What makes a good on train announcement?

[crewmeal]

Get rid of the those 'front door' chimes before every announcement that Virgin use for starters. Believe it or not some passengers want to relax when travelling.

 

[Squaddie]

On arrival at major stations, but not destinationGood afternoon, the train is now approaching C, please remember to take all personal belongings with you when leaving the train, also please have tickets ready for ticket inspections at this station. Change here for H,I and J, K,LandM and NandO. On departure from C this train will call at D and Z only. Thank you for travelling with TOC, we hope to see you again soon.

This is precisely what annoys so many passengers.

Why not just "Next station: station name".

People across Europe seem to be able to cope with this level of information, so why do the TOCs believe that we can't?

 

[oldman]

Announcers usually tell you the arrival time at the final destination, but nowhere else. I don't want them to recite the timetable, but on a long route arrival times at say York, Newcastle and Edinburgh would be better than just Aberdeen.

It is useful when announcers tell you the departure times and platforms for connections. And telling people how to open HST doors is a good idea.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Some guards finish their announcement, on leaving a station, with the name of the next stop and how long it will be to get there. e.g. on departing from Dunbar, "Our next stop will be Berwick in 20 minutes".

Now if that isn't enough notice for an unfamilar passenger to start gathering up their belongings, nothing is.

 

[glbotu]

I think they should attempt to have a system like they do in Italy on the Freccia trains, whereby they do a brief announcements of onward connections.

"Go to Platform N for the XX:XX service to Z". They only do important/useful ones. I know there's no such thing as a connecting service here, but the next 4-5 trains to depart major stations is an exceptionally useful announcement (esp: on Intercity trains which can be late).

 

[tsr]

Some guards finish their announcement, on leaving a station, with the name of the next stop and how long it will be to get there. e.g. on departing from Dunbar, "Our next stop will be Berwick in 20 minutes".

Now if that isn't enough notice for an unfamilar passenger to start gathering up their belongings, nothing is.

Except...

"Our next stop will be Rotherhithe, in about 30 seconds"

 

[SPADTrap]

I always assumed the "station stop" thing was in case you get held at a signal or something - the "next stop" isn't necessarily in a station. But then why not just call it the "next station"...

Because you might pass a station you don't stop at

 

[Greenback]

This is precisely what annoys so many passengers.

Why not just "Next station: station name".

People across Europe seem to be able to cope with this level of information, so why do the TOCs believe that we can't?

I agree that there is far too much pointless wordage in announcements. The sentiment seems to be 'Why use three words when we cna use thirty?'

There seems to be a general belief that longer announcements are softer, and more customer friendly. I don't agree with that view.

 

[feline1]

One of the most annoying things about announcements are ones where the PA system is in poor condition:
- too quiet to be audible
- too loud to be comfortable
- distortion, clipping or other audio problems
- high pitches whines or hums on the audio

I must get this on something like 40% of carriages. What's difficult?

 

[button_boxer]

I agree that there is far too much pointless wordage in announcements. The sentiment seems to be 'Why use three words when we cna use thirty?'

German U-Bahn announcements are the best example of the other extreme: "Nächster Halt: ...., Ausstieg links"

Or if they're feeling generous "Ausstieg in Fahrtrichtung links" (admittedly it helps that "the direction of travel" is one word in German).

 

[kieron]

Because you might pass a station you don't stop at

Or you might stop at a station, but leave again without opening the doors, merely because the signal just after the end of the platform changes. The key thing seems to be that it is the next place the train is scheduled to stop in the passenger timetable. That's a bit of a mouthful, though.

With regard to the topic, I just wish they'd find a way to have the auto announcer announce the correct stations. Or at least skip the station list if it's not going to give the right one.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Please give an example of what you would announce if you were arriving at Clapham Junction at 1830 on a weekday evening, previous stop was Woking.

Perhaps I should have put a :roll: at the end of the post......

 

[LowLevel]

Wouldn't you rather the driver concentrate on the safe driving of the train than trying to rattle off all of above said info while having many other things to do?

Happily sensibly manned trains have people other than the driver to do such things - TOCs who have only a driver on board a 12 coach train are obviously not going to be all that customer focussed in the first place and will generally be commuter services anyway.

