Trains told to get rid of torrent of 'Tannoy spam'

[Annetts key]

This is easy to answer; Only make an announcement when there has been a change of the trains expected arrival time of 2 minutes. In my example this would of reduced the number of announcements from 5 to 2, a 60% reduction. Simples.

Hmm, not convinced that will make a significant amount of difference. I was standing on a platform yesterday and the CIS kept changing it’s mind on how late the train was. Often by two minutes or more, sometimes more, sometimes less. Now this was not causing a constant PA announcement at this station. But it does show the limitations of the resolution of the train running information systems. They get their information from the signalling system, and not all signal sections are the same length. Hence often the result of the calculation is marginal. Hence a trains lateness (and/or expected arrival/departure time) will jump around. Often by one to three minutes.

 

[tbtc]

Just a few minutes at a well-known station in North-west England yielded this impressive crop of verbal mayhem:

"Platform 1 for the xx.xx (insert train operator here) service to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of x coaches." (repeated multiple times per train scheduled)

"The next train to arrive at Platform 6 will be the xx.xx train to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of xx coaches. The onboard shop is in coach X."

"24 hour CCTV monitoring is in use at this station for the purposes of safety and security."

"This is a security message. If you see something that doesn't look right, text the British Transport Police on 61016. We'll sort it. See it, say it, sorted."

"The next train to arrive at Platform 6 will be the xx.xx train to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of xx coaches. You can find the shop in coach C for delicious hot and cold refreshments."

"For your safety and comfort, this station operates a no-smoking policy."

"We are sorry that the xx.xx train to xxx is delayed. We apologise for the disruption to your journey today and any inconvenience caused."

"Please do not leave your luggage unattended on the station. Luggage left unattended may be removed without warning, or destroyed or damaged by security services."

"In the interests of customer safety, please stand clear of the platform edge and behind the yellow line until the train comes to a complete stand, and allow customers to alight, before trying to board. Thank you."

---

Interesting contrast to a visit just before Covid to a similar sized Dutch railway station where the only announcements were for the occasional delayed train. Of course they have the benefit of a timetable that uses the same platform for any particular destination every time it departs.

That's a lot of announcements but how many would we actually remove with Shapps' plans?

Passengers would still want to know which platform their train departed from, they'd want to know if it'd be delayed, they'd want to know intermediate stations - I don't think that those would be scrapped

I think it's good customer service to let people know how long it's expected to be (at a station like Crewe where the Manchester service could be two coaches or eleven coaches - less of an issue on Merseyrail - but we'd have shorter dwell times if we could encourage passengers to be spread along the platform in advance, rather than waiting for the train to arrive and then either all crowd round the doors near the footbridge or dash along to the far ends - either way you'd be better off having passengers confident enough to spread out along the platform in advance)

We could drop the apologies for things being late but that wouldn't be great customer service - we live in a culture where we expect apologies for everything, even buses are "sorry" for not being in service these days (I see football fans on Twitter complaining that a certain player hasn't tweeted their apology to fans half an hour after the final whistle, when they are probably in an ice bath or getting physio treatment)

Warnings about luggage being destroyed are annoying but organisations need to be seen to be vigilant and warn people - there'd be a lot of arguments if someone's suitcase was removed by staff without any warning - same with someone being told off for smoking if there wasn't an occasional warning

We are experienced travellers, but there are a lot of occasional passengers out there who seek reassurance from knowing that they are protected by CCTV if anything goes wrong (as well as potentially deterring opportunist thieves)

Warning people about the danger of standing too close to an approaching train seems sensible - trying to reduce dwell times by reminding people how to let people get off first seems well intended

Maybe some of the messages that don't directly relate to particular trains should be less frequent but I honestly don't see any of those being completely removed

It's the same at Reading. It never shuts up. Recently my son enquired why do they keeping saying random stuff that everybody already knows. It's a sad reflection on society that grown adults have to be told (or at least the railway thinks they have to be told) things that a five year old considers obvious.

That's the environment that the railway has to inhabit though.

