Are SWR's on board announcements excessive?

[Kite159]

I think I'd rather hear from the guard than the automation, but not both. The alleged announcement simplification hasn't stopped them introducing even more irritating 61016 noise pollution - "that's 6 101 6" - with the introduction "THIS IS THE BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE". Er, no, it's not. And it seems to be every 15 minutes. I'm surprised guards get a moment to talk with all the other noise going on

That revised announcement gets on my nerves, either it should be 'this is message from the British Transport Police' or it gets announced with a different voice (which will probably make it stand out more, rather than the same voice as the previous automatic announcement)

 

[DavidKK]

On my journey to Waterloo this morning there was the usual “61016” message on leaving Woking, another one on leaving Clapham Junction (even though the train only stops for passengers to alight from the train) and a third message before arriving at Waterloo about 5 minutes later.

 

[Recessio]

Fair play to SWR, overnight there has been a day and night improvement. Was on a fairly delayed Guildford via Cobham to Waterloo just now, the manual announcements were all useful information about the delays, causes and alternative routes, and not just parroting the automated announcements. Good work by the guard.

 

[Phil R]

That revised announcement gets on my nerves, either it should be 'this is message from the British Transport Police' or it gets announced with a different voice (which will probably make it stand out more, rather than the same voice as the previous automatic announcement)

Agreed, it annoys me too. Unnecessary leaving every station. Actually, just unnecessary. Has been in two or three weeks I think. I doubt BTP have yielded many extra useful texts from it.

 

[Bikeman78]

I think I'd rather hear from the guard than the automation, but not both. The alleged announcement simplification hasn't stopped them introducing even more irritating 61016 noise pollution - "that's 6 101 6" - with the introduction "THIS IS THE BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE". Er, no, it's not. And it seems to be every 15 minutes. I'm surprised guards get a moment to talk with all the other noise going on

There's two versions at Paddington. They both play one after the other, every five minutes at xx00, xx05, xx10, and so on.

 

[Dr_Paul]

But sometimes it feels on the ten minutes stretch from Guildford to Worplesdon to Woking, there's barely two minutes of silence total between all of the manual and automated announcements.

Try travelling on an all-stations service up to Waterloo, or go around the Teddington loop. It seems like announcements all the way along. Add to these the dreaded 'sorted' BTP mantra after every stop, and it really drives one barmy.

 

[Mainsideman]

And yes, "I'm in coach 10!!", I'm referring to you !!

What is wrong with this? If you are onboard and need abit of help would it not be good to know where the staff member is?

 

[talldave]

What is wrong with this? If you are onboard and need abit of help would it not be good to know where the staff member is?

Because that announcement came about 1m after a "I'm in coach 5" announcement and that's all they said. 30s later they'd be 2 or 3 coaches down. It's like a game of guard whack-a-mole.

 

[BuhSnarf]

YES! The recorded announcements are bad enough, but at least they are correct and measured. I hear so many guards making stumbling, awkward annoucements that try to copy the recorded ones, and even cut off the recorded ones mid-way to blast out their versions! It's very annoying, and actually steadily reduces the attention that people pay to announcements in general. Totally counter-productive. Information should be concise and relevant.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Aug 2025 ==


Long gone. The trouble is that TOCs (and public bodies in general) now feel that by making announcements about every conceivable issue, they protect themselves from complaints/legal action from those who don't have the commonsense to get through life. The 'wet floor' cones scenario encapsulates this problem - those who are too stupid to see that the floor is wet promote the placement of cones that actually add an unnecessary hazard!

You say "those too stupid to see that the floor is wet", however as a blind person the cone actually gives them warning that the floor is wet as they can't actually see that the floor is wet.

Announcements/health & safety can often feel over the top or unnecessary to a person who has perfect sight and hearing. For those who struggle with either they can be the difference between being able to travel independently or having to always have a companion with them.

I do think that the SWR announcements are over the top, however.

 

[Recessio]

As well as the announcements being much improved recently (i.e. far less of them), the announcements are now a lot clearer on 701s; previously they used to either cut out or it sounded like the guard had the handset so close it was physically inside their mouth. Not sure if that's an update to the 701s or better training on the handsets, but either way it's much better. Good work by SWR.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

As well as the announcements being much improved recently (i.e. far less of them)

Sadly no improvement on the Desiros yet. And a new, terrible "sorted" announcement

 

[Kite159]

Sadly no improvement on the Desiros yet. And a new, terrible "sorted" announcement

"This is British Transport Police" in the same voice as all the other auto announcements.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Does anybody actually complain directly to the TOCs about these "excessive" announcements, or do they just complain on forums such as this?

 

[TEW]

Does anybody actually complain directly to the TOCs about these "excessive" announcements, or do they just complain on forums such as this?

