Amtrak’s new digital sign at 30th St. Station is up and running

A month after Amtrak removed the black-and-white, analog split-flap information board from 30th Street Station, the railroad moved into the digital age Thursday morning.

After testing overnight, the railroad booted up its large new digital sign atop the information desk in the cavernous station at 3 a.m., well in advance of the morning rush hour, Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll said.

The Philadelphia train station is the last in the Amtrak system to go digital.

In response to a public outcry over Amtrak’s plans to remove the old Solari board, which dates from the 1970s and is considered an iconic design, Amtrak said it would consider renovating the split-flap sign or building a modern replacement.

That changed after disability rights advocates argued that a split-flap board was not capable of providing provide real-time information on train delays for people unable to hear Amtrak’s audio announcements.

After being taken down from its perch in 30th Street’s great hall, the Solari board was shipped to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.

According to the Amtrak spokesperson, the railroad is exploring the possibility of reinstalling the board as a decorative feature at 30th Street Station.

» READ MORE: 30th Street Station’s flipboard is going away. Here’s what it looked like through the years.

» READ MORE: Amtrak, keep the mod flipboard sign. It’s part of your heritage. | Inga Saffron