Quite common on Cross Country, which is nice. Unfortunately the guard yesterday spoke too quietly to make out anything they were saying (I've had the same guard before and this seems to be a regular thing for them).
Probably because the announcement system is broken, like most things on Crosscountry.
Why? Do you often get on trains at random with no idea where they're going?
You'd be surprised by how many passengers do. I've done it myself once or twice, despite being a very experienced rider and (at the time) traincrew.
Once, after being awake 25 hours I got on the Jubilee line at Westminster in the wrong direction. Although it was ‘Green Park’ through the window that caught my attention, I was too tired to listen to the announcements!
Lack of sleep can do wonderful things.
That's an additional reason that I consider train announcements at stations being overridden by inane housekeeping announcements as a breach of the Equality Act. Clapham Junction being a prime offender.
Agree, the important announcements should not be overidden. Of course, everyone's definition of important will differ.
You're not surely suggesting the audible levels are raised to 130dB and announcements tripled to include "approaching stop x" and "departing stop x" and purposefully annoying autistic people to the point of becoming a recluse for those whose only method of transport is bus??
(See how tiring and reductive this style of discourse is?)
I don't know the answer. I was just venting
It's really not necessary. There are few other environments would we think that a public space needs to announce loudly on a tannoy there is a coffee machine or ham sandwiches available for sale (you can find out the price when you arrive!) maybe 100 metres away. The real reason the railway does this is due to its ingrained culture, not because it is somehow being very helpful to visually impaired people - who often have other ways of finding out if there is a shop on board their train.
There has to be a balance struck. Some people with disabilities will find trains inaccessible precisely because they are hostile environments owing to the excessive amount of information endlessly being announced, much of which is not vital.
I agree, there definitely is a balance to be struck, there is no need to quote the full menu of what flavours of sandwiches are available. However, letting a blind (or anyone with mobility issues) person who has never travelled on this type of train know whether or not the buffet serves hot food does make the difference as to whether they struggle to go down the train.
What would make you assume this is not an experience I have had?
Some people simply wouldn't be on a train or at a station in the first place because those places are inaccessible to them.
A lot of people with auditory overload can do this but there are some who can't stand the idea of sitting in silence excluded from the outside world - and nor should people if they don't want to. (Noise cancelling headphones do not block out voices, that's not how they work - ear defenders are more common to use)
I'd cut the "next stop -" as well, TfL (and RATP) style. No need for anything more than that unless something out of the ordinary happens. At least buses are currently beyond the reach of BTP sorting. I have been on a Stagecoach bus recently with the irritating (and delaying) stay in your seat message, but later installations seem to have dropped that. But we do get a little fanfare and the reassuring news that "system OK" to wake us up at the last stop.
I always struggle with the 'delicious' bit.
I'm trying to imagine a pub run by railway management. Obviously there would be no music or juke box, but there would be a PA system. It would go something like this:
.LOL, brilliant post. It would do a roaring trade with the diabetic-deaf-blind-wheelchair-bound-2-limbed-socially-anxious-95 year-old first time drinkers. We could call the pub the Coddled-Vulnerable Haven
Extremely well said. Most announcements on trains and stations fulfil little or no need for those with a visual impairment, and are just drivel, generally masquerading as health and safety, but achieving nothing, especially as no one actually listens to them any more. No other business would ever do this. GBR need to take a proper axe to announcements, and come up with a simple, effective set of announcements.I'm trying to imagine a pub run by railway management. Obviously there would be no music or juke box, but there would be a PA system. It would go something like this:
"Would all customers please note that hot and cold food is now being served. Please order food at the bar" (possibly read out the menu at this point). "You may pay with cash or contactless cards."
"Would all customers please note that drinks available include beer, cider, wine, spirits, tea, coffee and soft drinks. Please order drinks at the bar. You may pay with cash or contactless cards."
"Customers buying drinks at the bar must use a tray to carry drinks back to their table, to avoid spillage. Any customer seen carrying a drink without using a tray may be removed from the premises."
"In the event of a spillage, the floor near the bar may be wet or slippery. Please be extra careful when walking to and from the bar."
"In wet weather, the floor near the doors may be wet or slippery. Please be extra careful when walking near or through the doors."
"Will all customers please keep their personal possessions with them at all times, and ensure that they take all items with them when they leave the premises."
"Any customers using rude or inappropriate language to staff will be removed from the premises and reported for prosecution."
"This is a security announcement from Bogshire Police. If you see any suspicious activity or unattended items in this pub, please report them to your local police on this number immediately."
Repeat all of the above on a loop every 5 or 10 minutes.
I don't think they'd have many customers
Indeed "too many signs" has been a contributing factor in accidents, lets focus on the important, railway specific information.
Is it? I haven't stated you have or haven't, merely stated if you have you are likely to have more of an understanding for the issues faced.
In which case the point is moot as they are not there.
Of course, but then if they are in the outside world they will be contending with more than just announcements on a train. If you travel on a train you will likely realise this is only a very small portion of the noise that is experienced. This why I stated ear defenders or high end ANC headphones. High end ANC headphones absolutely will block out or muffle, which for those who don't want to feel isolated is actually a benefit to, human voices.
I agree and have said many times that I think overload is just as useless as none at all. But I'm just pointing out what you may find not useful can be useful for others. I think a silent coach where the announcements don't play (or play very quietly) and it's enforced that people don't sit chatting on their phones or scrolling TikTok would be a fantastic idea for those with sensory issues, similar to the hours provided in a supermarket.
At a station, the Scotrail class 156s say something along the lines of: This is Crossmyloof. This is the Scotrail service to East Kilbride. The next stop is Pollokshaws West. The 318s and 320s are similar. I don't see why anything more is needed.
At the risk of repeating myself, without announcement ps how do you expect visually impaired passengers to know when they are arriving at their station?
I agree. Which service it is, and the next station as they approach it, are all that is nedded.
Like other disabled people, those with a visual impairment want to live as independently as possible. My wife, for example, although she needs assistance at unfamiliar stations, can get on and off the train independently at our local station because it is a simple platform layout and she knows the station. What she does, however, need, is to know when the train she is is approaching her station as opposed to having stopped due to signals wtc.
I'm not arguing for a silent railway, if you read on - you've clipped out the part where I explicitly agree with you! I am just pointing out that the railway does not need an announcement for every single thing as if unique rules apply to it as a public space when there are myriad ways of making services accessible for disabled people who often have competing and conflicting needs.
But it's you said in relation to visually impaired people 'they have to be put on and off the train by a member of staff'.
No, I was describing a person who was so severely visually impaired that they would be unable to navigate a train independently. Those people would need to be assisted on and off trains. Not "all visually impaired people" because of course visual impairment (and the ability to cope with the same) is a broad spectrum.
As I've already said, not everyone with sensory disabilities is able to employ those mitigations. Though I'd point out that of course visually impaired people can mitigate their own disability in some cases by using disability aids - a cane or a guide dog, screen reader software or even just magnifying lenses. The fact they employ mitigations doesn't in and of itself mean the disability is more or less worthy of reasonable adjustments.
Basic stuff, as outlined above, is fine. The problem is that there is now so much pointless noise that I dislike all of it. On a similar note, at Paddington, the assistance vehicles, service vehicles (for restocking trolleys etc.), and the moving gates that allow the above to access the platforms all make a constant beeping sound whenever they move. Between all of them, the beeping is now constant. How is that helpful to anyone, blind or not? In the case of the gates, someone who can see will see the gates moving. For a blind person, how will they know that it's a gate and not a vehicle? What action are they expected to take, given that they cannot know specifically where the gate is or in which direction it will move?
