Obtrusive Door chimes

[northernbelle]

Have to agree there - I don't know why they've made them so loud!

Also irritating is the toy police car nee naw nee naw on the Hitachi stock. Just why!

It's because the latest standards dictate a two-tone door release tone. All brand new stock has to be so fitted.

 

[furnessvale]

I have never understood the need for sounders to go off when the doors are already closed. Just switch off the ability for a passenger to open that set of doors but remain silent.

 

[AlexNL]

Do the new Dutch Sprinters have door release tones? If they do, they can't be very loud because I've never noticed them despite seeing several in Rotterdam recently.

They do, but NS/CAF have not gone for the ear-piercing variants found elsewhere.

 

[trebor79]

745/755 door chimes are piercingly loud, can actually be painful if you're standing directly below the speaker when the doors are opening.

 

[Recessio]

Do these regulations apply to London Underground too? They've always had different door chimes.

Buses do their own unique ones too.

 

[py_megapixel]

The requirements are set out in the European Railway Agency's Technical Standards for Interoperability - People with Reduced Mobility (or in short, ERA TSI PRM). This is a lengthy specification about what requirements apply to rolling stock from an accessibility point of view. TSI PRM came in force before Brexit, and because of how such directives work have been translated into requirements for Britain as well.

The specifications allow for the volume to be variable, depending on the noise level in the environment. That way, in a loud environment environment the door noises would increase in volume as well whereas they'd be a bit more toned down in a quiet setting. However that's not a requirement, and many operators choose to use a fixed volume throughout (probably under the motto 'something which isn't there can't break either').

The TSI also says that it has to be a two-tone sound (the frequencies of the tones are specifically defined, in fact), which has been widely ignored.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Oct 2022 ==

I actually really like the 175/180 door opening sound, but my favourite is the MK4 one.

The Mk4 one is actually fairly close to compliance with the TSI, despite pre-dating it, though I'm not sure the tones are exactly right.

As far as I'm aware, the 175s and 180s just beep loudly.... not really sure what's notable about them, other than they're a lot nicer than the PRM retrofit stock with that cheap nasty "screech" sound.

From a room in Premier Inn Charing Cross Glasgow, you can actually hear the door beeps very clearly from the 318s in the neighbouring station.

Yes, they really are ridiculously loud. If you pick a station next to a large open space, you could probably walk quite some distance before you'd no longer be able to hear the tones on a still day.

 

[physics34]

It all comes down to a lack of caring, inadequate passenger research and lack of attention to detail that also affects many other things on our railway.
" bung that chime thing there, that'll do"

 

[Huntergreed]

380s (and 333s actually) NEED to be louder. Unlike other Desiros, I never know when the door has unlocked when waiting from the outside as its so quiet, and that’s with very good hearing.

I find the 380’s perfectly pleasant! The right level - the older Scotrail EMU’s are the worst offenders.

I often find the 350 door open chime from inside quite piercing! And I hate how the hustle alarm on the 390’s seems to have a slightly different frequency. They always sound so out of tune and discordant.

The only one I find too quiet is the voyager hustle alarm - over the rumble of the engines it’s practically inaudible!

From a room in Premier Inn Charing Cross Glasgow, you can actually hear the door beeps very clearly from the 318s in the neighbouring station.

That hotel no longer exists believe it or not! It’s now a “Britannia Inn” - although the interior is unchanged (even the signs are the same!)

The only difference is they now charge £7 for wifi, boot you out 2 hours earlier, and charge more for breakfast.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I often find the 350 door open chime from inside quite piercing! And I hate how the hustle alarm on the 390’s seems to have a slightly different frequency. They always sound so out of tune and discordant.

I love that, because if you've got a single pitch door closing sound you know it's just closing on a timer. When all of the doors scream at different tones and pitches, making a complete racket, you know it's about to leave and get the hell on quickly or run to the TM's door. I wonder if it was designed deliberately this way.

 

[Huntergreed]

I love that, because if you've got a single pitch door closing sound you know it's just closing on a timer. When all of the doors scream at different tones and pitches, making a complete racket, you know it's about to leave and get the hell on quickly or run to the TM's door. I wonder if it was designed deliberately this way.

A fair point and one I've admittedly never considered!

Does raise the question, should there be a different hustle alarm for a timer-induced local door closing, and a TM pressing the final 'close' button?