Anne station Announcements

[TrainTube]

Only this week have I noticed that the Woman who does the announcements at Euston, Kings Cross, Lime Street etc known as Anne was announcing services at Thames Ditton. I was wondering whether SWR will use her for the other stations owned by SWR like GWR do, or whether this was a one off.

 

[swt_passenger]

Some of the stations were changed under SWT. It isn’t at all recent, and IIRC from earlier threads it isn’t SWR’s decision. Where there’s multiple platforms with separate announcers (eg Southampton) they’re still using the earlier voices.

 

[tommy2215]

They're also installing Rodger from the GWR network

 

[ValleyLines142]

Rodger from the GWR network has difficulty pronouncing Didcot Parkway and Cheltenham. Also, Weston-super-Mare is pronounced too harshly (as if it's Weston-SOOPAMARE).

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Rodger has some difficulty on pronoucing Westbury, its as if the annoucement has been cut 'n' shut to sound as West Bury. He also drones the Down part of Clifton Down as Clifton Dowwwnnnnnnnnn.

Northern should roll out Rodger to complement Celia? which would be ideal on stations which have departures that are within a minute of each other on different platforms.

 

[Malcolmffc]

I sincerely hope Anne doesn’t spread to the rest of SWR. Her diction is awful - I used to commute on FCC and got sick of hearing the announcements about “First Capital Kunnectt” every day

 

[greaterwest]

Some of the stations were changed under SWT. It isn’t at all recent, and IIRC from earlier threads it isn’t SWR’s decision. Where there’s multiple platforms with separate announcers (eg Southampton) they’re still using the earlier voices.

It was not SWT's decision, they were trying to transition to KeTech (and Celia Drummond's new recordings such as those at Waterloo, Aldershot, Farnborough, Andover and Winchester).

SWR decided to stop that and they have begun installing ATOS Anne. So far by my observation, Haslemere, Farnham, Shepperton, Thames Ditton and Chiswick have been changed.

 

[Parallel]

Anne and Rodger are also at Wokingham, Rodger has literally been sped up though!

 

[swt_passenger]

It was not SWT's decision, they were trying to transition to KeTech (and Celia Drummond's new recordings such as those at Waterloo, Aldershot, Farnborough, Andover and Winchester).

SWR decided to stop that and they have begun installing ATOS Anne. So far by my observation, Haslemere, Farnham, Shepperton, Thames Ditton and Chiswick have been changed.

Ok, to put it another way, SWT started the change from the old Phil and Celia. We already had a couple of pages of this in the SWR franchise thread way back during the Waterloo Blockade, August ‘17. To be honest I haven’t a clue which voice goes with which system now. Suffice to say it didnt just start in the last few days.

 

[Ethano92]

I do find Anne's voice slightly annoying but I think her deployment will be almost network-wide across SWR. Heard her at Kingston a couple of weeks ago

 

[satisnek]

Is it Anne at Cheltenham Spa? If so, she says 'Newcahsle' there and 'Newcassle' at Derby. However, she says 'Matlock Bahth' at the latter, which is definitely wrong!

Last time I used Birmingham Moor Street (a while back since I normally use Snow Hill) they were still using Phil Sayer with a (not quite) soundalike saying 'West Midlands Trains'.

 

[Parallel]

Is it Anne at Cheltenham Spa? If so, she says 'Newcahsle' there and 'Newcassle' at Derby. However, she says 'Matlock Bahth' at the latter, which is definitely wrong!

Last time I used Birmingham Moor Street (a while back since I normally use Snow Hill) they were still using Phil Sayer with a (not quite) soundalike saying 'West Midlands Trains'.

Rodger is on both platforms at Cheltenham Spa. Maybe Anne was there previously though!

Birmingham Moor Street still has Phil and Celia, and yes, there is a Phil imposter that says ‘West Midlands Railway’. Not a bad impression but the ‘railway’ gives it away.

 

[Fearless]

Anyone know the name of the woman doing the onboard announcements on the IETs? It bugs me how she pronounces Weston-super-Mehhhh. And she is almost breathless with excitement at the mention of Swindon!

 

[RichT54]

Anyone know the name of the woman doing the onboard announcements on the IETs? It bugs me how she pronounces Weston-super-Mehhhh. And she is almost breathless with excitement at the mention of Swindon!

I think that voice is also used on the North Downs line since the change from FGW to GWR. It sounds like she is talking to a group of pre-school children in an unnecessary attempt to make the destinations sound exciting.

 

[fgwrich]

Anyone know the name of the woman doing the onboard announcements on the IETs? It bugs me how she pronounces Weston-super-Mehhhh. And she is almost breathless with excitement at the mention of Swindon!

