Favourite automated announcement chimes and jingles.

Joe Paxton · 6 Nov 2017

Bletchleyite said:
The screens in Sheffield were quite interesting, they weren't easy to read but appeared to be BBC Micro based.

Or teletext based. Certainly a mode 7 look to it. (All much the same thing really!)

Regardless, those screens (if we're talking about the same thing) were quite prevalent across the network back then.

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Bletchleyite · 6 Nov 2017

Joe Paxton said:
Or teletext based. Certainly a mode 7 look to it. (All much the same thing really!)

Regardless, those screens (if we're talking about the same thing) were quite prevalent across the network back then.

The screens were, but less so that specific system - the mainframe based one with larger and clearer text (see attachment) was much more common. (The picture is from Preston in summer 1998).

317666 · 9 Nov 2017

AY1975 said:
Never heard that one on DB before. Most DB stations have a standard "bing bong" (or at least they did in the 1990s).

I quite liked this one from Leipzig Hbf which I remember from the mid-1990s: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt2sow5_stY

and these ones from Stuttgart Hbf: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzvyRVnaQNQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrNzA_weRo0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNwHKeZktwM

Those first two from Stuttgart are pre-recorded announcements activated from a panel on each platform, to inform passengers that the train is about to depart. The bottom one is the normal chime, and was still in use last time I was in Stuttgart last year!

Bletchleyite · 9 Nov 2017

317666 said:
Those first two from Stuttgart are pre-recorded announcements activated from a panel on each platform, to inform passengers that the train is about to depart. The bottom one is the normal chime, and was still in use last time I was in Stuttgart last year!

The "An Gleis N bitte einsteigen" ones are getting less common as they are not used for DOO trains as DB does not use dispatchers for these.

PlanetD84 · 26 Mar 2019

There used to be a website that had loads of jingles...but I have lost the link to it and for the life of me can't find it anymore

If anyone does find, please do share! Loved that site.

Meanwhile, here is a fun one: (start at 1m34)

Adlington · 26 Mar 2019

A simple chime (followed by an announcement) from the Prague metro.

It has its own page (section of page, actually) on Wikipedia.

RichJF · 27 Mar 2019

The latest SNCF one is the most catchy & memorable tbh

Giugiaro · 27 Mar 2019

12CSVT said:
I'd have no objection to 'God Save The Queen' as long as it was the version sung by Johnny Rotten

Let me make you laugh a bit. Imagine a train arriving more than an hour late, and the announcement is this:

Train in sight starting at 1:22, then REJOICE at its arrival!

ijmad · 27 Mar 2019

The jingle on Chinese CRH high speed trains is quite cute.

Giugiaro · 27 Mar 2019

Oh, BTW, let me share how announcements used to be during my childhood.
During the 90s refurbishment of the Portuguese railway network, stations were fitted with a DTMF receiver and decoder in order to issue announcements both locally and from remote access, through telephonic wiring. This DTMF system allowed for railway workers to communicate with each other, between them and the passengers, both locally and in a centralized control tower, and from passengers to the regulator as well.
This system eventually started being replaced around 2007 and has been almost completely extinct, being only used in places refurbished in the 90s where centralized control still hasn't reached.
I made the following video with the two usual codes used to terminate a connection with the station's announcement system, which were still audible to the passengers.

It has been replaced by this:

My current favourites are Japanese and are the following: Gota del Vient, JR-SH1-1, JR-SH2-3, JR-SH3-3 and JR-SH5-3

gazthomas · 27 Mar 2019

I like the crazily optimistic SNCF jingles

Aictos · 27 Mar 2019

Finally found the page which does go into detail about some DB chimes, the first Youtube video in the link I have provided below has the chime that plays prior to every station stop in the Berlin-Brandenburg area on the DB Regio trains.

Link which has more information about the history and use of chimes by DB here

F Great Eastern · 27 Mar 2019

RichJF said:
The latest SNCF one is the most catchy & memorable tbh

The 1993 one is commonplace in many countries, it exists on a lot of PKP loco hauled stock in Poland and also been heard on CD trains in Czech Republic.

Bletchleyite · 27 Mar 2019

One thing that's quite interesting is that the Class 700, for manual announcements, has the Nederlandse Spoorwegen jingle, which I find quite pleasing.

superalbs · 27 Mar 2019

The Øresundståg announcement chime is the same as on our own Class 395s.

Pakenhamtrain · 28 Mar 2019

This chime is what gets used on our system. Normally it's the chime then the auto announcement.

Giugiaro said:
Oh, BTW, let me share how announcements used to be during my childhood.
During the 90s refurbishment of the Portuguese railway network, stations were fitted with a DTMF receiver and decoder in order to issue announcements both locally and from remote access, through telephonic wiring. This DTMF system allowed for railway workers to communicate with each other, between them and the passengers, both locally and in a centralized control tower, and from passengers to the regulator as well.
This system eventually started being replaced around 2007 and has been almost completely extinct, being only used in places refurbished in the 90s where centralized control still hasn't reached.
I made the following video with the two usual codes used to terminate a connection with the station's announcement system, which were still audible to the passengers.