Yes. The number of complaints helped drive the move to cut them down.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Yes. The number of complaints helped drive the move to cut them down.

Good, just goes to show that it is worthwhile to put complaints in, glad the TOC listened. I had wondered if it was perhaps going to be a situation like where people moan about potholes, fly tipping, broken street lights etc, but when pushed will confess to not actually reporting it through official channels

 

[michael8]

"This is British Transport Police" in the same voice as all the other auto announcements.

It's like she's been possessed by a middle-age bloke who works for the BTP and is forcing her to do his bidding.

 

[w11_supremecy]

As well as the announcements being much improved recently (i.e. far less of them), the announcements are now a lot clearer on 701s; previously they used to either cut out or it sounded like the guard had the handset so close it was physically inside their mouth. Not sure if that's an update to the 701s or better training on the handsets, but either way it's much better. Good work by SWR.

The handsets in the saloon areas of the 701s are very hit and miss. Some are very clear and are ‘normal’ to use, there are others that are useless, there are some that make this screeching sound. Essentially the handsets were fitted very late on and they used very cheap plastic materials to make them. Which means you get a ton of variability in how good they are to use. There is a particular way one must hold the saloon handset - the company advice is to hold it around 30mm away from the mouth and the ear. But what this really shows is that most of the saloon handsets aren’t much good. What use is that advice when the train is moving at speed… as time goes on and more guards are trained on 701s and how to use the handsets, as well as fleet slowly dealing with the troublesome sets, it is slowly but surely getting better. The handsets in the cabs are brilliant though and work extremely well.

 

[swaldman]

Some years ago I remember paying attention on a 455 out of Waterloo and noting that the continuous stream of automated announcements never stopped until after the train had left Vauxhall....

 

[Bikeman78]

Unfortunately, modern life just seems to be noise and alarms. At Paddington on Sunday evening, the PA didn't shut up. See it, say it ,sorted every five minutes, take care on slippery platforms (they weren't slippery) and just about time in between to squeeze in departure information. There were also lots of assistance buggies moving around with their relentless beeping, and the access gates that by pass the ticket gates opened and closed several time with yet more beeping sounds. We claim to be making the railway inclusive/accessible but anyone with an aversion to noise would not cope. There is zero chance that I could take my mother to that environment.

Off the railway, Sainsburys seems to have jumped on the pointless announcement bandwagon. I don't giving a flying foxtrot about insurance, or price matching with Lidl. I'm already in the store, and I drove past Lidl to get there. Ironically, I'm tempted to try Lidl and see if they do pointless announcements.

Leaving my Premier Inn the other day, the RSA headquarters had the burgler alarm going off at 9 am. I could hear it a mile away and it was still going off four hours later.

 

[DelW]

Unfortunately, modern life just seems to be noise and alarms. At Paddington on Sunday evening, the PA didn't shut up. See it, say it ,sorted every five minutes, take care on slippery platforms (they weren't slippery) and just about time in between to squeeze in departure information. There were also lots of assistance buggies moving around with their relentless beeping, and the access gates that by pass the ticket gates opened and closed several time with yet more beeping sounds. We claim to be making the railway inclusive/accessible but anyone with an aversion to noise would not cope. There is zero chance that I could take my mother to that environment.

Walking through a shopping area yesterday, there was a loud beeping despite no vehicles being visible. It turned out to be - the reversing alarm on a mobility scooter.

Back on-topic, on Monday I caught the end of an SWR announcement on a 444 which I think was about having a ticket (I'd blanked most of it out as I try to do). It ended with a passive-aggressive threat "thank you for your understanding", which reminds me uncomfortably of Trump ending his hate-filled rants with "thank you for your attention to this matter". Why does SWR think it's a good idea to promote this constant atmosphere of hostility and threat on board its trains?

 

[Recessio]

Walking through a shopping area yesterday, there was a loud beeping despite no vehicles being visible. It turned out to be - the reversing alarm on a mobility scooter.

Back on-topic, on Monday I caught the end of an SWR announcement on a 444 which I think was about having a ticket (I'd blanked most of it out as I try to do). It ended with a passive-aggressive threat "thank you for your understanding", which reminds me uncomfortably of Trump ending his hate-filled rants with "thank you for your attention to this matter". Why does SWR think it's a good idea to promote this constant atmosphere of hostility and threat on board its trains?

I don't see anything wrong with that? "thank you for your understanding" is a bit nicer than "or else!"

 

[Phil R]

Back on-topic, on Monday I caught the end of an SWR announcement on a 444 which I think was about having a ticket (I'd blanked most of it out as I try to do). It ended with a passive-aggressive threat "thank you for your understanding", which reminds me uncomfortably of Trump ending his hate-filled rants with "thank you for your attention to this matter". Why does SWR think it's a good idea to promote this constant atmosphere of hostility and threat on board its trains?