I'm not saying that people in this country are stupid, but people in this country can and will complain/sue if something goes wrong, so you need to have demonstrated that you warned them in advance - I'm not saying I agree with it but I've mentioned upthread that coffee cups have warnings that the contents will be hot - we expect a packet of peanuts to warn us that "this product contains nuts" - making a thousand announcements about slippery stairs or uneven paving is easier/cheaper than having one person fall over and claiming that they were unaware - this is a country where the Smoking Ban meant we had to put up "No Smoking" signs in places like churches where smoking had never been permitted, just so that people knew that it wasn't allowed there - not the railway's fault but the railway has to reflect this kind of culture, and I don't see Shapps suggestions actually changing that (which I suspect Shapps knows, but he doesn't care, he's just trying to generates some cheap and positive publicity to take heat away from his boss, and it seems to have worked)

This is easy to answer; Only make an announcement when there has been a change of the trains expected arrival time of 2 minutes. In my example this would of reduced the number of announcements from 5 to 2, a 60% reduction. Simples.

That's fair enough, but someone needs to take that decision and it needs to be a national decision since we need a consistent approach to such matters, otherwise we'll just end up with complaints that nobody told me my southbound train home this evening would be a minute late yet they kept me informed of any expected changes when it took my northbound train this morning

It's fine for people with access to Real Time websites on their phones, who can track the arrival of the service, to the nearest thirty seconds, but we need a coherent policy that covers all passengers when it comes to announcements

But, as @Annetts key says, the platform information is only as good as the "Real Time" information that it's getting (and we know that a service can fluctuate between being a minute early and a minute late and back again in a fairly short space of time, depending on block lengths), so it's hard

But it’s also the same railway that has to remind passengers to lock a toilet door while they use it

True - you know how to use a train toilet, I know how to use a train toilet but (as someone who used to commute by Voyager, which generally meant "standing for forty five minutes at the end of the carriage, within wafting distance of the toilet door") I know that a significant proportion of passengers can't read the fairly simple instructions - so we need to give them the occasional reminder about the fact that stairs might be slippery in wet weather etc - got to deal with the reality of the situation rather than assuming everyone else can be trusted without having to reminded

 

[CBlue]

I don’t think anyone is suggesting that announcements about where the train is headed should be banned.

I'd have liked to think so too re announcements about the destination / intermediate stops, but unfortunately that's not quite the case...

On Southeastern that is pretty standard and to be expected on all mainlines services. For the last 20 years I have had the joy of listening to these long winded and repeated announcements whenever I travel to London. Over time as more stops were added to services they have become progressively worse. Not even London Overground is this bad.

Especially since the semi-fast services to Victoria and Charing Cross were scrapped. Today I believe Dover - Victoria services are the worst for announcements. At certain times of day they call at every single station until Bromley South. This involves listening to the announcement no less than 25 times.

One way to stop the repetitive announcements is of course to cancel the service altogether and having everyone drive the distance instead - which would probably happen if no-one knows where the train goes thanks to removing the announcements!

Noise cancelling headphones aren't that expensive any more. Why should infrequent travellers be put off using trains just because announcements about where the services is going annoys you?

 

[dm1]

I'd have liked to think so too re announcements about the destination / intermediate stops, but unfortunately that's not quite the case...

One way to stop the repetitive announcements is of course to cancel the service altogether and having everyone drive the distance instead - which would probably happen if no-one knows where the train goes thanks to removing the announcements!

Noise cancelling headphones aren't that expensive any more. Why should infrequent travellers be put off using trains just because announcements about where the services is going annoys you?

Why should frequent (and infrequent) travellers be put off using trains by constant announcements repeating the same thing up to 25 times (see post #131) on a single journey, when they could get into their car and not have to listen to any pointless announcements at all?

Noise-cancelling headphones are great, but they mean missing announcements that are actually important. Even from an accessbility point of view, there is absolutely no need for there to be as many announcements as there are currently.

 

[tbtc]

On Southeastern that is pretty standard and to be expected on all mainlines services. For the last 20 years I have had the joy of listening to these long winded and repeated announcements whenever I travel to London. Over time as more stops were added to services they have become progressively worse. Not even London Overground is this bad.