My one main gripe with her is the extra emphasis she seems to put on the S in names. It’s almost like Basssing Stoke, Reading Wessst, Sssswindon, Brisstol Parkway, Brisstol Temple Meads etc. And she absolutely waffles on on the turbos with endless safety information / if you see anything / sssee it sssay it sssorted!

Going back to ATOS Anne, I noticed while changing at Wokingham the other day she still seems to have pronounciation issues. For her in particular, when announcing South Western Railway seems to come out more like South Western Ruulway.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

I think the Brighton Mainline closure announcements on TLR are brilliant and Geoff should be the new voice of the railway

 

[satisnek]

Rodger is on both platforms at Cheltenham Spa. Maybe Anne was there previously though!

Birmingham Moor Street still has Phil and Celia, and yes, there is a Phil imposter that says ‘West Midlands Railway’. Not a bad impression but the ‘railway’ gives it away.

That's it - West Midlands Railway! I dunno what they're called; it's different in London and Birmingham. 'London Midland' was so much easier!

 

[Ethano92]

I think that voice is also used on the North Downs line since the change from FGW to GWR. It sounds like she is talking to a group of pre-school children in an unnecessary attempt to make the destinations sound exciting.

My favourite is when she sounds like she's about to burst out laughing at the excitement of not trying to leave the train 'when the doors are closing'. I do wonder why she sounds like a fed up parent trying to make the smallest thing interesting to their kids so they'll be quiet

"Thisss is a Great Western Raiilway service to.... Lundain Paddington, the nnnext stashhhon is... Ddidcot Parkway!"

 

[Fearless]

Sometimes she's joined by a male voice so that they share the warnings about leaving luggage, minding the gap etc. Her tendency to sound over-excited made me wonder if anything untoward was happening when the messages were being recorded... or maybe I've just got a dirty mind.

 

[greaterwest]

Anyone know the name of the woman doing the onboard announcements on the IETs? It bugs me how she pronounces Weston-super-Mehhhh. And she is almost breathless with excitement at the mention of Swindon!

That's Janine Cooper-Marshall. I personally think her announcements sound fine. Infinitely better than Faye Dicker's ones were (the voice they used on the Turbos immediately post-FGW)

 

[Parallel]

Janine has a webpage here with some of her work including train announcements. I actually think she's got a lovely tone to her voice and is a big improvement on Faye Dicker who she replaced, even if her voice does come across as a bit patronising on the trains (I also find 'Lun-dun Paddington' a bit grating.)

 

[Ethano92]

She sounds much better on her website, yet on board she sounds like she's talking to 3 year olds. I'll certainly listen again next time I'm on GWR

 

[pt_mad]

Is there a webpage or media picture of the Annie voiceover lady anywhere? I wonder whether she looks as she sounds.

 

[JohnRegular]

Meaning no personal distespect to amy voice artists, but Anne doesn't sound like she knows what she is talking about. As if someone had just wiped her brain of any information, then asked her to read from a card. Just doesn't inspire confidence in me.

I don't mind changing announcements, we get used to them but they have to be changed sometimes. I just hope they keep multiple announcers for stations with multiple platforms. Even at small stations like Romsey, having two annoucers is very useful (espeically since trains on different platforms may be going to the same destinations).

 

[RichT54]

I've noticed at Reading station that, amongst all the announcements by Annie, there is an occasional announcement by a different female voice that says in a rather brusque manner "Toilets are located at platform level".

I guess that, after the station rebuild, customers kept asking staff were the toilets were. I wondered whether they made this extra recording locally so as to reduce the number of these questions. However, it does clash with the Annie style announcements.

 

[gerry9253]

I liked the woman on the Underground who used to announce "Mind the Gap". She was called Sonya as she got on your nerves.......

Gerry

 

[duffield]

Is there a webpage or media picture of the Annie voiceover lady anywhere? I wonder whether she looks as she sounds.

To the best of my knowledge she is not a public figure, just an ordinary Atos employee.

 

[E_Reeves]

Wasn't she on a TV or radio program or something or was that another announcer?

 

[pt_mad]

To the best of my knowledge she is not a public figure, just an ordinary Atos employee.

Wasn't she on a TV or radio program or something or was that another announcer?

Phil Sayer was a professional voiceover artist afaik. So thought she might be as well. Well I suppose really, she is. But it seems unknown whether she's done any other recording work other than railway announcements.

 

[E_Reeves]

Phil Sayer was a professional voiceover artist afaik. So thought she might be as well.

Someone did a radio 2 interview not too long ago, it could've been Anne