PA Announcements

[ainsworth74]

They were reported by a passenger. No action was taken other than a minor telling off. It was a genuine error and thankfully nothing to rude.

Good! It would have been a massive over-reaction to do anything other than a slap on the wrist.

If I had been a passenger rather than reporting it to anyone I would have been tempted to ask the guard if they managed to find a suitable newspaper for the driver

 

[craigybagel]

Oh dear

Out of curiosity is that an easy mistake to make? I assume it varies by train?

The two buttons tend to be next to each other on most trains - and you speak into the same handset! Then there are other complications like with some of our older units that have an automatic system that plays a safety announcement every few stops (and is very hard to override). If you are using cab to cab when this plays it will be broadcast over the train - though there is a sign in the cab warning you about this!

 

[ainsworth74]

Then there are other complications like with some of our older units that have an automatic system that plays a safety announcement every few stops (and is very hard to override). If you are using cab to cab when this plays it will be broadcast over the train - though there is a sign in the cab warning you about this!

Well that seems like a terrible design decision...

 

[scotsman]

Well that seems like a terrible design decision...

That'll be the old Wessex Sprinters, then?

 

[321446]

I did once ask, last train on a Sunday night. He was 6 coaches back. It was Romford. We were going to Southend. It had been a looooong day. "Could somebody within hearing distance of the gentleman with the big blue bag over his shoulder and the white T-shirt please ask him to move away from the side of the train? Because I'm not moving until he does and I want to get home as much as you do".

Some kind soul passed my plea on unto him. He moved. And waved. With one finger.

 

[craigybagel]

That'll be the old Wessex Sprinters, then?

Thems the ones. I'm sure I've heard them on one of our 143s as well but I don't sign them so can't say for definite..
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Well that seems like a terrible design decision...

Possibly, but at least it only normally plays by itself just after a door cycle, and the guard should still be at their local door watching the train out at that stage rather than on the cab to cab.

 

[TUC]

I did enjoy the announcement on the VTEC service from Selby to King's Cross a little while ago, on the EMT trainset that does not have sockets. 'This train is equipped with wifi and sockets. (pause) Apologies, this is a train we have on loan from East Midlands Trains which unfortunately does not have sockets. Ladies and Gentlemen you will be pleased to know that your train is fully equipped to meet the challenges of the 1970s'.

 

[causton]

Thems the ones. I'm sure I've heard them on one of our 143s as well but I don't sign them so can't say for definite..
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Heard it on an ATW Pacer too, so is that ex-Wessex too maybe?

 

[6Gman]

1755 Manchester - Euston may have set some sort of record today:

1752 - very full welcome from TM, including what tickets were/weren't valid, and advising that - no - booking confirmations, seat reservations or MasterCard statements are not valid without the ticket
1754 - automated announcement telling us things we'd already been told
1756 (on departure) - automated announcement welcoming us aboard repeating some information for the third time
1757 - TM repeats his 1752 announcement (a bit late for people to alight)
1758 - Shop staff advised that the shop was now open (good) and a lengthy list of what was available (not so good )
1800 - automated announcement "we are now arriving at Stockport" etc etc - take all your belongings, don't fall into the gap betwixt train and platform etc We weren't at Stockport, indeed we had yet to pass Heaton Chapel
1803 (at Stockport) - automated welcome aboard this train to Euston calling at ....
1804 (just leaving Stockport) - automated announcement repeating the 1803 message

Eight announcements in 12 minutes!

 

[johnnychips]

TPE guard on a Saturday morning:

'Meadowhall is where we're stopping.
Now get off and do your shopping'.

 

[Parallel]

Thems the ones. I'm sure I've heard them on one of our 143s as well but I don't sign them so can't say for definite..
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The safety announcement? They are indeed on the 143s and most FGW 158s. Mind you, I thought the safety announcement was only on ex Wessex trains stock, but I heard it on one of FGW's 150/1s yesterday...

 

[TEW]

Was the 150/1 attached to an ex-Wessex unit? The announcement will play on the full formation when that is the case.