 

[Tomnick]

I think they should attempt to have a system like they do in Italy on the Freccia trains, whereby they do a brief announcements of onward connections.

"Go to Platform N for the XX:XX service to Z". They only do important/useful ones. I know there's no such thing as a connecting service here, but the next 4-5 trains to depart major stations is an exceptionally useful announcement (esp: on Intercity trains which can be late).

Possibly very useful - until the platform for the connecting service is altered, and the intending passengers aren't aware because they thought they didn't need to check!

 

[tankmc]

Train announcements annoy me. They are either too long or none exisitant. Not to mention that half the time you can hear or understand the person.

As a passenger all I want to know is

"We are now approaching X."

and

"Welcome on-board this [[Time]] train to Y. The next station will be Z in approximately [[Time]] minutes."

I was on a Northern stopping train from hull and the woman insisted every station to do the whole shabang of listing every station, security announcement, no smoking announcement, luggage announcement. Even if only ONE person got on. Very Annoying.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

On a similar note, the catering announcements really wind me up (Particularly on East Coast!).

Just tell us when you're open and which coach you're in plus maybe if there is a trolley coming down or not, I'm sure we can already work out you will be serving a selection of hot and cold food, Yorkshire tea, beers wines and spirits! The first class passengers already know they get some freebies from you, no need to announce that to the whole of the train!

They are also the worst. the staff generally struggle and at time is cringe worthy how bad they can be.

You always get the old "We will be serving a selection of hot and cold food" ..... *Huge pause*..... "Yorkshire tea" ..... *Huge pause*..... "beers wines and spirits"

I think the whole first class thing is more a advert to the people in standard.

 

[Bald Rick]

The best announcements are those that recognise that everyone on the train is a real person with a job / life / purpose for travelling. A sense of humour always helps too.

And definitely NO descriptions of neutral sections, VCBs etc (that FCC driver is driving me mad!)

 

[plastictaffy]

Usually, depending on the crowd, I'll open up with "Good Afternoon boys and girls, ladies and gents, chaps and chapesses, this is the blah blah to blah blah blah, calling at blah blah blah, and arriving at blah blah blah at xxxx. This is a very full train, if you have a bag sat on the seat next to you instead of a bottom, please stow it in the overhead bin and allow a stranger to sit next to you. Most of the people on here look fairly normal, I don't believe they will bite or dribble on you. To anyone that might be tempted to bite or dribble, unless you have a medical reason for doing either, be aware that there's every chance you may be ejected from the service............"

Terminating?? Again, depends on the crowd, but "arriving into blah blah blah, please take any personal belongings with you, including mother-in-laws, false legs and dentures. The train doors will be released on x side, please ensure you have all tickets and passes ready to put through the barrier machine if you have enough hands, or show to the good people on the barrier if you're dragging suitcases and trying to reconcile a stroppy 2 year old..............."

 

[Kite159]

Please give an example of what you would announce if you were arriving at Clapham Junction at 1830 on a weekday evening, previous stop was Woking.

IIRC The SWT automatic announcement is something like London Victoria, East Croydon, Brighton & Kensington Olympia

I like the one approaching Basingstoke, change here for services to Reading, The Midlands and The North.

 

[plastictaffy]

Also been known to tell the commuters "happy wednesday, well done for making it to the hump of the week, downhill til the weekend now.
Also, "local time here is xxxx, and we are arriving on time. *dramatic pause* the weather at our destination is set to be sun/cold/foggy/downright miserable. Do have a lovely day........"

 

[tankmc]

There is a driver on Chiltern who makes me laugh. At Marylebone you get "Cabin crew doors to manual"

 

[alwaystouchout]

None of the 'thank you for travelling with us' stuff, especially when you don't have a choice..ie. Stockport to Buxton..

 

[stut]

Brevity.

 

[southern442]

Having "This train is the Southern service to ...." at the start of every announcement on Southern REALLY annoys me.

 

[D1009]

The best announcements are those which convey the maximum amount of information using the minimum number of words. The only announcements which need repeating are those which require some sort of action on the part of the passenger.

