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform; and wherein the controller is configured to control the illumination means to provide an 10 indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.
2. The railway platform information system of claim 1 wherein the controller is 15 configured to control the illumination means to provide an indication of a portion of the platform for a passenger with specific needs to wait at to board a portion of the train accommodating those specific needs when the train arrives at the railway platform.
3. The railway platform information system of claim 2 wherein the specific needs comprise at least one of: a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair; a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage.
4. The railway platform information system of any of the previous claims wherein the communications interface is configured to communicate with a central management system, CMS, to receive information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform;
5. The railway platform information system of claim 4 wherein the CMS is configured to communicate with the train approaching the railway platform.
6. The railway platform information system of any of the previous claims wherein the controller is configured to control the communications interface to receive data from a Darwin data feed, such as the National Rail® Enquiries Darwin feed, optionally via a Simple Object Access Protocol, SOAP, Application Programming Interface, API.
7. The railway platform information system of any of the previous claims wherein the controller is configured to control the communications interface to receive data from a Network Rail® TIGER data feed.
8. The railway platform information system of any of the previous claims wherein the illumination means comprises a projector coupled to a gobo.
9. The railway platform information system of claim 8 wherein the controller is operable to control a movement means to effect movement of the projector along the railway platform based on the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway 15 platform that the illumination means will provide.
10. The railway platform information system of any of the previous claims comprising a plurality of illumination means distributed along the length of the platform, and wherein the controller is coupled to, and operable to control, each of the plurality of illumination means based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.
11. The railway platform information system of any of the previous claims, further comprising a detecting means configured to detect a passenger type on the railway platform, and wherein the controller is configured to control the illumination means to illuminate a portion of the railway platform to display the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform based on the detected passenger type.
12. The railway platform information system of claim 11, wherein the passenger type is selected from: a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair; a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide -16 -dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage.
13. The railway platform information system of any of the previous claims, wherein the controller is configured to provide an alert to staff working at the railway station 5 based on the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform.
14. A method of displaying information to passengers on a railway platform, the method comprising: receiving information indicative of a train approaching the railway platform, 10 wherein the information comprises a property of the train approaching the railway platform; controlling an illumination means to illuminate a portion of the railway platform based on the property of the train approaching the railway platform to provide an indication of the property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the 15 railway platform.
15. The method of claim 14 comprising controlling the illumination means to provide an indication of a portion of the platform for a passenger with specific needs to wait at to board a portion of the train accommodating those specific needs when the train arrives at 20 the railway platform.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the specific needs comprise at least one of: a disabled passenger requiring space on the train for their wheelchair; a cyclist requiring space on the train for their bicycle, a passenger with a children's buggy requiring space on the train for the buggy, a passenger with an animal such as a guide dog, and a passenger with luggage requiring space for the luggage.
17. The method of any of claims 14 to 16 comprising receiving the information indicative of the train approaching the railway platform from a central management 30 system, CMS, wherein the CMS is configured to control other systems on the railway platform.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein receiving the information indicative of a train approaching the railway platform from a CMS comprising communicating with a train approaching the railway platform via the CMS to receive information indicative of the train approaching the railway platform via the CMS.
19. The method of any of claims 14 to 18 comprising receiving information indicative of a train approaching the railway platform from at least one of (i) a Darwin data feed, such as the National Rail® Enquiries Darwin feed, optionally via a Simple Object Access Protocol, SOAP, Application Programming Interface, API, and (ii) a Network Rail® TIGER data feed.
20. The method of any of claims 14 to 19 comprising controlling a movement means to effect movement of the illumination means along the railway platform based on the based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.
21. The method of any of claims 14 to 20 comprising controlling a plurality of illumination means distributed along platform based on the received information relating to the next train that is approaching the railway platform.
22. The method of any of claims 14 to 21 further comprising detecting a passenger type on the railway platform, and controlling the illumination means to illuminate a portion of the railway platform to provide the indication of a property of the train approaching the railway platform to people on the railway platform based on the detected passenger type.
23. The method of claim 22 further comprising providing an alert to staff working at the railway station based on the detected passenger type on the railway platform.
24. The method of any of claims 14 to 23 comprising providing an alert to staff working at the railway station based on the indication of a property of the train 30 approaching the railway platform.
25. A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 14 to 24.