Funnily enough I took respite from my daily ignoring of the relentless drivel to think just that this morning, having thought the ticketing ticking off had been subsumed under the BTP boringness (it hasn't, as you highlight). So many people (myself included) try very hard to do their bit to make the railway an attractive place for their customers yet so many operators seem happy to variously alarm and threaten the innocent and law-abiding like this. What other industry does this - no persistent 'report shoplifters' or don't shoplift' messages in Tesco, no 'don't drive off without paying' dribble in a petrol station. Yet railway management or its overlords seem happy to extend the impotent messaging in so many cases..

 

[Recessio]

What other industry does this - no persistent 'report shoplifters' or don't shoplift' messages in Tesco, no 'don't drive off without paying' dribble in a petrol station.

I've definitely heard persistent, very loud announcements about shoplifting in shops before. Any of the Boots pharmacies along Tottenham Court Road spring to mind. ShoeZone was always plastered with signage and posters about it too.

But I agree with you, it makes a horrid environment both for shopping in and for train travel. I'd be interested to know if these announcements actually do make a difference to ticket evasion (or shoplifting) at all

 

[DelW]

My train travel is mostly on SWR and GWR, and on both it seems to me that almost all the add-on messaging (i.e. other than the necessary stuff like route and stops) is relentlessly negative. It's all focussed on don't do this, or this is how we'll punish you if you do that, or you should report someone if they do the other. The impression it gives is that their trains are a hotbed of risks, fare evasion and crime, and while this might be the case in some locations at certain times, it isn't most passengers' daily experience. When I see ticket checks being carried out, it's very unusual to see anyone picked up for no ticket or wrong ticket. Maybe I'm just lucky in using law-abiding routes - even loud music or loud phone calls are very rare, I'm happy to say!

 

[nw1]

If I remember right, SWT didn't have so many automated announcements on the Desiros in their day, it was simply "This is the 13.30 to Poole. The next stop is Totton." and then "This is Totton." together with announcements about short platforms at stations with them.

I last used SWR back in October, I've noticed for the past few years there have been a lot of announcements though perhaps not quite to the same extent as some of those described on here. I do find the ones about travelling without a ticket, penalty fares etc rather grating and to be honest not setting the right tone for passengers. It's almost assuming that many will fare-dodge by default given half a chance.

 

[Craig1122]

But I agree with you, it makes a horrid environment both for shopping in and for train travel. I'd be interested to know if these announcements actually do make a difference to ticket evasion (or shoplifting) at all

I was at my local station and there were 2 kids with an electric scooter, one of them saw the scrolling notice about them being banned and commented on it to his friend, to which his friend said "Well it says we should get a ticket but we never bother about that".

I suspect the impact of these announcements on people who don't buy a ticket is negligible but it allows someone to tick a box to say they're doing something about it. In my corner of SWR I suspect ticket checks being carried out more than a couple of times a year might be a more effective measure.

 

[talldave]

On a short hop from Clapham Junction to Waterloo this morning there were just two announcements about abuse and tickets, ending with lovely threats of prosecution!

 

[43096]

Unfortunately, modern life just seems to be noise and alarms. At Paddington on Sunday evening, the PA didn't shut up. See it, say it ,sorted every five minutes, take care on slippery platforms (they weren't slippery) and just about time in between to squeeze in departure information. There were also lots of assistance buggies moving around with their relentless beeping, and the access gates that by pass the ticket gates opened and closed several time with yet more beeping sounds. We claim to be making the railway inclusive/accessible but anyone with an aversion to noise would not cope. There is zero chance that I could take my mother to that environment.

Off the railway, Sainsburys seems to have jumped on the pointless announcement bandwagon. I don't giving a flying foxtrot about insurance, or price matching with Lidl. I'm already in the store, and I drove past Lidl to get there. Ironically, I'm tempted to try Lidl and see if they do pointless announcements.

Leaving my Premier Inn the other day, the RSA headquarters had the burgler alarm going off at 9 am. I could hear it a mile away and it was still going off four hours later.

In contrast, some airports have no announcements except for some rare scenarios (gate changes etc). No see it, say it, sort it, no inane drivel whatsoever.

 

[flythetube]

Is it not also annoying and unprofessional for onboard staff to blow a couple of times into the handset to see if it’s working before making their announcement?

 

[DelW]

Is it not also annoying and unprofessional for onboard staff to blow a couple of times into the handset to see if it’s working before making their announcement?

Yes - especially if the volume is already set high, so you get a blast of white noise then feedback howl through the PA!