Yes there was a feature which allowed CTC to make announcements directly onto DART trains - surprised to hear it has been disabled.
Direct announcements from CTC should be trivially possible onto virtually all existing rolling stock, not just DART. Might require some patching between the train radio and the PA system, but hardly any rocket science stuff.
I know of some instances where drivers have refused to operate services if the PA system was non functional. Maybe not too much of an issue on a lightly used two piece railcar but a different matter on an eight car train with anywhere up to 1300 passengers on board.
|