Vienna, October 29, 2014 – The newly opened Vienna Main Station will commence full operations at the end of next year, with more than 1,100 trains and 145,000 passengers passing through the new train station each day. The LED display board in the main concourse, which has been supplied by Kapsch, is already the most important source of information for station visitors. The display board utilizes ultramodern LED technology and is 21 meters wide by 2.1 meters high. With an area of more than 44 m², it is not only as large as a small apartment but is also the largest of its kind in Austria. As the general contractor, Kapsch was responsible for installation of the display board and its integration into Austrian Federal Railways’ (ÖBB) IT systems.

While at most European train stations, passengers are still being informed of train arrivals and departures via LCD display boards or split-flap displays, ÖBB has invested in ultramodern LED technology. The slightly curved display has a physical resolution of 5,248 pixels that are just four millimeters apart. More than 8 million LED chips provide for the brilliant image quality, and black-faced SMD LEDs ensure high contrast. The boards are also suited to showing films thanks to their high image resolution.

Networked one-stop solution

“The implementation of such a large screen posed a particular challenge for us. Since the room is slightly curved and the display can only be serviced from the front, a special housing had to be designed. Moreover, the fully digital display system receives information from different sources that had to be technically connected,” says Michael Helf, Head of ICT Facility Solutions at Kapsch BusinessCom, in a description of the project assignment. Kapsch delivered this comprehensive solution together with a partner, ACT Anzeige- & Informationstechnik, within the foreseen period of 14 weeks and completed the installation within two weeks. Now that the display has been successfully installed, Kapsch is also responsible for its ongoing operation and maintenance – a task in which it will be supported by a technical monitoring facility. The key factor for ÖBB in deciding to make this investment was the high level of stability and profitability of the system, which will save a great deal of money compared with similar solutions after an operational period of five to six years.

Vienna Main Station

The new Vienna Main Station was inaugurated together with BahnhofCity, a 20,000 m² shopping center, after a construction period of five years. The first long-distance trains will stop at the station in December 2014, and long-distance trains will be arriving at Vienna Main Station from all directions starting in December 2015. This is how new mobility is created: faster travel times, more connections, comfortable transfers for long-distance and local transportation. More than 1,100 trains will pull into the station each day, and around 145,000 people will use the station. Vienna Main Station puts Vienna right in the center of Europe, and the city will benefit as a business location from the rapid, high-capacity connections to key foreign markets. Of architectonic interest and only three metro stops away from the city center, the long-distance trains will in the future be reachable in less than 30 minutes from any Vienna metro station.

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