Especially since the semi-fast services to Victoria and Charing Cross were scrapped. Today I believe Dover - Victoria services are the worst for announcements. At certain times of day they call at every single station until Bromley South. This involves listening to the announcement no less than 25 times.

Why should frequent (and infrequent) travellers be put off using trains by constant announcements repeating the same thing up to 25 times (see post #131) on a single journey, when they could get into their car and not have to listen to any pointless announcements at all?

If you are unhappy that the announcements are made at/after every station then what's the alternative? That we only announce things like where the train is going to stop at the first station, and anyone boarding mid-journey doesn't get that information?

It's fine on planes, because they generally only "depart" once per journey, so there's only one set of safety announcements etc - different on a train service with several intermediate stops though - if there are people boarding at each station then are they not important? It's annoying to hear repeated announcements if you are travelling from Aberdeen to Penzance, but it's not much consolation for someone at Birmingham not to get told which coach the buffet is in because it was announced at Aberdeen and we are trying to get through the journey without any repetition (or hesitation or deviation)

You could get in your car instead, of course, but then you'd probably be annoyed at the motorway signs that warn you to take care in wet weather or remind you to wear a seatbelt (i.e. the messages aren't confined to just the railway)

 

[Bikeman78]

That's the environment that the railway has to inhabit though.

I'm not saying that people in this country are stupid, but people in this country can and will complain/sue if something goes wrong, so you need to have demonstrated that you warned them in advance - I'm not saying I agree with it but I've mentioned upthread that coffee cups have warnings that the contents will be hot - we expect a packet of peanuts to warn us that "this product contains nuts" - making a thousand announcements about slippery stairs or uneven paving is easier/cheaper than having one person fall over and claiming that they were unaware - this is a country where the Smoking Ban meant we had to put up "No Smoking" signs in places like churches where smoking had never been permitted, just so that people knew that it wasn't allowed there - not the railway's fault but the railway has to reflect this kind of culture, and I don't see Shapps suggestions actually changing that (which I suspect Shapps knows, but he doesn't care, he's just trying to generates some cheap and positive publicity to take heat away from his boss, and it seems to have worked)

How have we got to this point? I can't think of any country that I've been to that even comes close.

Regarding the wet/icy weather announcements on stations, say it goes off every 10 minutes. The majority of passengers will get off a train and walk along the wet platform or stairs and out of the station without hearing it. Can they sue because it didn't happen to go off in the 30 seconds they were there or does the fact that it goes off when they are five miles away tick the box? Meanwhile anyone waiting to board has to listen to it, despite the fact that they've made it from their home along a wet/icy road and up/down the stairs to the platform. Seems rather pointless to warn people after the event.

 

[RT4038]

How have we got to this point? I can't think of any country that I've been to that even comes close.

Because people have sued and won on these very points. I rode an Australian train from Adelaide to Melbourne where it was announced to the whole train to take care because the knives in the dining car were sharp....

Regarding the wet/icy weather announcements on stations, say it goes off every 10 minutes. The majority of passengers will get off a train and walk along the wet platform or stairs and out of the station without hearing it. Can they sue because it didn't happen to go off in the 30 seconds they were there or does the fact that it goes off when they are five miles away tick the box? Meanwhile anyone waiting to board has to listen to it, despite the fact that they've made it from their home along a wet/icy road and up/down the stairs to the platform. Seems rather pointless to warn people after the event.

It is all about taking reasonable precautions, rather than an absolute everybody must be told.

 

[dm1]

If you are unhappy that the announcements are made at/after every station then what's the alternative? That we only announce things like where the train is going to stop at the first station, and anyone boarding mid-journey doesn't get that information?

You could get in your car instead, of course, but then you'd probably be annoyed at the motorway signs that warn you to take care in wet weather or remind you to wear a seatbelt (i.e. the messages aren't confined to just the railway)

I personally have no issue with announcements about the next station and the destination. But repeating the entire stopping pattern at every station is completely unnecessary.

