Swiss Railways Using Adobe’s Screens CMS To Drive Passenger Information Displays At Stations

August 16, 2023 by Dave Haynes

The Swiss rail system is known everywhere for its punctuality and attention to details, so let’s assume railway operator SBB was anything but slap-dash in the sourcing and selection process for software to run its passenger communications screens.

The railway company went with Adobe Screens, the digital signage sub-product of Adobe Experience Manager to drive three different types of passenger information screens at stations – general, access and train destination/platform display.

Sixteen:Nine content partner Invidis reports:

SBB was also one of the first major companies to use Adobe Experience Manager and Adobe Screens as the central platform for digital signage and mobile ( reference ). The project was realized by Oneinside (a Vass subsidiary since 2022).

Three display-based display types (general, access and train destination/platform display) have been presenting the train information in the new redesign since the beginning of summer. Comparable to the DB and other European railway operators, the SBB also relies on high-brightness LCD displays in the blue CI and on selected large stations also on blue LED displays.

After a few pilot installations, a two-part screen design is now being used in Switzerland. The gray bar on all digital signage display types is new. In the light gray bar of the train destination display, travelers receive information about which carriage is in which platform area and the carriage sequence and additional service information (1st/2nd class, dining car, wheelchair compartment, bicycle compartment, etc.).

Similar to a slot machine of a slot machine, additional information is shown in animated form in the gray bar. According to SBB, “this has the advantage that you will always see the train order. There is – if any – only alternating information on the right side. In this way, the information will be much more relaxed and easier to read”.

A new, digital clock can be seen in the light gray bar of the departure indicator. In this way, travelers can immediately determine whether a sprint to the platform is still worthwhile. The event information display now appears at the top and is possible in six different categories with a pictogram so that different events and states can be distinguished.

SBB currently has two generations of digital signage in use at its stations. The new layout is only used for the double displays of the newer LCD generations. For older devices, the implementation of the new layout is technically not possible. It follows when the devices are replaced at the end of their service life.

Adobe has now had Screens in the market for several years. While the creative production software giant is not exactly noisy in the digital signage space, it has a lot of inherent clout. If the Adobe toolset is already being used by creative and publishing teams for web and mobile, and displays are another output from an integrated Experience Manager, Screens is going to at least get a look, as a CMS option.

This video developed by Invidis gets into the thinking, and directly references how the rail company’s website being managed with AEM made using Screens a logical next step.