Clearest Station Announcements

[Willie Bee]

I was at Newcastle station yesterday and was surprised at how clear the announcements seemed to be.

I've been to other stations where 'catching' a few words is all you can hear.

No doubt Newcastle isn't the best, but for me, I think it is.

What other stations have clear announcements .. and which ones don't.

Of course, busier stations will have more background noise too, which will affect the outcome.

 

[Warrior2852]

I was at Newcastle station yesterday and was surprised at how clear the announcements seemed to be.

I've been to other stations where 'catching' a few words is all you can hear.

No doubt Newcastle isn't the best, but for me, I think it is.

What other stations have clear announcements .. and which ones don't.

Of course, busier stations will have more background noise too, which will affect the outcome.

Not a specific station per se but there's a number of quieter stations (typically a couple of platforms with either no shelter or only a small one) where the announcements come through quiet speakers attached to the lampposts that you can only hear if you're standing right next to said lampposts. Anywhere else on the platform and you're out of luck.

 

[Deepgreen]

Not so long ago, LU's 'Mind The Gap' recorded annoucements were both very loud and very deliberate in their delivery. I think the best was at Embankment (Bakerloo) northbound.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Oct 2025 ==

Not a specific station per se but there's a number of quieter stations (typically a couple of platforms with either no shelter or only a small one) where the announcements come through quiet speakers attached to the lampposts that you can only hear if you're standing right next to said lampposts. Anywhere else on the platform and you're out of luck.

There are many stations where complaints from adjoining residents have resulted in quiet and selectively-muted speakers.

 

[172007]

My local main station now has portable handheld annoucing mikes. They are a game changer as the broadcasts are very clear and it also gives the user the ability to make concise clear announcements that answer the questions they are being asked on the platform by customers so others thinking the same can be in the loop. Shild have been introduced decades ago as per London Underground.

 

[co-tr-paul]

If anyone can remember the regular human announcer at Bristol Temple Meads during the 80s then you know this automated stuff is rubbish.
Not just on stations but on train too.
Pens - zansssss , Two - roo-row.... .
And waiting for an hour at Cardiff Central just makes you deaf with the consistency.

 

[GordonT]

At one time the announcements at York station were semi-chanted rather like a cathedral choristor. I think they were fairly clear but also slightly bizarre to those passengers unused to the style of delivery.

 

[Tester]

At one time the announcements at York station were semi-chanted rather like a cathedral choristor. I think they were fairly clear but also slightly bizarre to those passengers unused to the style of delivery.

At Matsumoto station in Japan, announcements for arriving trains consistently start with, "Matsumotooooooooooooooo".

A bit quaint, and a bit bizarre, but it's a tradition!

 

[styles]

Not a specific station per se but there's a number of quieter stations (typically a couple of platforms with either no shelter or only a small one) where the announcements come through quiet speakers attached to the lampposts that you can only hear if you're standing right next to said lampposts. Anywhere else on the platform and you're out of luck.

Our local stations all have this at night time and early morning.

Not sure of the exact hours but I know they're on 'quiet mode' before 7am at least.

The stations do however have induction loops for those with hearing aids to maintain accessibility.

 

[stadler]

At Matsumoto station in Japan, announcements for arriving trains consistently start with, "Matsumotooooooooooooooo".

A bit quaint, and a bit bizarre, but it's a tradition!

Reminds me of the old "x this is x" format that used to be used across the UK railway network. It lasted until 2018 at all Southern stations. So the announcements would say for example "Gatwick Airport this is Gatwick Airport. The train now standing at platform one is the..." once the train had arrived. I miss hearing that format.

Our local stations all have this at night time and early morning.

Not sure of the exact hours but I know they're on 'quiet mode' before 7am at least.

The stations do however have induction loops for those with hearing aids to maintain accessibility.

Seems like a good solution to avoid complaints from local residents but still have announcements. At least they still have announcements. Southern completely switch off their automated announcements between 23:00 and 07:00 at 100% of their stations. Southern really ought to introduce this night time volume reduction instead of switching them off.

 

[Jimini]

Reminds me of the old "x this is x" format that used to be used across the UK railway network. It lasted until 2018 at all Southern stations. So the announcements would say for example "Gatwick Airport this is Gatwick Airport. The train now standing at platform one is the..." once the train had arrived. I miss hearing that format.