If it's a stopping service then just announce the next station. At locations where a line diverges, or where a train changes its stopping pattern significantly (e.g. skipping a stop it would normally call at), then by all means announce it. But passengers should know the details of where their train is supposed to stop before they get on, with information on board limited to the basics and any deviation from the norm. Train/route numbers and more standardised stopping patterns and train classifications would help massively with this, but that is a topic for another discussion.

You could get in your car instead, of course, but then you'd probably be annoyed at the motorway signs that warn you to take care in wet weather or remind you to wear a seatbelt (i.e. the messages aren't confined to just the railway)

The difference is, that in a car the driver is not forced to look at them. The fundamental problem is that humans can look away from things very easily, but cannot turn their ears away from things in the same way. Therefore additional visual information such as informations screens or posters does not bother people in the same way as announcements do. Therefore it makes sense to only provide audio announcements for things that are likely to be relevant for the majority of passengers and to find other solutions for passengers for whom visual information is not accessible. Even visually impaired people can and are bothered by excessive audio announcements.

And if instructions are really necessary for how to lock a toilet door, then said toilets are poorly designed. If it's really unavoidable then make the announcements only audible inside the toilet itself and don't subject the entire train to them.

Inclement weather happens outside stations too, but we don't drive police cars with megaphones around every time it rains. If people manage to win court cases about falling down the stairs, where there are no other factors involved, then there needs to be a change in the law. However I suspect that in the majority of such cases other factors are at play, such as poor maintenance or markings, and that announcements are simply a cheap way out that helps nobody at all and just annoy everyone.

The "see it, say it, sorted" announcements are redudant everywhere but at major stations, but even then that message could be just as effectively conveyed using a poster. A visually impaired person is by definition unlikely to "see it", so there is no need for it to be announced.

It boils down to critically thinking every announcement through and asking whether it is really necessary. If it is necessary, then ensure it is only announced at locations where it is relevant. Then ensure the announcements is as clear and concise as possible. For example I'd argue often even the words "The next station is..." can often be replaced with an appropriate bong as done elsewhere. For bilingual announcements that then saves you about 10s, as you can just say the station name in both languages, using different voices to differentiate between them if necessary.

 

[DelayRepay]

I question the value of long winded 'Change here for...' announcements. Are there passengers who set off on a journey without knowing where to change trains? Experienced travellers will know, less experienced travellers will probably have an journey plan printed from the ticket booking site. I doubt many people will have set off on a journey without knowing where to change!

Announcements advertising catering services should be limited to the location of the shop/buffet within the train. It is not necessary to list every menu item, list the special offers, list all acceptable payment methods.

I would like to see an experiment. Stop the 'please take all your personal belongings with you' announcement for one month, and see if the amount of lost property increases.

 

[markymark2000]

I question the value of long winded 'Change here for...' announcements. Are there passengers who set off on a journey without knowing where to change trains? Experienced travellers will know, less experienced travellers will probably have an journey plan printed from the ticket booking site. I doubt many people will have set off on a journey without knowing where to change!

Announcements advertising catering services should be limited to the location of the shop/buffet within the train. It is not necessary to list every menu item, list the special offers, list all acceptable payment methods.

I would like to see an experiment. Stop the 'please take all your personal belongings with you' announcement for one month, and see if the amount of lost property increases.

'Change for' if ever played, should only be played at intermediate stations. There is nothing more annoying than a train which is terminating having a 'change for'. Well.... If I don't change, I will probably be going back to where I just came from. Of course I will change trains.

 

[davews]

The 'this train is currently between a and b' are maybe helpful but don't seem to be that accurate. 'This train is currently at Bracknell' when you can see it is just a few hundred yards from the platform at Martins Heron...
Also 'front 7 carriages for Longcross' repeated by both the guard and the PIS when the few (usually zero) who use the station will be fully aware.