 

[47271]

Not entirely to do with PA, but I'm a big fan of Scotrail's excellent Inverness conductors and have made that point here many times before!

There's one, I can't remember his name, who defuses tension on the habitually overcrowded 170s on the HML in summer by, firstly on the PA welcoming us aboard 'our cosy wee service today', a brilliant phrase that puts us all on side with our shared challenges over the next two or more hours - which could include dodgy aircon on a warm day - straight away. Then going up and down the train as he's checking and selling tickets, very pleasantly restowing luggage out of the way and making suggestions as to how passengers may be more comfortable by moving elsewhere in the limited space available.

Several times I've overheard casual travellers commenting on how much better their experience has been made by his approach, all begun with a simple but deft use of the PA.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

No. It was Lincoln as it happens

Well done, that man!!

 

[Parallel]

Was the 150/1 attached to an ex-Wessex unit? The announcement will play on the full formation when that is the case.

It was attached to another 150, must've been an ex-Wessex Trains one in that case - Thanks.

 

[robbeech]

On my trip home from Kings Cross to Worksop (via Retford) on Wednesday morning we had no announcements at all.
Just a friendly ding noise a couple of minutes before each station. Luckily i can read signs and knew the order of the stops.

In coach M so not a quiet coach, though i assumed the announcement still plays in quiet coaches?

Rob

 

[ainsworth74]

On my trip home from Kings Cross to Worksop (via Retford) on Wednesday morning we had no announcements at all.
Just a friendly ding noise a couple of minutes before each station. Luckily i can read signs and knew the order of the stops.

In coach M so not a quiet coach, though i assumed the announcement still plays in quiet coaches?

Rob

Sounds like a fault with the PA system (or perhaps user error!) as the announcement should play though out the train including quiet coaches.

 

[tramdan]

I quite often find myself on local services around where I live where there are no announcements done at all or they are done seemingly at random for just a couple of stations.

As an aside, nice to know that I'm not the only member from Worksop. Welcome to the forum!

On my trip home from Kings Cross to Worksop (via Retford) on Wednesday morning we had no announcements at all.
Just a friendly ding noise a couple of minutes before each station. Luckily i can read signs and knew the order of the stops.

In coach M so not a quiet coach, though i assumed the announcement still plays in quiet coaches?

Rob

 

[robbeech]

The line between Worksop and Nottingham is a great example of that. The odd announcement here and there about the next station, maybe 2 or 3 out of the dozen or so.

Rob

 

[BurtonM]

There are some Northern guards (usually older-sounding men) there that bother to do little more than state the name of the next station in their "announcements". Have to say, I'm not keen, it's a bit too stoic and parochial.
I once saw one such guard, an older, red-faced man, shut his local door of a Pacer in the face of a couple of people running the length of the (double) train to get on at the last minute. A man standing next to him in the doorway that tried to hold the door for them to no avail said to him 'that's not very nice, is it?'. The guard grumbled a jobsworth response about leaving on time, and shuffled off into the rear cab.
The bloke may well be a long-serving employee but that's no reason to be a grumpy jobsworth. Leaving people behind for the sake of a couple of seconds, spartan announcements and such does not a good impression make.

 

[LowLevel]

You don't wait for late running passengers - the only exceptions I make are if it's truly terrible weather and a long time to the next train. I used to wait until I fell victim to the nob that then holds the door open for his mates that are still running up the road. If I just shut the door on them or shove them out of the train then I'm in the wrong unfortunately so I had to block the line for ages waiting for them to appear. No mercy for anyone now I'm afraid as it says in capitals in our dispatch procedure 'do not delay the dispatch of the train for late running passengers'.

 

[craigybagel]

Grumpy? Possibly, but then many people are when they get publicly challenged on how to do their job. Jobsworth? He was doing his job correctly. Harsh maybe, but on time is on time. A few seconds easily turns into a few minutes. What is "nice" for the late running passenger is not so nice for the hundreds of people already onboard who do manage to turn up on time.

