Clearest Station Announcements

[londonmidland]

Bristol Temple Meads

Definitely not Bristol Temple Meads since they started on the roof works a few years ago.

They’ve switched off the main speakers due to the scaffolding works and have installed temporary speakers within the hoardings which are far too quiet.

You literally cannot hear a thing.

 

[jamieh27]

Definitely not Bristol Temple Meads since they started on the roof works a few years ago.

They’ve switched off the main speakers due to the scaffolding works and have installed temporary speakers within the hoardings which are far too quiet.

You literally cannot hear a thing.

The other platforms are fine though aren't they, Platforms 9-12, 13 and 15?

 

[Timmyd]

The handheld mikes are awful in the wrong hands. Heathrow T2/3 (the Express/Elizabeth Line station) is awful, really shouty, passive aggressive (actually nothing passive about them), overly repetitive. So much shouting ‘don’t do this, don’t do that’. They must make a terrible impression on first time visitors.

 

[londonmidland]

The other platforms are fine though aren't they, Platforms 9-12, 13 and 15?

Not since the main speakers had been switched off. Since being connected to the temporary speakers, the whole station is now quiet.

 

[Parallel]

The quality of voice, the volume of the PA, speaker coverage and installation, the announcement delivered in the appropriate tone and at appropriate speed are all contributing factors.

I think the announcements are really clear at Newcastle, largely down to speaker placement and volume.

York, as has already been mentioned is one of the worst. Why projector speakers have been mounted at a 45 degree angle, I have no idea as it creates a huge amount of echo under the main roof.

 

[jamieh27]

The quality of voice, the volume of the PA, speaker coverage and installation, the announcement delivered in the appropriate tone and at appropriate speed are all contributing factors.

I think the announcements are really clear at Newcastle, largely down to speaker placement and volume.

York, as has already been mentioned is one of the worst. Why projector speakers have been mounted at a 45 degree angle, I have no idea as it creates a huge amount of echo under the main roof.

Another worse one is Brighton with speakers dating back to BR era.

 

[Peter0124]

Carlisle platform 3 bizarrely is poorer in quality than platform 4 opposite, when both are under the same roof.

 

[Purple Train]

Slough is both pretty nice and clear and utterly hopeless. Platforms 1 and 5 have perfectly normal announcements. (Platforms 2 and 3 are rarely used.) The announcements for platform 4 come out of a speaker on platform 3 and cannot be heard from anywhere on platform 4 (except about a carriage length opposite the speaker). But I can hear the platform 4 announcements from the station entrance on platform 2! I wonder whether the mixture of voices has anything to do with it.

 

[kevjs]

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

Hopefully this mismatch of synthetic junk is something GBR can sort.

My local bus operator, Nottingham City Transport, uses a radio presenter - David Lloyd - for their announcements and the difference in clarity between those announcements (from someone who's livelyhood depended on clear communication) and the disjointed "the .. East Midlands ...... Railway... service" announcements you get in the station is night and day.

If a provincial bus company can afford to get high quality clear recordings done by a professional they can go back to to add new stops and change announcements you'd hope our nationalised rail industry should be able to do the same!

Im reminded of the Oxfordshire radio station Jack FM who used actor Paul Darrow for many years to record there automated announcements which were regularly refreshed to be relevant to now - in railway terms think regular updates to provide information about planned disruption. Heck, we should follow NBMS and have some unplanned disruption automated too - e.g. a train to Brussels Airport was cancelled and announcements were then played in 4 languages (Dutch, French, German, English) telling passengers to different destinations what the next services they should catch are (e.g. for Brussels Airport catch the XX from platform y to ZZZ, for Kortrijk catch the YY from platform z to NNN)

 

[Parallel]

Slough is both pretty nice and clear and utterly hopeless. Platforms 1 and 5 have perfectly normal announcements. (Platforms 2 and 3 are rarely used.) The announcements for platform 4 come out of a speaker on platform 3 and cannot be heard from anywhere on platform 4 (except about a carriage length opposite the speaker). But I can hear the platform 4 announcements from the station entrance on platform 2! I wonder whether the mixture of voices has anything to do with it.

Slough is hopeless. The horn speakers under the canopy on platform 4 haven’t worked for a while (they used to be perfectly loud and clear). And the speakers on platforms 2-4 are all angled towards the track which can end up in a noise battle when platforms are announcing things at the same time. They also seem to have the volume turned down or off in the morning and evening which isn’t particularly helpful when trains are more likely to be subject to platform alterations.

I wonder how much of it is due to noise complaints from the large block of flats adjacent. If the station speakers were angled better and changed from the projector horns, that would be a start!

 

[Purple Train]

Slough is hopeless. The horn speakers under the canopy on platform 4 haven’t worked for a while (they used to be perfectly loud and clear). And the speakers on platforms 2-4 are all angled towards the track which can end up in a noise battle when platforms are announcing things at the same time. They also seem to have the volume turned down or off in the morning and evening which isn’t particularly helpful when trains are more likely to be subject to platform alterations.

I wonder how much of it is due to noise complaints from the large block of flats adjacent. If the station speakers were angled better and changed from the projector horns, that would be a start!

Ironic you should say this as I've just passed through the station and the platform 1 announcement was indeed in a noise battle (arriving branch unit, 345 doors, a loud road vehicle, and building work) - hardly "nice and clear" as I suggested!

The platform 4 speakers haven't worked at all in my time using the station. From memory they've only played them out the platform 3 speakers for six months or so, but maybe I just couldn't hear them. Full marks for ingenuity, I guess, but nil for practicality. And in major disruption, it's as much use as a handbrake on a canoe... but that's another story.

 

[jamieh27]

Slough is hopeless. The horn speakers under the canopy on platform 4 haven’t worked for a while (they used to be perfectly loud and clear). And the speakers on platforms 2-4 are all angled towards the track which can end up in a noise battle when platforms are announcing things at the same time. They also seem to have the volume turned down or off in the morning and evening which isn’t particularly helpful when trains are more likely to be subject to platform alterations.

I wonder how much of it is due to noise complaints from the large block of flats adjacent. If the station speakers were angled better and changed from the projector horns, that would be a start!

The announcemets at Slough are dreadful P4 use to be the loudest out of all the others now either broken or turned off I wouldn't be surprised if it is a noise issue but then they half the announcement volume late at night. Platforms 1 and 2 at the country end have pentagon speakers. Also the horn speakers problably date back to the Thames trains era. So they must be at lest 25 to 30 years old now. Better replacing them all with Pentagon speakers and have them positioned correctly so its not a noise battle.