Standard goes online with train news service

PASSENGERS on the Docklands Light Railway have got used to driverless trains. Now the latest technology brings them up to date information as they travel.

"Taster" headlines from the Evening Standard are transmitted to onboard computers and shown on high-quality flat screens in the trains taking part in a pilot project.

Passengers can read up-to-the-minute bulletins on news, sport, and business together with travel and local information.

DLR, in conjunction with its franchise Serco Docklands, has just launched the three-month trial of the system branded Velocity on DLR. A 15-minute programme, updated throughout the day, runs from 7am to 7pm. Mike Mulvey, customer services director of Serco Docklands which is the first network in the UK to beam news bulletins direct to train passengers, said: "It adds interest to the journey and it enables us to keep our customers updated."

DLR passenger service manager John Hughes said: "We're trying to keep the content as up-to-date as possible."

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "I am delighted that DLR is demonstrating its determination to be first in providing its passengers with the benefits of the latest technology."

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