"Unheard" Tube announcements?

[Kristofferson]

Having just read this article about voiceover artists, I'm curious to discover what the "secret" emergency announcements Emma Clarke recorded for the Tube are?

Would be slightly eerie to hear very bad news being delivered by the same soothing voice that announces "the next stop is..."

 

[tsr]

Yes, they have emergency settings. Some of these are just for information. A worrying one for many "normals" is:

"We are currently being held at a red signal and should be mentioned on a RailUK Forums thread shortly."

Followed by:

"Would passengers please look right down inside the glossary and make use of all available terms about problems with the traction current."

</silly>

In seriousness, I believe these would be the auto-evacuation and incident messages used if the driver is busy or unable to use the PA, though I suppose you guessed as much. I'm not sure about her voiceovers on other stock, but I believe the recorded announcements for S Stock include full instructions for passengers as to how to leave the train via the cabs in the event of a serious incident, though I could be wrong here.

 

[Lockwood]

ISTR them playing some of those clips on a documentary, when they were testing the PA system.
It was a calm voice saying that there was an incident, and the guy being filmed said that the next thing after that would be an evacuation.

 

[deltic1989]

Would it be entirely stepping into cloud cookoo land to think that some Cold War era stock (Not to up on classes of tube stock or their ages) would have an announcement regarding a nuclear attack?

 

[Eagle]

Would it be entirely stepping into cloud cookoo land to think that some Cold War era stock (Not to up on classes of tube stock or their ages) would have an announcement regarding a nuclear attack?

Possibly, but all tube stock has had its PA equipment replaced (or at least rerecorded) since then.

 

[superdrive1]

I actually have got hold of worded examples of the 'emergency' announcements played on S Stock trains. Covering things from...

"This train is terminating here because of an incident on the line ahead. Please take your belongings with you when you leave the train. All change please. London Underground apologizes for any inconvenience caused."

And...

"This train is terminating here because of a technical fault. Please take your belongings with you when you leave the train. All change please. London Underground apologizes for any inconvenience caused."

Going right up to announcements such as...

"Attention. As part of a routine safety procedure, this train is about to move slowly forward and then stop suddenly. Please use any seats available or if standing, hold on tight. The train will then continue moving at a reduced speed."

"Due to an ongoing incident arrangements are being made to transfer passengers from this train to the next station. Please remain where you are and await instructions from a member of staff."

"Due to an ongoing incident arrangements are being made to transfer passengers from this train to another train. Please remain where you are and await instructions from a member of staff."

"Attention. This train and station are now being evacuated. Please leave the train and exit the station. Follow any instructions given by staff."

My understanding is all LU stocks have these style of announcements available for use as required, but vary from train to train.

 

[Mikey C]

Would it be entirely stepping into cloud cookoo land to think that some Cold War era stock (Not to up on classes of tube stock or their ages) would have an announcement regarding a nuclear attack?

London Underground regret to inform you that London has been destroyed by a Soviet thermonuclear device, which may cause delays to Central Line services today. A good service is operating on all other lines.

 

[Lockwood]

London Underground regret to inform you that London has been destroyed by a Soviet thermonuclear device, which may cause delays to Central Line services today. A good service is operating on all other lines.

"Change at Tottenham Court Road for Northern Line services to Deep Level Shelters. Please have your Oyster card ready to tap in at the shelter"

 

[rebmcr]

"Due to an incident, passengers on the London Underground network now form a new subterranean society. Please nominate a representative of your carriage to be your tribe's leader."

 

[starrymarkb]

There is this video which IIRC includes "Is there a Doctor on the train", "EVACUATE NOW" and other delights

[youtube]Ct9COwWu69k[/youtube]

 

[Muzer]

Excellent!

 

[Kristofferson]

Entertaining and informative! Thanks for the replies

 

[Peter Mugridge]

"There... is... to... be... a... tot-al... tick-et... check... on... this... train... right...now... Have... your... tick-ets... read-y... for... in-spec-ti-on... If... you... do... not... have... a... val-id... tick-et... you... will... be... ex-ter-min-at-ed...!! Ex-ter-min-ate...!! Ex-ter-min-ate...!! Ex-ter-min-ate...!!"