We still have a system like that for our announcements called PRIDE II(Passenger Realtime Information Dissemination Equipment):

A talking brick when you press the button it makes a telephone call and it comes back with the auto next train info. Apprantly if one knows the phone number for that particular talking brick you can use a regular phone to hear the next train. I have actually heard a train driver use the pre DTRS radio system to do as such!

V/Line now have thier own version but with American sounding tones.

With the main announcements next train arriving you get the end of call tone after the announcements before it hangs up.
Manual announcements can by done by someone elsewhere. It does sound like they're talking into a telephone however and not the best.

Bletchleyite · 28 Mar 2019

F Great Eastern said:
The 1993 one is commonplace in many countries, it exists on a lot of PKP loco hauled stock in Poland and also been heard on CD trains in Czech Republic.

The electronic "bing-bang-bong"? That one isn't SNCF's at all, it's totally generic, some doorbells even do it.

The second one in the video is basically the old BR one twice - I wonder who nicked it from who?

It does still really surprise me that no UK TOC, particularly the image-conscious ones like VT, has a signature jingle. Plenty of businesses do.

Mag_seven · 30 Mar 2019

Bletchleyite said:
It does still really surprise me that no UK TOC, particularly the image-conscious ones like VT, has a signature jingle. Plenty of businesses do.

Please don't give Branson ideas - his talking toilets are bad enough without even more noise pollution on his trains.

stut · 2 Apr 2019

Definitely Japan. The Yamanote Line jingles, in particular, are really engaging.

[oh, just saw that same video was posted above - great minds!]

I also rather like the Indian ones, which are often simply Windows alert noises. It makes you do a quick double-take each time.

Bletchleyite · 2 Apr 2019

stut said:
I also rather like the Indian ones, which are often simply Windows alert noises. It makes you do a quick double-take each time.

Yeah, they use the Windows 3.11 "chime" for announcements. It is a bit odd!

Edit: for clarity, this one:

F Great Eastern · 2 Apr 2019

Bletchleyite said:
Yeah, they use the Windows 3.11 "chime" for announcements. It is a bit odd!

Irish rail have this on there 22000 class.

cholsey-choose · 2 Apr 2019

Just to add some Yamanote Line fun:

AY1975 · 10 Mar 2020

Jordy said:
There's a load of Czech chimes here http://www.hlaseni.net/znelky.html

Vyehrad (Bedřich Smetana) is used at Praha hln (occasionally, if the announcements stop for long enough!)

Unfortunately I see that Czech Railways is now phasing out the unique chime for each station in favour of a standard one throughout, which I think is a pity. Having a different jingle for each station was one of the quirks of České dráhy. See www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/end-of-an-era-bell-tolls-for-iconic-czech-railway-train-jingles

See also this thread: www.railforums.co.uk/threads/announcement-chimes-and-jingles.175035/

AlexNL · 10 Mar 2020

One chime which I really like is the service update chime used in the Paris Metro. And someone uploaded a clean version to YouTube not too long ago.

Bletchleyite · 10 Mar 2020

AY1975 said:
Unfortunately I see that Czech Railways is now phasing out the unique chime for each station in favour of a standard one throughout, which I think is a pity. Having a different jingle for each station was one of the quirks of České dráhy. See www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/end-of-an-era-bell-tolls-for-iconic-czech-railway-train-jingles

See also this thread: www.railforums.co.uk/threads/announcement-chimes-and-jingles.175035/

That's a shame, don't see why they couldn't load them into any new robo-PIS.

rangersac · 12 Mar 2020

I quite enjoy the Seoul Metro jingles

In particular the interchange tune is rather natty (full version below).

jumble · 12 Mar 2020

I thought the tram warning in Basel rather fun
Their trams still makes a bell ringing noise bing bing bing (probably electronically) which I guess would be exactly the same as heard by a pedestrian 100 years ago

Wolfie · 21 Mar 2020

Mag_seven said:
I like the "old" Swiss SBB jingle:

I seem to remember it was played at Euston for a time in the eighties.

That, or something very similar, was definitely used at Euston - late 80s?

Wolfie · 21 Mar 2020

rangersac said:
I quite enjoy the Seoul Metro jingles

In particular the interchange tune is rather natty (full version below).

Yup, but just to confuse things there are, l understand, two different operators, each covering certain lines, and they use different jingles.... I was in Seoul last summer.

43096 · 21 Mar 2020

I still like this, particularly the first, German, one:

Having travelled through France with its general arrogance and useless service, then walk round from Basel SNCF to Basel SBB and hear the SBB chime - it just says, ah, a civilised country with a proper railway system.

Favourite automated announcement chimes and jingles.

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