Agreed; I miss that too! Especially at Clapham Junction in the ‘90s where it felt that each platform auto-announcer was trying to shout it louder than the next. Specifically for me P14 having a competition with P15

 

[Western 52]

My local main station now has portable handheld annoucing mikes. They are a game changer as the broadcasts are very clear and it also gives the user the ability to make concise clear announcements that answer the questions they are being asked on the platform by customers so others thinking the same can be in the loop. Shild have been introduced decades ago as per London Underground.

They do this at Swansea, and depending on who is on duty, it really helps with connections when there is late running. It's not always done though.

 

[lookapigeon]

My local main station now has portable handheld annoucing mikes. They are a game changer as the broadcasts are very clear and it also gives the user the ability to make concise clear announcements that answer the questions they are being asked on the platform by customers so others thinking the same can be in the loop. Shild have been introduced decades ago as per London Underground.

I have to say this can be a bit of a double-edged sword, sure, it brings the ability to make annoucements to the platform staff, however, some I have heard have very bad mike technique as some either shout too loudly into it and it distorts/cuts out and you can't make it out clearly. Perhaps a crash course in how to use the new gear optimally would help, along with the instruction there is no need to tap and breathe down the microphone to check it is working!

(Back on topic the clearest annoucements are to be heard in the loos, on board trains or in the stations as the spaces are relatively quiet and have a dedicated speaker).

 

[edwin_m]

If there is a DMU moving or even idling nearby, particularly a 22x, announcements are likely to be inaudible however good the system is.

 

[Horizon22]

Often when it comes to public, manual announcements, the quality comes down to the user and applicable training

Too many people rush, speak too close/to far from the microphone, move the microphone around their face whilst speaking which all leads to distortion. This is even true with better portable handhelds. Often people are just given one and told to get on with it, when 5 minutes training would significantly improve output.

 

[johnnychips]

(Back on topic the clearest annoucements are to be heard in the loos, on board trains or in the stations as the spaces are relatively quiet and have a dedicated speaker).

The best announcements at Leeds are definitely in the Gents next to M and S. Clear voice in an enclosed space, and nobody is talking to each other!

 

[AutoUnder]

A lot can contribute to the intelligibility of announcements. As mentioned above, it can and is often due to how the PA system is used but it can also be because of the type of speakers used and where they are placed.

I think one of the worst stations I know for announcement intelligibility is York. It is predominately horn speakers which have a limited frequency range and causes announcements to sound muffled. They've also mounted most of them at a 45 degree angle which makes it worse as those design of speakers spread the audio out horizontally. Most other larger stations like that use column speakers which have a larger frequency range and have quite a narrow spread of audio both vertically and horizontally, making them a lot more audible from further away. I have seen some column speakers that are badly installed though, such as the ones in the platform 13/14 lounge at Manchester Piccadilly which in all fairness are now better since they were moved to the side wall; they were previously on the old toilet block at the back which did not cover the lounge very well at all. The overhead suspended speakers they previously had were a lot better.

The projection speakers you get at smaller stations are good as well but I have seen quite a few of them become misaligned over the years and you have to use quite a lot of them on larger platforms as the audio doesn't carry as far as columns. I've also come across these weird sound arrays at Preston on platforms 3 and 4 which do carry audio very well but too well! On platforms 3 and 4 themselves, they can be difficult to hear and are actually more audible on platforms 2 and 5.

Another point worth mentioning is that some stations have ambient noise sensors which will automatically adjust the PA volume depending on the level of background noise, although not all stations have this.

 

[azOOOOOma]

For me Edinburgh is the best. Whether you’re indoors or exposed to the elements, I always find them to be clear.

As with all locations, they fall down when a person is making a manual announcement. Garbled, echoey and lots of confused looks. I do find the pigeon announcement to be mildly amusing, though.

 

[stadler]

Brighton is probably the worst for not having clear announcements. You can barely understand the automated announcements. The speakers are so old and high up and everything echoes. The sound projection is awful. It makes it so hard to understand a word that the announcements are saying. It is a really poor set up.

 

[kkong]

I do find the pigeon announcement to be mildly amusing, though.