 

[syorksdeano]

The one that you need to be worried about is:
"We apologise to customers on this train, but Boris Johnson has just stepped onboard"

 

[Cherry_Picker]

There is this video which IIRC includes "Is there a Doctor on the train", "EVACUATE NOW" and other delights

[youtube]Ct9COwWu69k[/youtube]

I think somebody hit the PIS test button by mistake there.

 

[CatfordCat]

London's buses also have a number of pre-recorded announcements that the driver can set to play.

Including "seats are available on the upper deck"

Which causes some confusion when on a single decker...

 

[JackTheLad]

The Victoria line yesterday had "All national rail services from Victoria/Vauxhall/Brixton are currently suspended"

 

[superdrive1]

The Victoria line yesterday had "All national rail services from Victoria/Vauxhall/Brixton are currently suspended"

Good point yes, 09TS do have those announcements setup within their system as I have observed an 09 saying 'National Rail services from Tottenham Hale are suspended.", this was when all West Anglia services were diverted via Seven Sisters and nothing was running via Tottenham Hale.

 

[thebigcheese]

Funnily enough it's exactly when something out of the ordinary happens that I would prefer a human voice making the announcements - as a frequent traveller I tend to block out the vast majority of automatic ones!

 

[PermitToTravel]

An advantage to the automatic ones, however, is that the message is repeated in scrolling text on the DMIs, for people with hearing difficulties

 

[ECML180]

Not gone through it, but this looks like a fairly long list of announcements!

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/train_dva_script_of_all_london_u

 

[Lockwood]

http://www.emmaclarke.com/fun/mind-the-gap/spoof-london-underground-announcements

Do these count?

 

[paddington]

The driver on a Circle ex-Hammersmith S stock played "There are beggars and buskers operating on this train. Please do not encourage their presence by supporting them" today, at Latimer Rd. Didn't see any...

 

[Lockwood]

I've often thought what the W&C could be like with a mainline PIS on it.

"Welcome on board the Waterloo and City Line service to Bank calling at Bank."
"The next station is Bank. This is coach number 2 of 4."
"Safety information is displayed in all carriages."
"We are now approaching Bank where this service terminates. Please ensure you take all your belongings with you and do not leave cases or parcels unattended anywhere on the station."

That'd be longer than the full journey? (Yes, I think I did mix up Southern and SWT messages there)

Not so much unheard as "scenes we'd like to see"

 

[jon0844]

It certainly would be great to have an announcement that played on the W&C line for long enough for the journey to be over by the time it gets there!

"Welcome on board this London Underground Waterloo and City Line service to Bank. Calling at Bank only. Would passengers intending to travel please board the train now as it is ready to leave. Safety information is display throughout the train, please take time to familiarise yourself with their contents. Oh, and by the way, are you still here? The train has already arrived. Get off. Unless you want to go back to Waterloo that is. Welcome onboard this London Underground Waterloo and City Line service to Waterloo, calling at Waterloo only..."

 

[Eagle]

That'd be longer than the full journey? (Yes, I think I did mix up Southern and SWT messages there)

Considering how close the W&C came to being a SWT operation... :P

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If that was in Paris, the announcement would be beautifully clear and concise.

On approach it would say simply:

"Bank."

Upon arrival it would say simply:

"Bank."

And that's it.

 

[jon0844]

You shouldn't even need that. You get on, doors close, doors open, you get off.

 

[Nym]

You shouldn't even need that. You get on, doors close, doors open, you get off.

It's honestly not THAT quick on the W&C line, is a few minutes end to end...

 

[jon0844]

I know, I've used it many times. My point was that when it stops, you're where you want to be. You know where you got on...

(And, yes, I'm joking at the expense of those who would need such an announcement - like the visually impaired, deaf etc).