 

[321446]

I love the phrase Jobsworth. people who use it have forgotten the true meaning of the whole phrase. But if they did actually understand it, that would mean they couldn't rant at people doing their jobs properly. So that's alright then. I actually think of Jobsworth as a compliment.

I have a word for people who use Jobsworth as an insult. But I can't post that here.

 

[Galvanize]

A conductor earlier before departure from a station.
"This train is for Y. Calling at A, B, C etc. If you could assist me by having all tickets, passes, railcards and all other travel documents ready for inspection, this station is fully staffed, as far as I'm aware the ticket office is open, the ticket machines are fully functioning, therefore the only tickets I've got on sale today from here are full priced Anytime singles and returns, no railcard discounts available. This is in accordance with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. Once again, please have your tickets and passes ready, a ticket check will be carried out upon departure from this station. This train is for Y, calling at...etc. Thank you."

 

[HowardGWR]

A conductor earlier before departure from a station.
"This train is for Y. Calling at A, B, C etc. If you could assist me by having all tickets, passes, railcards and all other travel documents ready for inspection, this station is fully staffed, as far as I'm aware the ticket office is open, the ticket machines are fully functioning, therefore the only tickets I've got on sale today from here are full priced Anytime singles and returns, no railcard discounts available. This is in accordance with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. Once again, please have your tickets and passes ready, a ticket check will be carried out upon departure from this station. This train is for Y, calling at...etc. Thank you."

How many disembarked?

 

[Galvanize]

How many disembarked?

Nobody did from my carriage, and guard didn't have to ching anyone!

 

[Chris M]

Leaving Birmingham New Street on Sunday night on the 20:14 LM to Euston. The guard advised everyone a couple of times that only the front four coaches would be going beyond Northampton and recommended anyone travelling further than that move to the other unit now as there were seats available.

This was very helpful - except that he never once mentioned which end was the front and which end was the rear (there was nothing to indicate this on the platform or the train) Cue people moving both ways through the train thinking they were in the wrong bit. One young lady got off the train to see whether there was a driver at the end of the train we were at in order to tell only for the guard to shut the doors. She did get back on (presumably via the local door near the middle) but only just apparently. Once we started moving then yes we could tell which was the front (the bit I wasn't in) so cue loads of people moving (back) through the train (including me). I met the guard as I was passing through and tried to explain this to him, but he didn't understand me - just saying he was being helpful saying it now, and apologising that the whole train wasn't going to London.

Could the guard have made the announcement to only the relevant part of the train? Saying that if you can hear this you're in the part of the train that's only going to Northampton? (Class 350 iirc) If not something referencing the blue seats in the rear portion and green in the front portion would have been as good.

 

[scotsman]

Leaving Birmingham New Street on Sunday night on the 20:14 LM to Euston. The guard advised everyone a couple of times that only the front four coaches would be going beyond Northampton and recommended anyone travelling further than that move to the other unit now as there were seats available.

This was very helpful - except that he never once mentioned which end was the front and which end was the rear (there was nothing to indicate this on the platform or the train) Cue people moving both ways through the train thinking they were in the wrong bit. One young lady got off the train to see whether there was a driver at the end of the train we were at in order to tell only for the guard to shut the doors. She did get back on (presumably via the local door near the middle) but only just apparently. Once we started moving then yes we could tell which was the front (the bit I wasn't in) so cue loads of people moving (back) through the train (including me). I met the guard as I was passing through and tried to explain this to him, but he didn't understand me - just saying he was being helpful saying it now, and apologising that the whole train wasn't going to London.

Could the guard have made the announcement to only the relevant part of the train? Saying that if you can hear this you're in the part of the train that's only going to Northampton? (Class 350 iirc) If not something referencing the blue seats in the rear portion and green in the front portion would have been as good.

Have they not got coach letters?

 

[ComUtoR]

Wow that made the profanity filter :/

 

[plymothian]

At New Street it would probably be easiest to reference the A and B ends of the platform ie "the front 4 coaches located towards the B end of the platform..." for example.