Automated Announcements

[HST Power]

is it the same voice as the electrostars, if so its julie berry. Assume the new pis is being fitted during refresh?

I am pretty sure it is!

 

[gogogoadam]

If this forum had a like button, i'd be pressing it right now

Could not agree more, will be gutted to see Ruth removed aswell!

Well we always have Ruth on the FGW/(ATW?) Sprinters and Pacers as a permanent reminder.

I heard her last night. (2156 BRI-BMT) 'Welcome Aboard, Please listen to the following announcement for your safety.' ... etc !

PS Trip up north planned next weekend,going to Northwich, Chester, Manchester Vic, Brighouse. Looking forward to what I may be hearing!

 

[Blindtraveler]

man pic is ann, but large chunks of northern are phil/celia. Ruthe is at chester a think

 

[WestCoast]

man pic is ann, but large chunks of northern are phil/celia. Ruthe is at chester a think

PS Trip up north planned next weekend,going to Northwich, Chester, Manchester Vic, Brighouse. Looking forward to what I may be hearing!

You tend to find Phil/Celia only really present on the Eastern side (ex-ATN area) as these stations have had systems part-funded by PTEs. On the Western side Northern's smaller stations will often tend to have no announcements (or a system installed that doesn't function) with larger stations tending to have manual (although there are exceptions such as Blackpool North which has the "only" woman)

Manchester Victoria is completely manual, Chester is operated by ATW and so has Ruth, Northwich I think is silent and Brighouse is possibly Phil (although I could be wrong on the last two)

 

[Jordy]

Brighouse is Funkwerk Phil

 

[HST Power]

Funkwerk Phil

Interesting choice of name...

 

[thefab444]

It's a German company, it literally means (something like) "Radio Sound Creation" in English.

 

[HST Power]

I look forward to hearing him!

 

[Jordy]

Its really quite a poor system, but of all the W Yorks stations Brighouse is probably best due to relatively modern speakers.

 

[HST Power]

Its really quite a poor system, but of all the W Yorks stations Brighouse is probably best due to relatively modern speakers.

Seeing as we're talking about all these voice systems, we should create a RailUK competition. The aim, create your own!

 

[WestCoast]

It's a German company, it literally means (something like) "Radio Sound Creation" in English.

Close, but the direct translation of "Funkwerk" is simply Radio Factory!

Their UK operations are based in York. The company, I believe produces the automated announcement system heard onboard Deutsche Bahn trains and the automated system used at (some) stations. (Example of a bi-lingual announcement)

 

[Guttorm]

The company, I believe produces the automated announcement system heard onboard Deutsche Bahn trains and the automated system used at (some) stations.

They produce the announcement systems for many stations, that's right. But the on-train-systems are mostly produced by a company called GSP which is based in Berlin (I think the German 481/482 stock does have a Funkwerk system).

 

[Blindtraveler]

ok then mr HST man, off you go! I'm game, you start us off, show how it should be done, we'll follow and maybe someone who has only a passing interest in these things should judge the winners.

Seeing as we're talking about all these voice systems, we should create a RailUK competition. The aim, create your own!

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
does anyone have any funkwerk phill clips? Be good to hear some more.

 

[HST Power]

ok then mr HST man, off you go! I'm game, you start us off, show how it should be done, we'll follow and maybe someone who has only a passing interest in these things should judge the winners.

Lol I was seriously joking there, I couldn't make a system for toffee!

 

[Blindtraveler]

shame!!

Lol I was seriously joking there, I couldn't make a system for toffee!

 

[HST Power]

Maybe next year.... Or the year after....Or the year after that...

 

[Solent&Wessex]

I look forward to hearing him!

Well here he is announcing at Hebden Bridge. Also attached is a manual announcement from Manchester Victoria which was requested somewhere along the thread.

 

[gogogoadam]

If this forum had a like button, i'd be pressing it right now

Could not agree more, will be gutted to see Ruth removed aswell!

Just to confirm Ruth is still going strong at Teignmouth, even with new CIS installed and working!

can't really see what was wrong with the old one, personally ....

Adam

 

[louis97]

Just to confirm Ruth is still going strong at Teignmouth, even with new CIS installed and working!

can't really see what was wrong with the old one, personally ....

Adam

Went through there today! Shes still going strong!

 

[alexdodds]

I have the North West DVD of the rails around series and it shows you Blackpool North station. While a class 158 is leaving P2 you also hear an announcement. At the time it even had speakers right out on the platform

I think it's around 1995 or 1996. I wonder what PA system it was using at the time and when it changed.

 

[causton]

At Hatfield station today:

"Platform 1 for the 12:02 First Capital Connect service to Finsbury Park, calling at..."
Gentleman on platform: "Don't worry, it goes to Kings Cross, this new announcer is rubbish"

Of course, due to engineering works, the CIS was correct. But it shows that FCC messed up when installing the new system so much that people don't trust it now! :P

 

[jon0844]

I was told on the last FCC forum that they'd be sending someone out to Hatfield and fixing any problems that I'd reported, like announcing platform 2/3 arrivals/non-stopping trains on platform 1, and there being no volume on platform 2/3, but it seems that nothing has been done. We do have some new recycling bins though!

