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"All change please, all change."

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yorksrob

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Ahhh Carshalton Beeches, fond memories of the station of my youth and the only one where I saw "Gap/step the mind" painted on the platform edge.

A Victoria announcement for that line also appears in Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls!

Which is strange as the video for that song features Waterloo (complete with blue/grey liveried VEP).
 
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Sheepy1209

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There's one announcer at Crewe reminds of Stanley Unwin. Lots of utterance and very tuneful, most of it indecipherable. I haven't heard him say 'deep joy' though.

I've often heard Crewe announced as 'Carroo', or even 'Caaaarrooo', which I rather like.
 

6Gman

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There's one announcer at Crewe reminds of Stanley Unwin. Lots of utterance and very tuneful, most of it indecipherable. I haven't heard him say 'deep joy' though.

It would be fair to say that he's a well-known local character! :D
 

Tom B

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The announcer at Waverley sounds extremely depressed and half-asleep...
 

maniacmartin

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'X. this is X' and 'This train terminates here. All change please; all change' are two of my favourite announcements :) Sadly they are getting rarer.
 

class303

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Who is the announcer at Manchester Piccadilly? Shes also heard at Euston aswell, one of the worst announcers in living memory.
I hate her slow and dragging on forever voice, anything she says has the potential to drive me right round the bend. Just glad im not one of them poor despatchers who have to live under her constant annoying voice every day, especially when she says the word "northern" and "Manchester Airport"

Really grates as she says "xxx train as it is ready to LEAVE". depart is much better imo
 

jon0844

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Given there are many trains with no PIS or non-working systems for a lot of the time, the pre-Atos systems that announced the station when the train had arrived on the platform was very useful for those ON the train not necessarily sure where they were, either because it was late/dark, or the train was/is very busy and they can't easily see out.

But now we don't have those announcements. Indeed, we only get the train announced some 20-25 seconds before it arrives. And yet the train still has nothing to tell people where they are.

Progress?

Another thing lacking on the newer systems at some stations is announcing the next service further in advance on the platform, so you can hear in advance what the next train will be some time before it's there. If you were visually impaired, you basically get that 20-25 second warning and sod all else. Again, progress?
 

Mutant Lemming

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My favourite used to be "This Train is Being Withdrawn from Passenger Service". (only when it was made by myself, of course). I did once have a passenger comment that I didn't have to sound so bloody happy saying it.
 

route:oxford

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I love that :D :lol: (Being pedantic it is only Southern and possibly some Southeastern stations that have it ;)). Even the new announcer at Gatwick Airport and East Croydon have it. Probably dates back to the days of the Mk1 group of stock :P

In the olden days, the automatic announcer at Stirling always started with "Stirling, This is Stirling"
 

tsr

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The "human" at East Croydon (I call him that, but I don't actually think I've met him, so knowing Croydon, he may just be a larynx manipulated by witchcraft) who regularly announces on weekday mornings starts with "Good morning and welcome to East Croydon". It wouldn't sound as good if it was pre-recorded, but as it stands, it's a nice welcome, and in practice it works as well as something like "East Croydon, this is East Croydon". Though quite how you'd miss it on a rammed 319 when it shudders to a stop and gets packed by a further few hundred people, I don't know! ;)
 

Andyh82

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'X. this is X' and 'This train terminates here. All change please; all change' are two of my favourite announcements :) Sadly they are getting rarer.

Used to be a regular at Sheffield when Phil Sayer used to do the announcements, that was before the system upgrade when the screens that are being discussed in another thread were installed about 10 years ago.

The worst announcer is the one used at First TPE stations, fact, end of discussion! :lol:
 

nw1

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In the same vein is the Southern region station 'reminders': "Haywards Heath, this is Haywards Heath."

Was that Southern Region only? Commonplace in the 1980s IIRC but seems to have gone out of fashion since. ISTR hearing "Reading, this is Reading" but might be wrong.

I'm sure I heard something like "Arras, ici Arras" in France around 2000 so maybe the Southern isn't the only place in the world that did something similar.
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Really grates as she says "xxx train as it is ready to LEAVE". depart is much better imo

Reminds me of the Guildford announcement in 1997 for London trains: The train at Platform 5 is the XX:XX to London.... WATERLOO. Calling at Woking, Clapham Junction and WaterLOO, only". (Capitalised words noticeably louder than the rest)
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My favourite used to be "This Train is Being Withdrawn from Passenger Service". (only when it was made by myself, of course). I did once have a passenger comment that I didn't have to sound so bloody happy saying it.

I remember being on Waterloo one day in 1991 when they chopped a lot of trains during the peak, and hearing a whole list of "as from the XX the 17:XX will no longer run" or "The 17:XX will be reduced to Y-4 coaches". Quite a lot of trains on the Waterloo lines went at that timetable change, IIRC.
 

noddingdonkey

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"Wakefield Westgate, this is Wakefield Westgate" was certainly announced by the automated system in the 90s
 

185

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Stick on Arnie's voice.

"You are bee-ing ter-min-nate-ed"

Apparently, in 2002, TOC First North Western manager Adrian Barclay decided to warn staff in a memo "You must never mention the word terminate in any announcement as it may frighten elderly or frail people."

Plonker.

Cue every announcement from that day including the word terminate about six times.
 

CC 72100

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Was that Southern Region only? Commonplace in the 1980s IIRC but seems to have gone out of fashion since. ISTR hearing "Reading, this is Reading" but might be wrong.

I'm sure I heard something like "Arras, ici Arras" in France around 2000 so maybe the Southern isn't the only place in the world that did something similar.

Still used today - heard "Troyes, ici Troyes" just as an Intercités train arrived. It wasn't terminating there, but there was a stop of about 3 minutes.

It's safe to say that the automated announcer did go into a bit of overdrive that day, with an announcement every minute for about 15 minutes concerning the two trains which were due (before there was then nothing for another hour!), with every single announcement reminding us that "people accompanying passengers should not board the train", regardless of what went before!
 

Parallel

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I actually don't mind Anne. The recordings seem to be different at somewhere like Worcester Foregate Street than somewhere like Bristol Temple Meads though, the pronunciations seem a little different, and at the former for trains to Weymouth, she misses off "Castle Cary" when it's listed on the LED information system. It's slightly annoying how she says "Lawrence Hill" at this station too, where as at FGW land it's said clearly. She also says "This train has X carriages" rather than coaches in Worcester. I prefer her announcements at FGW stations though.

I really like the "Ruth" announcer (Arriva Trains Wales). We used to have her at some parts in the west country. She sounds so enthusiastic... I.e. "Platform ssssix for the sixteen OHHHH ONE Arriva Trains Wales service to BARGOED. Calling at Cardiff QUEEN Street, Heath HIGH level, Llanishen, Lisvane and Thornhill, Caeeeeerphillllyyy, ABER..." etc etc. It's just nice to hear and she doesn't dilly dally through all the welsh stations. However not liking her pronunciation of "Keynsham"...
 

Mutant Lemming

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The Heart of Wales line departures make for a lengthy monologue at Shrewsbury. Not heard them at Swansea/Abertawe are they done bi-lingually ?
 

SqUaShIe P

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When I was a Conductor, I always made the 'All change please, all change' announcement when arriving at the final station. Its something I always remember hearing on the underground and on the mainline from being a child right up to being an adult. Made me smile when I was on a Northern Service pulling into Liverpool Lime Street this afternoon and the Conductor said it too. I think its just one of those railway things :)
 
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