Northern re-records 34 station name announcements with local pronunciation

[northwichcat]

Cuddington has an additional message saying "Please do not attempt to use the foot crossing until the train has left the station" which I don't think is Peter on the trains I've been on.

 

[urbophile]

Certainly in legislation and proscriptive policy it very definitely is still in use.

It's too complicated and subtle for most normal English speakers. But I understand 'shall' after a first person subject (I or we) is the 'correct' form for the future tense which otherwise is 'will'. ('We shall be calling at x,y and z'). 'Shall' after a third person subject is prescriptive ('The passenger shall provide his [sic] ticket for inspection on request')

 

[AM9]

“Shall” is deemed an archaic/antiquated term and is no longer considered part of contemporary English.

Nearly 10 weeks later and still no clarification how and by whom the word 'shall' has been described as 'archaic and antiquated'. Maybe as @urbophile says, it's a bit too complicated and subtle for some posters here.

 

[507020]

So now we have 10 different voices being used onboard Northern trains:

With some being better than others. The question is at this point with this level of inconsistency, why do Northern not use a professional voice artist and are they the only operator not to use a professional voice artist?

It’s understandable that Arriva’s previous arrangements created this mess and could not continue under DOHL, who overall are doing a much better job of running the service, but the announcements are one aspect where the quality has noticeably degraded recently and continues to as they become more fragmented.

Peter Corley - The new main voice. Now used on most of the trains.

Who is a Northern conductor at York, but not a professional voice artist. Noticeably, the further the stations he is announcing get from York, they degrade in quality.

Laura Palmer - The new safety voice. Rolled out recently. But now they appear to be getting rid of her for some unknown reason. She is still on a few units but not many.

Of course it is good for a woman to be working in cybersecurity, but she is not a professional voice artist and has the single least northern accent I have ever heard. For this reason, her voice is not really suitable or appropriate for use.

The worst thing about her announcements is, why do so many now start with her saying “Welcome aboard this Northern service to” and then continue with Peter Corley stating the destination and making all further announcements, including the safety “see it say it sort it” which she was supposed to make?

Geordie accent

More of these please

Corona Virus announcements voice. This is a very well spoken male RP voice used for the Corona Virus announcements. He just does announcements about social distancing and was introduced when Corona Virus started. I thought he was long gone but his Corona Virus announcements were still playing on one unit i was on last month. So at least one train still has him.

“For the protection of everyone, you must wear a face covering on board trains and at stations unless you are exempt” I did particularly like this one at the time. The announcements were very clearly worded and spoken, unlike the new ones. Presumably he is a professional voice artist who was hired to make the serious announcement.

Trisha Jarman - The old main voice of the trains. She is currently being replaced but a few units still have her.

• Seb - The old safety voice of the trains. He is currently being replaced but a few units still have him.

Just professional voice artists with northern accents. The copyright arrangements of Arriva’s recordings wasn’t sustainable, so why couldn’t they be replaced with new recordings of equal quality? LNER and TPE haven’t done the same approach and rerecorded announcements using other staff members.

Dan Strauss - The voice of the Class 333 units. He was meant to be replaced over a year ago but the rollout of TrainFX seems to be delayed. Hopefully it continues to be delayed as he has a brilliant voice.

Welcome to the Leeds train. He may actually have made the clearest announcements on the Northern fleet, so of course they’re desperate to replace him…

 

[northwichcat]

Who is a Northern conductor at York, but not a professional voice artist. Noticeably, the further the stations he is announcing get from York, they degrade in quality.

He also worked on an army radio station which probably explains why Northern chose him ahead of other staff, and why he sounds more like an adult addressing teenagers than an employee talking to customers.

Of course it is good for a woman to be working in cybersecurity, but she is not a professional voice artist and has the single least northern accent I have ever heard.

She works in the north, but is originally from the south.

The worst thing about her announcements is, why do so many now start with her saying “Welcome aboard this Northern service to” and then continue with Peter Corley stating the destination and making all further announcements, including the safety “see it say it sort it” which she was supposed to make?

I thought they replaced that bit at the latest update, after they re-recorded Peter saying to rather than t'

Of course it is good for a woman to be working in cybersecurity

It's off topic but the demographic of people working in cybersecurity is different to IT and tech roles generally. It's not generally people who have started in IT, but people who fancy career changes. I've looked at that option before and on one occasion I was interviewed by an all female panel of 4 for a trainee role. I understand there are a lot of people who have police desk jobs or army support roles who move in the cybersecurity.

 

[HUY2ROB]

Roby should be "Robee" not "Robuh"

 

[WF4HA5HE]

The one that always gets me is Barnsley, at first it sounded like he tried to record it as if he had a Barnsley accent. They have not changed it but I think all they have done is speed it up so it now says it at what sounds like 2x speed.

 

[skyhigh]

• Unknown Male 2 - This is a new male voice used for the "thank you for travelling with Northern" recording. This has starting being rolled out very recently. I have no idea why they have gotten a new man to record this instead of getting Peter Corley to do it. Most likely a staff member.

It's a member of control staff, who also does various ad-hoc announcements at stations for disruption.

Unknown Male 5 - Corona Virus announcements voice. This is a very well spoken male RP voice used for the Corona Virus announcements. He just does announcements about social distancing and was introduced when Corona Virus started. I thought he was long gone but his Corona Virus announcements were still playing on one unit i was on last month. So at least one train still has him.

That was someone who worked in training but has since retired.

He may actually have made the clearest announcements on the Northern fleet, so of course they’re desperate to replace him…

Given they're the last to go, I don't think it shows a desperation... Simply the 333 system is end-of-life and it makes sense to standardised the fleet with the rest. The 333 announcements aren't held anywhere accessible and don't even have the full range of stations the units serve. I have a feeling there was some kind of contractual issue, as when Kirkstall and Apperley opened a full set of new recordings was done with a new voice artist, but due to technical limitations never used.

When it comes to the CAF PIS, there is a major update planned for the next few months which should tidy things up and remove the issue where some units drop back to older software versions.

 

[Killingworth]

It's a member of control staff, who also does various ad-hoc announcements at stations for disruption.

That was someone who worked in training but has since retired.

Given they're the last to go, I don't think it shows a desperation... Simply the 333 system is end-of-life and it makes sense to standardised the fleet with the rest. The 333 announcements aren't held anywhere accessible and don't even have the full range of stations the units serve. I have a feeling there was some kind of contractual issue, as when Kirkstall and Apperley opened a full set of new recordings was done with a new voice artist, but due to technical limitations never used.

When it comes to the CAF PIS, there is a major update planned for the next few months which should tidy things up and remove the issue where some units drop back to older software versions.

I don't know who's voice it was but since Dore & Totley got a 6 car platform last month we seem to be being warned that it has a short platform! Suitable for most other 4 car stations on the Hope Valley line when operating 6 car trains at weekends but not on a 3 car 195 anywhere today.

 

[Plethora]

Late to this party, but I really miss the announcements when the Kirkby branch was extended to HBL.

(Standard female announcer)
This is the Northern service to...

(Male announcer who sounds like he's recorded via a tin can)
... 'EDBOL' LAIN

Always made me and my wife chuckle. I had it as my personal lore that they pulled in a random guy out of the depot to record it.

 

[WestCoast]

There were people on my Man Airport - Blackpool North service last week laughing out loud at this guy, sounded to me like a Yorkshire guy having a go at a Lancashire pronunciation of Bolton and Chorley.

I find the best announcer in the north by far is the chap that does the Blackpool trams (and buses). I believe he’s a local radio presenter and would be an excellent choice for Northern I think. Also far better than the lady on the Metrolink too!