Yesterday's trip up to Waterloo on the Reading line. In the morning a guard going into full flow about masks in her announcements (largely inaudible in my carriage). Coming back chap made more announcements but not a single mention of them. But certainly loads of repeats that he was in the middle of the train (locked up in his own cabin, inaccessible apart from knocking on the door) and about the short platform. And a few 'see it say it sorted' as well.

Yes they can improve but most would prefer at least some useful announcements and more importantly that we can hear him instead of a little mumble.

 

[DelayRepay]

'Change for' if ever played, should only be played at intermediate stations. There is nothing more annoying than a train which is terminating having a 'change for'. Well.... If I don't change, I will probably be going back to where I just came from. Of course I will change trains.

I think 'change here for...' is one that's often manual rather than automated. I remember a Thameslink driver telling us, at St Pancras, to change here for Eurostar services to Paris and Brussels. Not sure who'd have set off on that journey without knowing where to change!

 

[markymark2000]

The 'this train is currently between a and b' are maybe helpful but don't seem to be that accurate. 'This train is currently at Bracknell' when you can see it is just a few hundred yards from the platform at Martins Heron...
Also 'front 7 carriages for Longcross' repeated by both the guard and the PIS when the few (usually zero) who use the station will be fully aware.

Yesterday's trip up to Waterloo on the Reading line. In the morning a guard going into full flow about masks in her announcements (largely inaudible in my carriage). Coming back chap made more announcements but not a single mention of them. But certainly loads of repeats that he was in the middle of the train (locked up in his own cabin, inaccessible apart from knocking on the door) and about the short platform. And a few 'see it say it sorted' as well.

Yes they can improve but most would prefer at least some useful announcements and more importantly that we can hear him instead of a little mumble.

I hate that 'innovation'. It's useless information. 'Between x and y'. Yeah, great. There is 30 minutes between them stations. Means nothing to anyone. Even if it is 'between' two stations which are consecutive stations and very close. Well.... it's still useless information, just put the times on the board.

The only people whom this information is useful to is staff but that is only when it comes down to very local level such as 'between north and south junctions' or something similar. Between two station is still useless because again, stations can be far apart. Is it 30 seconds away, 20 minutes away. it's means nothing, should be scrapped but as with most things on the railway, the passenger is always the lowest priority.

 

[Bletchleyite]

'Change for' if ever played, should only be played at intermediate stations. There is nothing more annoying than a train which is terminating having a 'change for'. Well.... If I don't change, I will probably be going back to where I just came from. Of course I will change trains.

The way to do this, and how DB has done it for years, is to announce the actual connections including platform and any delay. Provides reassurance and saves time if the connection is short.

 

[adc82140]

My last train journey in France had on board announcements. They consisted of "Next station: x" and "Destination: Paris Austerlitz". That was it.

 

[Goldfish62]

My last train journey in France had on board announcements. They consisted of "Next station: x" and "Destination: Paris Austerlitz". That was it.

That's exactly as per Class 458s.

 

[Lewis5949]

My training on SWR was to make announcements at Waterloo, and Clapham Junction, as well as other key stations. Since passing training I'll only do that Clapham announcement if it's exceptionally busy on a weekend, or when I see a manager on board. Otherwise I think full announcements at both are not needed at all!

Also I never read where we're calling at if the Passenger Information System on the train is correctly speaking and writing it out.

 

[stuu]

I question the value of long winded 'Change here for...' announcements. Are there passengers who set off on a journey without knowing where to change trains? Experienced travellers will know, less experienced travellers will probably have an journey plan printed from the ticket booking site. I doubt many people will have set off on a journey without knowing where to change!

As a frequent traveller to Bristol TM, I was asked by fellow passengers a lot if it was the main station and the one to change at for x. Temple Meads doesn't exactly jump out as meaning central station after all.. A decent proportion of the passengers on longer distance trains are not regulars and need a lot of reassurance.

 

[Parallel]

Many of the ‘spam’ announcements you hear on the railways were requested from the DfT in the first place. ‘See it, say it, sorted’, face coverings and the one about tactile paving were I believe.

I think if you inform passengers at the station well enough then some of the onboard announcements aren’t needed.

