Text Messaging on London Underground

The Messaging Centre (TMC) says that its existing client, Tube Lines has reported a total of 40% saving on it's annual communication spend by deploying SMS bulk messaging services. Tube Lines is rebuilding the Tube's busiest lines on the London Underground. It maintains and is upgrading the infrastructure on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

Tube Lines discovered a serious business problem in 2004 when it was found that senior managers could not communicate with internal employees and contacts quickly enough. Tube Lines was experiencing severe delays with its current communications infrastructure - text messages were not being delivered and distributed rapidly enough. The current system was sending text messages singularly to each individual mobile handset, using a slow and lengthy process.

The project was subsequently appointed to Peter Radley, Duty Operations Engineer (DOE) for Tube Lines, who began the selection process to find a brand new system that would enable quicker and more reliable dissemination of information from the Tube Lines Control Centre. Key requirements for the new system included enabling senior managers to communicate with a large number of employees via text message within seconds using a scalable, cost effective platform with universal appeal and a user-friendly interface.

Peter Radley, DOE, Tube Lines commented: "Previously it could take around quarter of an hour to send out all the text messages but now 1,000 messages go within seconds." He continued: "Since deploying the SMS technology from The Messaging Centre (TMC) we now have real-time awareness of problems on our lines, enabling a much more rapid response than previously possible."

Posted to the site on 27th July 2006