Suggestions for Merseyrail 777s (including announcements, nicknames etc)

[ADHDTog]

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/merseyrail-class-777.153458

They are slightly different but the the same person

Am I the only person who thinks a nice local accent would be better for onboard announcements? Are Julie Berry announcements mandated or something?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Am I the only person who thinks a nice local accent would be better for onboard announcements?

I totally agree. I love the "Victoria Wood" type "friendly Northerner" voice used on the 195 and 331 - it feels to me part of the brand. There must surely be someone with a suitable "soft Scouse" voice - Ringo Starr esque - who could do a good job and be used throughout the system for both train and station announcements. The current voice seems really misplaced - a posh Southerner!

 

[Parjon]

Am I the only person who thinks a nice local accent would be better for onboard announcements? Are Julie Berry announcements mandated or something?

You mean like the throaty misery on TPE or the flatcap announcements on Northern?? No ta. She's clear and has been the voice of merseyrail for years

 

[Bletchleyite]

You mean like the throaty misery on TPE

TPE have changed from their "clipped and rude" voice of the 2000s, haven't they?

or the flatcap announcements on Northern??

I love those ones, they seem part of the brand, a nice friendly Victoria Wood type voice.

 

[Parjon]

TPE have changed from their "clipped and rude" voice of the 2000s, haven't they?



I love those ones, they seem part of the brand, a nice friendly Victoria Wood type voice.

You hear tomato I hear potato

 

[ADHDTog]

You mean like the throaty misery on TPE or the flatcap announcements on Northern?? No ta. She's clear and has been the voice of merseyrail for years

Past use isn't a good argument for keeping things the way they are, if it is, why not have The Rocket pulling trains?

There are plenty of good voice artists in the area, who have good, clear diction, a local accent, and don't sound like they've recently swallowed a handful of Valium!

 

[Skie]

Am I the only person who thinks a nice local accent would be better for onboard announcements? Are Julie Berry announcements mandated or something?

She’s also gone a bit off the deep end if her twitter postings over the past few years are any indication.

“The next stop is Seaforth & Tinfoil Hat land”

 

[61653 HTAFC]

She’s also gone a bit off the deep end if her twitter postings over the past few years are any indication.

“The next stop is Seaforth & Tinfoil Hat land”

I've never understood the weird celebrity worship that a certain sector of the enthusiast community have for the voice actors doing announcements...

The suggestion of Ringo Starr upthread would be cool, though I'd keep expecting to hear: "This is the Ormskirk train, said Thomas!" It'd also fit in with the 'Yellow Submarine' nickname.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Starr would probably cost too much, but he isn't the only softly spoken Scouser to be found in south Liverpool (the north Liverpool accent is much more guttural and probably not suitable for this).

 

[Sam 76]

Am I the only person who thinks a nice local accent would be better for onboard announcements? Are Julie Berry announcements mandated or something?

I feel like somewhere in this forum it was said they had chosen to keep them as it’s recognisable for people using the new trains and are clear also

 

[Ribbleman]

Starr would probably cost too much, but he isn't the only softly spoken Scouser to be found in south Liverpool (the north Liverpool accent is much more guttural and probably not suitable for this).

As one of many born and bred residents of Merseyside who does not have a Scouse accent, I am quite happy with the current announcer. These units will travel far beyond the boundaries of both Liverpool City and the accent. It is more important that whoever is making announcements, be they automated or by the Train Manager, that they enunciate in measured tones. If that is in what used to be termed “The Queen’s English”, ensuring that as many passengers as possible can understand the messages, so much the better.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As one of many born and bred residents of Merseyside who does not have a Scouse accent, I am quite happy with the current announcer. These units will travel far beyond the boundaries of both Liverpool City and the accent. It is more important that whoever is making announcements, be they automated or by the Train Manager, that they enunciate in measured tones. If that is in what used to be termed “The Queen’s English”, ensuring that as many passengers as possible can understand the messages, so much the better.

Show me a person who can't understand Starr's friendly soft Scouse? It's one of the clearest accents you can have. I'm not suggesting they should walk down the street in Skem or Kirkby, grab the first tracksuited teenager they see and thrust 50 quid and a microphone in front of them.

Local identity is important. ScotRail uses a Scottish accent, TfW uses a Welsh one, Blackpool uses a Lancastrian (I sort of know him, by the way ), Birmingham New St used to have a Brummie until boring old Anne took over, Metrolink uses a Manchester accent (again a soft, friendly one, not "are kid"). Why not?

 

[urbophile]

Stephen Graham? He's from Kirkby.

 

[Parjon]

Local identity is important.

I don't think Liverpool needs to rely on a train announcement to secure our city's local identity! but thanks for the suggestion from afar...

Our trains are clean(ISH), people don't put their feet on the seats, the trains run on time (mostly), and announcements are clear and distinctive, and already distinct from those heard on the main line railways. I'm happy for people to notice that and associate our city with that.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't think Liverpool needs to rely on a train announcement to secure our city's local identity! but thanks for the suggestion from afar...

Liverpool is the city of my birth and formative years. To assume...

 

[modernrail]

I totally agree. I love the "Victoria Wood" type "friendly Northerner" voice used on the 195 and 331 - it feels to me part of the brand. There must surely be someone with a suitable "soft Scouse" voice - Ringo Starr esque - who could do a good job and be used throughout the system for both train and station announcements. The current voice seems really misplaced - a posh Southerner!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Jan 2023 ==



I don't know if the software supports this, but perhaps the units could be set to project the steps on release, which would speed opening? I know Swiss FLIRTs don't retract until the close button is pressed.