I also asked how they consider it safe to have the help point invisible to the CCTV camera, after they allowed a coffee kiosk to be installed, and they've not re-sited the camera either. How stupid is it for there to be such an easy area to hide at night, given the station is unstaffed after 8pm, in the very place where the emergency help point is.

 

[causton]

I was told on the last FCC forum that they'd be sending someone out to Hatfield and fixing any problems that I'd reported, like announcing platform 2/3 arrivals/non-stopping trains on platform 1, and there being no volume on platform 2/3, but it seems that nothing has been done. We do have some new recycling bins though!

I also asked how they consider it safe to have the help point invisible to the CCTV camera, after they allowed a coffee kiosk to be installed, and they've not re-sited the camera either. How stupid is it for there to be such an easy area to hide at night, given the station is unstaffed after 8pm, in the very place where the emergency help point is.

Yes, nothing seems to have changed. Not even the gap in the "Please stand well clear of the edge of..................Platform 2"

Waited for a train at Alexandra Palace earlier. Similar situation as Hatfield, where the fast line from London doesn't have a platform, except it has 4 platforms.
All trains being announced on platforms 3/4 (that I was on) and all trains running down the fast line without a platform were being announced as platform 3 (same direction as platform 3 but equidistant to platform 4). A train moved around in Bounds Green depot and that seemed to trigger a "Please stand well clear of" - then cut off.

Oh, also...
Don't know who set this up, but EVERY train calling at Finsbury Park was set to display on the massive departure boards at Kings Cross as "change at Finsbury Park for stations to Welwyn Garden City." Except the one I was on did call at Welwyn Garden City and still had the notice on it!

 

[Aictos]

Network Rail is responsible for the CIS at Kings Cross not FCC.

 

[jon0844]

Don't know who set this up, but EVERY train calling at Finsbury Park was set to display on the massive departure boards at Kings Cross as "change at Finsbury Park for stations to Welwyn Garden City." Except the one I was on did call at Welwyn Garden City and still had the notice on it!

Yes I saw that at King's Cross and it was rather confusing wasn't it!

The Atos system really is crap isn't it! For all the great promises of what amazing things it can do, it fails so well at even the most simple. Maybe it's down to the people who run it not knowing how to use it (bad training from Atos, poor documentation?) or something else - but Joe Public doesn't care as they simply see the wrong information.

At night when there's nobody else around, you really need it to be totally correct.

Showing trains out of order is bizarre, and I don't even know how it can do that. In the case of FPK again, as soon as the earlier train has left and passed the first track circuit, it must update the system and it pops back up to the top (above the later train that was previously shown as arriving first).

The only plus is that it now means you can tell the train left on time though! But that doesn't help the many passengers arriving who fear they missed the train or assume it is delayed.

 

[Aictos]

Yes I saw that at King's Cross and it was rather confusing wasn't it!

The Atos system really is crap isn't it! For all the great promises of what amazing things it can do, it fails so well at even the most simple. Maybe it's down to the people who run it not knowing how to use it (bad training from Atos, poor documentation?) or something else - but Joe Public doesn't care as they simply see the wrong information.

At night when there's nobody else around, you really need it to be totally correct.

Showing trains out of order is bizarre, and I don't even know how it can do that. In the case of FPK again, as soon as the earlier train has left and passed the first track circuit, it must update the system and it pops back up to the top (above the later train that was previously shown as arriving first).

The only plus is that it now means you can tell the train left on time though! But that doesn't help the many passengers arriving who fear they missed the train or assume it is delayed.

There's one thing I've noticed which is at Stevenage at Platform 4, it will show the next train as the xx:29 to Kings Cross via Hertford but show the inbound service which forms the xx:29 as being the next train to arrive once the xx:29 has departed!!!

How a train can depart when it hasn't even arrived at it's terminus is wierd.

I can't understand how other TOCs seem to have very little problems or unadvertised problems with ATOS Origin but FCC does,

 

[jon0844]

The system has probably not been set up correctly. I'm sure that having individual announcements per-platform (which now DOES work at Finsbury Park) can be done at all stations, but FCC don't seem to be in any rush to do it - or they don't know how but then, surely, they can get advice from Atos? There must be some sort of support with the system, no?

 

[thefab444]

The main problem with the lack of zoning seems to mean that they can only provide one announcement per train because on the Thameslink core it would cause too many problems to have more than one announcement! One announcement per train is grossly insufficient.

What is strange though is the SWT system runs on Atos LICC, using Ditra as an add-on package for announcements, and it works fine with none of the problems described here!

 

[jon0844]

I am sure they could have simultaneous announcements at St Pancras low level if they had more speakers aimed downwards and at a lower volume - as well as in the area by the bottom of the escalators.

It would probably be quite a job to do properly, and need sufficient testing and tweaking, but it's rather silly to have just one announcement - especially when two trains arrive at once.

 

[Aictos]

What is strange though is the SWT system runs on Atos LICC, using Ditra as an add-on package for announcements, and it works fine with none of the problems described here!

That's what I cannot understand, on these forums the main comments aimed at the ATOS system are about the FCC routes. I'm having trouble finding similar comments about the London Midland routes using the same ATOS system as a comparison.