 

[Parallel]

Catching trains to and from work every day, I've heard a whole array of announcements, from over zealous ones to absolutely nothing at all. As FGW don't have an automated system in place on their 158s, 150s and 153s (apart from the safety announcements), it tends to vary a lot.

I heard this one the other day on a 4 car train with no walk through (150/1 + 150/2) "After this stop, our next stop will be Avoncliff. Due to the very short platforms at this station it will be front door opening only. Any passengers wishing to leave at Avoncliff, you must be at the very front of the train and only the front door will be opened. This is due to the short platforms and the length of the train. Due to no walkthrough, you may need to get off the train and walk along the platform and then get back on. That's Avoncliff, in two stops time, only the front door will be opened at this station. I repeat, Avoncliff, the next stop after Bradford On Avon will be front door opening only." - Upon leaving Bradford On Avon, he then said those wishing to leave at Freshford should also make their way to the front - A bit late for the people in the rear carriages though! Upon arriving at Avoncliff the front door wasn't actually opened, rather the 3rd door (2nd passenger door in the first carriage)

I've also heard a guard/driver announce when we get into Bath "Change here for Avoncliff and Freshford" when we've just called there. It makes me smile when we arrive into Bath and someone enthusiastically announces "Change here for OLDFIELD PARK and KEYNSHAM!!" and completely ignores the half-hourly 8 carriage intercity services to London Paddington...

I think the best announcements are clear, concise and polite - No need to waffle on for ages or repeat something four times.

Here are a couple more announcements I've had on FGW

"This is the XX:XX service from Bath Spa, callingatBradfordOnAvonTrowbridgeWestburyWarminsterSalisburyRomsey *pause for 10 seconds* Chandler's Ford? Eastleigh,Fareham,Cosham,Fratton,PortsmouthandSouthSeaandPortsmouthHarbourThankyou"

And my personal favourite...

"It's that time of the evening ladies and gentlemen! We've caught up with a stopping service, which, itself, has caught up with a stopping service, and we can expect to be delayed further as far as Warminster!"

 

[Matt Taylor]

Having "This train is the Southern service to ...." at the start of every announcement on Southern REALLY annoys me.

Useful for people with FCC only tickets tough.

 

[hassaanhc]

One of the most annoying things about announcements are ones where the PA system is in poor condition:
- too quiet to be audible
- too loud to be comfortable
- distortion, clipping or other audio problems
- high pitches whines or hums on the audio

I must get this on something like 40% of carriages. What's difficult?

SWT Class 455 seem notorious for the low PA volume, as if the guard is whispering (probably a poor mic or something) :/

IIRC The SWT automatic announcement is something like London Victoria, East Croydon, Brighton & Kensington Olympia

I like the one approaching Basingstoke, change here for services to Reading, The Midlands and The North.

If you approach Clapham Junction from the mainline/suburban side (Earlsfield) you are greeted by:
The next station is Clapham Junction. Change here for Richmond, Staines, Windsor & Eton Riverside, London Victoria, East Croydon, London Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Kensington Olympia and Willesden Junction. Please mind the gap between the train and the platform edge.


The other one that annoys me is manual announcements at London Waterloo station, whenever I'm there it is the same guy on duty and he has a habit of mumbling and speaking too fast - the echo makes it much worse. I remember the first time, for a delayed service to Windsor via Kingston and reverse at Twickenham: Platform............ 3 for the 13-- Swestrain service to Winsorandetonriverside (not even going to attempt the calling points which become just one long word)
(I will admit my hearing is horrible in noisy places yet I hear the auto announcements mostly fine...)

 

[southern442]

Useful for people with FCC only tickets tough.

I suppose so but does it really have to be EVERY single announcement on every 377?

 

[sarahj]

Coming from hastings through the tunnel into St leonards WS, you get the moment you come into the 'light'.
This is a Southern Service to 'Brighton'*, the next station is St Leonards Warrior Square. This is a Southern service to 'Brighton', we are now approaching St leonards warrior Square. Drives me nuts.


* or could be London Victoria.

 

[chorleyjeff]

Talking here mainly about trains which do not yet have an automated PA

What makes the on board announcement good or exceptionally good in your view? what kind of information do you value hearing?

What could be done better?

brief, audible, informative