Just get the man himself in. On high days and holy days his announcements could sing ‘We all ride on a yellow submarine’ as the train dives down into the tunnels.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

You mean like the throaty misery on TPE or the flatcap announcements on Northern?? No ta. She's clear and has been the voice of merseyrail for years

Flatcap, eh?

 

[Techniquest]

As for the fleet's nickname, I felt my eyes rolling at the suggestion of them being 'Yellow Submarines'. Someone suggested Hornets, which would be a little more appropriate, although I can't say I like it too much either given I detest wasps and similar insects!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Just get the man himself in. On high days and holy days his announcements could sing ‘We all ride on a yellow submarine’ as the train dives down into the tunnels.

I supported the Ringo suggestion before, but a far better voice for announcements (and probably a bit cheaper) would be the true Bard of Birkenhead, Nigel Blackwell...

Oh cripes, I'm turning into an announcement nerd!

 

[Sheridan]

I supported the Ringo suggestion before, but a far better voice for announcements (and probably a bit cheaper) would be the true Bard of Birkenhead, Nigel Blackwell...

Oh cripes, I'm turning into an announcement nerd!

And he’s no stranger to voice work, having done a 2001 advert for BP, bizarrely!

(Link to YouTube video of 2001 BP television advert.)

 

[Djgr]

Regarding train warmth, I'd like to chip in here. Recently I did a Eurostar from London to Amsterdam and back (not on the same day, thankfully), and it has to be said the temperature on board really wasn't good enough. I had to put a coat on after a couple of hours, just to bring my warmth back up to a normal level! So I'd absolutely agree with having it nice and warm on a 777 in winter!

As for the fleet's nickname, I felt my eyes rolling at the suggestion of them being 'Yellow Submarines'. Someone suggested Hornets, which would be a little more appropriate, although I can't say I like it too much either given I detest wasps and similar insects!

Do hornets go underwater though?

 

[Techniquest]

Do hornets go underwater though?

I guess if they were given tunnels to use for such a purpose they might!

The yellow and grey reminds me of *something* but what I cannot currently think. I'm hoping I remember it later!

 

[MattRat]

Do hornets go underwater though?

Are Yellow submarines black and yellow and look aggressive?

If you really want a name that fits all criteria, find something black and yellow, aggressive, and goes underwater.

 

[busestrains]

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/merseyrail-class-777.153458

Am I the only person who thinks a nice local accent would be better for onboard announcements? Are Julie Berry announcements mandated or something?

I like that they have used Julie Berry for the automated announcements. She has a very pleasant clear sounding voice. I do not think a local voice is really necessary to have. Julie Berry is a well known voice on the railways throughout the country and has a very good clear voice.

TPE have changed from their "clipped and rude" voice of the 2000s, haven't they?



I love those ones, they seem part of the brand, a nice friendly Victoria Wood type voice.

Yes the original FTPE voices used onboard have been replaced with new voices a few years ago.

The two original onboard voices on the 170/185/350 were Kath Donald for the main announcements and Angie Hunte for the safety announcements.

The two new voices on the 185/397/802/MK5 are Neil Rudd for the main announcements and Caroline Josephs for the safety announcements.

Rob Radnall used to do the FTPE station platform announcements but it is now just the standard Anne Jermy ones.

Personally i am not a fan of any of the past or present FTPE announcements. They all sound cheaply done in my opinion. They have just used staff members instead of professional voice over artists which is why. If they invested some money in professional voice over artists they would sound a lot better.

I agree that the Northern Rail ones are good though. I do quite like those. So local accents work well when you use professional voice over artists.

Starr would probably cost too much, but he isn't the only softly spoken Scouser to be found in south Liverpool (the north Liverpool accent is much more guttural and probably not suitable for this).

Most ordinary voiceover artists seem to charge around £250 per hour on average. So with Ringo Starr being famous i would guess he would charge maybe £1000 per hour. As the Merseyrail network is only very small they could easily do all the recordings in about an hour. So it might not be that expensive if they had wanted to use him.

 

[8A Rail]

Most ordinary voiceover artists seem to charge around £250 per hour on average. So with Ringo Starr being famous i would guess he would charge maybe £1000 per hour. As the Merseyrail network is only very small they could easily do all the recordings in about an hour. So it might not be that expensive if they had wanted to use him.

A lot of Scousers would not wish to hear the voice of Ringo Starr unfortunately. He is not actually too popular with in the city unlike the other three, John, Paul and George. He has in the past made not so nice remarks about the city from where he was born and as he lives in the States some would agree he can stay there too!

 

[Bletchleyite]

A lot of Scousers would not wish to hear the voice of Ringo Starr unfortunately. He is not actually too popular with in the city unlike the other three, John, Paul and George. He has in the past made not so nice remarks about the city from where he was born and as he lives in the States some would agree he can stay there too!

Doesn't have to be him, I just used him as an example of a soft, south Liverpool Scouse, I don't think the really guttural North Scouse would be good for that purpose.

 

[Vespa]

We should call it the Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar or simply The Cinnabar or The Caterpillar

 

[6Gman]

We should call it the Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar or simply The Cinnabar or The Caterpillar

Yes but a few weeks later they would turn black and red which would confuse people!

 

[Vespa]

Yes but a few weeks later they would turn black and red which would confuse people!

Better get the red paint ready !

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes but a few weeks later they would turn black and red which would confuse people!

"When I grow up I want to be a 12 car IC FLIRT with a buffet car and all!"