I quite like the SWR/TfW way of just saying ‘This is x, this train is for y, the next station is z’. Save the entire calling pattern list for large or interchange stations. (TfW do need to drop that safety message after every station though, it’s nothing short of just noise pollution)

I do think ones about the next station having a large gap/short platform/is a request stop are fairly important though.

 

[tbtc]

How have we got to this point? I can't think of any country that I've been to that even comes close

If people manage to win court cases about falling down the stairs, where there are no other factors involved, then there needs to be a change in the law

re the above two points - this is the country that we are - I'm not saying I agree with all of it but the railway has to deal with the realities of the situation (e.g. right now I'm watching last night's highlights of the EFL football matches... when one player was taking a corner, you could see a large sign behind him reminding supporters not to swear or use bad language... unthinkable twenty years ago but this is the kind of warning sign that organisations feel the need to treat us to nowadays - this is modern Britain and the railway has to tailor their messages accordingly)

Shapps would be a lot better to focus on the laws (and the reasons that have caused this cautious culture) than just getting cheap headlines about announcements - but this is Shapps and his career seems to be more about "being seen to press the right buttons" than actually delivering change - my suspicion is that we'll be having this argument again in six months time, during which nothing has changed, but politicians will be looking for a simple/cheap thing to be seen to be complaining about and decide to reheat the rant about train announcements

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

Ours in Melbourne are all over the shop.
Going off the Comeng modified the new standard seems to be they now announce the service when leaving a station, announce the arrival at a station with interchange where appropriate and announce the station name and interchange where appropriate when the door release is given.

They're glitchy as hell. Sometimes it will repeat it.

Xtraps just do station arrival only.

 

[eldomtom2]

That's a lot of announcements but how many would we actually remove with Shapps' plans?

You can trim them if nothing else:

"The next train to arrive at Platform 6 will be the xx.xx train to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of xx coaches."

"24 hour CCTV monitoring is in use at this station."

"If you see something that doesn't look right, text the British Transport Police on 61016."

"The next train to arrive at Platform 6 will be the xx.xx train to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of xx coaches."

"This station operates a no-smoking policy."

"The xx.xx train to xxx is delayed."

"Please do not leave your luggage unattended on the station. Luggage left unattended may be destroyed by security services."

"Please stand clear of the platform edge and behind the yellow line until the train comes to a complete stand, and allow customers to alight, before trying to board."

 

[Elecman]

Just a few minutes at a well-known station in North-west England yielded this impressive crop of verbal mayhem:

"Platform 1 for the xx.xx (insert train operator here) service to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of x coaches." (repeated multiple times per train scheduled)

"The next train to arrive at Platform 6 will be the xx.xx train to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of xx coaches. The onboard shop is in coach X."

"24 hour CCTV monitoring is in use at this station for the purposes of safety and security."

"This is a security message. If you see something that doesn't look right, text the British Transport Police on 61016. We'll sort it. See it, say it, sorted."

"The next train to arrive at Platform 6 will be the xx.xx train to xxx, calling at xxx and xxx. This train is formed of xx coaches. You can find the shop in coach C for delicious hot and cold refreshments."

"For your safety and comfort, this station operates a no-smoking policy."

"We are sorry that the xx.xx train to xxx is delayed. We apologise for the disruption to your journey today and any inconvenience caused."

"Please do not leave your luggage unattended on the station. Luggage left unattended may be removed without warning, or destroyed or damaged by security services."

"In the interests of customer safety, please stand clear of the platform edge and behind the yellow line until the train comes to a complete stand, and allow customers to alight, before trying to board. Thank you."

---

Interesting contrast to a visit just before Covid to a similar sized Dutch railway station where the only announcements were for the occasional delayed train. Of course they have the benefit of a timetable that uses the same platform for any particular destination every time it departs.

That has to be Preston!!

 

[43096]

The 'this train is currently between a and b' are maybe helpful but don't seem to be that accurate. 'This train is currently at Bracknell' when you can see it is just a few hundred yards from the platform at Martins Heron...
Also 'front 7 carriages for Longcross' repeated by both the guard and the PIS when the few (usually zero) who use the station will be fully aware.

