Are there any male automated announcements on trains?

[devon_belle]

I know that there are various automated announcers with male voices used at stations, but I've never come across one on a train. Are there any, and if not, why not?

 

[_toommm_]

Pretty sure some parts of the announcements on Northern use a male voice.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

GWR uses a secondary male voice.

"Please take CARE, when stepping down from the train"...

 

[devon_belle]

GWR uses a secondary male voice.

"Please take CARE, when stepping down from the train"...

I'd missed that. To that end, TfL uses a male voice for the 61016 announcement too. But I was thinking more in terms of the primary voice.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

I'd missed that. To that end, TfL uses a male voice for the 61016 announcement too. But I was thinking more in terms of the primary voice.

I cannot stand that announcement, I remember when I first heard it on a packed morning rush hour train - everyone jumped out of their skin!

I was on a Preston to Blackpool Northern train recently and the primary voice was male. The Blackpool and London trams use male voices

 

[Turtle]

I know that there are various automated announcers with male voices used at stations, but I've never come across one on a train. Are there any, and if not, why not?

Very simply, it's biology. The female voice is pitched higher than the male and is usually easier
to understand.

 

[156421]

Pretty sure some parts of the announcements on Northern use a male voice.

Yes there's a very loud one on some of the 156s/158s yelling "have tickets and passes ready for inspection"

 

[hacman]

Tyne and Wear Metro have a male announcer on their fleet.

 

[baz962]

Pretty sure I have heard a male voice on Thameslink, although I can't remember if it was recently or not. Was about the short platforms and needing to be in the first so many coaches.

 

[MP393]

TfW announcements on the 197s & Mk4s are done with a male welsh speaking announcer and a female English announcer

 

[Taunton]

The gentleman who long was used for the Underground "Mind the Gap" announcements can still be heard at Embankment. After he died, and most of the announcements had been changed, his wife used to go there to hear his voice . When that last one was changed, the Underground learned of this, and changed it back. Described here :

Mind the Gap Tube announcement returns after wife's plea

A 40-year-old "mind the gap" recording once heard across the Tube will return to one station - so the widow of the actor behind it can hear his voice.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[cocoiadrop]

Not the UK but Adelaide have used them since around 2015 and apparently for assisting with people who are hearing impaired, but I just don't see it.

Otherwise all I've personally heard is that secondary "Mind the gap" announcement on the S stock.

 

[devon_belle]

Very simply, it's biology. The female voice is pitched higher than the male and is usually easier

I thought that it might be to do with male voices blending in with ambient humming/rumbling of the train but I also figured this would be a problem for male voices on stations where engine drone is much more audible.

Perhaps there is a psychological reason where a female voice may soothe passengers on a train (which the company would want), which could explain why a contrasting secondary male voice is used to 'alert' passengers of important parts such as 'mind the gap' etc?

It could equally just be that there is no deep reason at all... I'm just curious!

everyone jumped out of their skin!

In some respects you could say that it worked exactly as intended!

 

[800001]

LNER Azuma safety announcements are male.

 

[Urobach]

Northern 195s and 331s seem to have swapped to a Yorkshire man

"Welcome aboard this northern service t'Manchester Airport"

Preferred the previous woman

 

[dan4291]

The automated announcements on Lumo trains use a male voice.

LNER Azuma safety announcements are male.

Wonder if it's on all Hitachi trains, apart from the Scotrail 385s.

 

[cocoiadrop]

Perhaps there is a psychological reason where a female voice may soothe passengers on a train (which the company would want), which could explain why a contrasting secondary male voice is used to 'alert' passengers of important parts such as 'mind the gap' etc?

That's certainly the explanation I've heard before. A womanly voice reassuring the passenger they're going to the right place, a man's voice giving immediate instructions. Obviously based on gender roles but I couldn't say where I read that explanation in relation to PAs.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's certainly the explanation I've heard before. A womanly voice reassuring the passenger they're going to the right place, a man's voice giving immediate instructions. Obviously based on gender roles but I couldn't say where I read that explanation in relation to PAs.

The principle is absolutely used in plane cockpits.

The other thing is that people find it quite easy to split, in their minds, a male and a female voice, so the old system at New St used Phil and Celia if they were announcing at the same time on two different platforms.

 

[Mojo]

London Trams uses a male voice for the “The next stop is…” and “This Tram is for…” announcements. This is intersected by a female voice who gives ‘fun facts’ such as interchanges, ticketing information and other bits about how the trams accelerate.

When I was last on a class 333 they also used a male voice but the announcements had some rather unusual phrasing such as “Welcome to the Leeds train.”

 

[Essan]

The on train announcements about which station the train will stop at on the Cotswold Line include a man's voice for Worcestershire Parkway - and it's much quieter than the woman's voice used for the rest of the announcement.

 

[Huntergreed]

TPE use a male voice for most (all?) automated announcements (at least on the 397’s which I use).

 

[mlambeuk]

Blackpool trams use a male voice.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I was on a Preston to Blackpool Northern train recently and the primary voice was male. The Blackpool and London trams use male voices

Northern recently replaced the announcement on the Civities (195 and 331) with a male voice.

 

[Horizon22]

There's lots of trains where they alternate between male and female in one announcement but with related, but different info - evidence suggests this improves overall comprehension and awareness.

 

[ar10642]

Thameslink and their annoying "if you see something that doesn't look right" nonsense. Headphones recommended.

 

[TurboMan]

London Trams uses a male voice for the “The next stop is…” and “This Tram is for…” announcements.

Is it still Nicholas Owen the newsreader?

 

[JaJaWa]

For the S Stock (at least) TfL use a female voice for the routine announcements and a male voice for safety critical announcements to ensure they stand out.

Originally only the Croydon Trams and the Northern Class 333s used male voices for the majority of announcements but they have spread quite rapidly in the last couple of years.

 

[brad465]

Virgin trains used to have the middle part of the automated announcement on arriving at a station as a male voice, which said something like "When leaving us here, please remember to take all your belongings with you, and take care when you step down onto the platform." Can't recall if Avanti retained it as it's been a while since I last used them.

 

[danm14]

All automated announcements on Irish Rail trains use a male voice (except for the Enterprise cross-border service, which uses the same female voice as Northern Ireland Railways services)

 

[Jimini]

Virgin trains used to have the middle part of the automated announcement on arriving at a station as a male voice, which said something like "When leaving us here, please remember to take all your belongings with you, and take care when you step down onto the platform." Can't recall if Avanti retained it as it's been a while since I last used them.

They still do aye.