"In the interests of environmental safety, passengers are requested NOT to feed the pigeons"?

I do like the slightly weary tone in which the man makes the announcement.

 

[dorsetdesiro]

SWR announcements, until about 2019-ish, used to mention the platform number twice at the beginning and at the end. This helped if the station is rather noisy or if you had missed hearing the platform number at the start then it'd be repeated again when the annoucement ends.

It is a real shame the new style announcements sound unnatural & disjointed as I heard, not long ago, at a Nottinghamshire station "East Midlands....(long pause)....Railway".

 

[E B]

The best announcements at Leeds are definitely in the Gents next to M and S. Clear voice in an enclosed space, and nobody is talking to each other!

Yes, I was thinking those were quite clear.

In contrast, the last time I went to Smethwick Galton Bridge the announcement quality was awful, you could barely make out what the announcer was saying

 

[londonmidland]

It is a real shame the new style announcements sound unnatural & disjointed as I heard, not long ago, at a Nottinghamshire station "East Midlands....(long pause)....Railway".

That’s the cheapo and very old style text-to-speech system for you. It sounds very robotic and has awful pronunciation of some stations.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Oct 2025 ==

In contrast, the last time I went to Smethwick Galton Bridge the announcement quality was awful, you could barely make out what the announcer was saying

WMT text-to-speech announcements using the ‘Amazon Amy’ voice is very poor at distributing audio.

It’s because it’s an AI voice, so every word and sentence sounds very flat and sounds like she’s speaking constantly under her breath.

 

[E B]

WMT text-to-speech announcements using the ‘Amazon Amy’ voice is very poor at distributing audio.

It’s because it’s an AI voice, so every word and sentence sounds very flat and sounds like she’s speaking constantly under her breath.

It sounds awful. It is installed at my local aswell. I was not happy when they changed it to this robotic voice

 

[satisnek]

In contrast, the last time I went to Smethwick Galton Bridge the announcement quality was awful, you could barely make out what the announcer was saying

WMT text-to-speech announcements using the ‘Amazon Amy’ voice is very poor at distributing audio.

It’s because it’s an AI voice, so every word and sentence sounds very flat and sounds like she’s speaking constantly under her breath.

I can't say I've had any issues with clarity, at Galton Bridge or anywhere else, maybe it's just because I've got used to it. But the problem persists regarding the folks who are responsible for typing in the announcements - the "Stourbridge Jay" thing refuses to go away!

 

[londonmidland]

It sounds awful. It is installed at my local aswell. I was not happy when they changed it to this robotic voice

Previously, WMT/LNR stations had Worldline Anne but now have TTS Amy

 

[The exile]

Not a specific station per se but there's a number of quieter stations (typically a couple of platforms with either no shelter or only a small one) where the announcements come through quiet speakers attached to the lampposts that you can only hear if you're standing right next to said lampposts. Anywhere else on the platform and you're out of luck.

That’s often because there have been complaints from local residents who understandably don’t appreciate having the stopping pattern of the 04.20 blaring through their windows every morning.

 

[Requeststop]

Ah! But try standing at a station trying to listen to an announcement when on the opposite platform there is a heavy diesel engine throbbing away or revving up before departure and all you hear of the announcement is 'Thank You' at the end of all the announcement, especially when it's a sudden platform change, or train delay.

 

[Casper Pesky]

A couple of decades ago, Cannon St Tube station was the place to go - The Caribbean accented announcer listed the next trains to all destinations in a lilting, reggae rhythm, and completed each announcement with "Cannon Street - The Information Station" (say it in your best Jamaican accent)

 

[vic-rijrode]

... "Cannon Street - The Information Station" (say it in your best Jamaican accent)

Sounds a bit like a broad Geordie accent...

 

[jamieh27]

T

I was at Newcastle station yesterday and was surprised at how clear the announcements seemed to be.

I've been to other stations where 'catching' a few words is all you can hear.

No doubt Newcastle isn't the best, but for me, I think it is.

What other stations have clear announcements .. and which ones don't.

Of course, busier stations will have more background noise too, which will affect the outcome.

The stations that have clearest announcements I think are:

Truro
Bristol Temple Meads
Exeter St. David's
Exeter Central
Carlisle
Preston (under the large canopy)
Thanet Parkway