Yesterday's trip up to Waterloo on the Reading line. In the morning a guard going into full flow about masks in her announcements (largely inaudible in my carriage). Coming back chap made more announcements but not a single mention of them. But certainly loads of repeats that he was in the middle of the train (locked up in his own cabin, inaccessible apart from knocking on the door) and about the short platform. And a few 'see it say it sorted' as well.

Yes they can improve but most would prefer at least some useful announcements and more importantly that we can hear him instead of a little mumble.

Whilst we're talking SWR, the station PIS messages need sorting out as well. Currently the second line scrolling display says something like "South Western Railway service calling at blah, blah, blah. A South Western Railway service that is formed of 10 coaches. This train is currently between blah and blah."

The first part is fine. The second part has unnecessary information: it's already told us it's an SWR service, so no need to repeat. The "this train is between" information isn't needed: the key part is what time it is expected and that is already shown on the line above.

So I'd reduced it to "SWR service calling at blah, blah, blah. Formed of 10 coaches." Once GBR is fully up and running it matters not who the operator is, so it can just show "Calling at: blah, blah and blah. Formed of 10 coaches."

My training on SWR was to make announcements at Waterloo, and Clapham Junction, as well as other key stations. Since passing training I'll only do that Clapham announcement if it's exceptionally busy on a weekend, or when I see a manager on board. Otherwise I think full announcements at both are not needed at all!

Also I never read where we're calling at if the Passenger Information System on the train is correctly speaking and writing it out.

Glad to hear it. Could you tell some of your colleagues that!?

The key point with all this is that less is more. Too many announcements means people switch off from the message, so when something is important it gets missed (like changed stopping pattern mid-journey). I'd take an immediate axe to anything that isn't directly related to the needs of the passenger, so "see it say it sorted", "CCTV safety and security", "slippery platforms", "take your belongings with you" and all the other peripheral rubbish has to go.

 

[MattRat]

I find a lot of spam comes under 'don't be an idiot'. Has anyone ever considered there might be a bigger problem that needs addressing?

 

[Zamalek]

As a frequent traveller to Bristol TM, I was asked by fellow passengers a lot if it was the main station and the one to change at for x. Temple Meads doesn't exactly jump out as meaning central station after all.. A decent proportion of the passengers on longer distance trains are not regulars and need a lot of reassurance.

Yes, people get very confused - I've seen plenty coming from the north jump off at Bristol Parkway and ask the way to the city centre (answer 40 min bus ride, or get back on the train/the next one. if it's already pulled out) ....

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The first part is fine. The second part has unnecessary information: it's already told us it's an SWR service, so no need to repeat. The "this train is between" information isn't needed: the key part is what time it is expected and that is already shown on the line above.

I'd disagree - showing on the screens where the train currently is appears to have a positive and calming effect on passengers waiting on the platform*; it's also not just SWR doing this - at least Greater Anglia, LNER and Southern do it as well.

*Passengers generally don't seem to trust the "expected at" times given, but when the whereabouts of the train is shown as well, they seem more willing to trust it. Station staff I've spoken to tell me they get far fewer people on the platforms asking them about the trains since the locations were added. This is also good as it means they can concentrate more on helping those who really need help.

 

[Goldfish62]

I'd disagree - showing on the screens where the train currently is appears to have a positive and calming effect on passengers waiting on the platform*; it's also not just SWR doing this - at least Greater Anglia, LNER and Southern do it as well.

*Passengers generally don't seem to trust the "expected at" times given, but when the whereabouts of the train is shown as well, they seem more willing to trust it. Station staff I've spoken to tell me they get far fewer people on the platforms asking them about the trains since the locations were added. This is also good as it means they can concentrate more on helping those who really need help.

Completely agree. I think it's a great addition.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Completely agree. I think it's a great addition.

I quite like it too.

It has no disadvantage as such. If it isn't useful to a given individual they should just ignore it.

 

[farwest]

That's exactly as per Class 458s.

That is how it should be.