Annoying jargon in railway announcements

[philthetube]

This probably isn’t a universal view but I have no problem with being referred to as a customer per se. My issue is that virtually all that has happened in the transition from being a passenger to being a customer is I am now referred to as a customer rather than a passenger. Customer service on the railway can be abysmal. Many rail employees simply don’t see themselves as working in the service industry.

I give appalling customer service on occasions, purely because I have something more important to do, I always try to refer people to someone who can sort their problems though,

"Alight" - find it slightly archaic. Personally don't understand what is wrong with disembark

Disembark is a very interesting word, obv the opposite of embark, however means the same as bark, a word which has disappeared in the mists of time.

 

[deltic]

I did say can be abysmal, not is. The main problem is there is absolutely no consistency. It seems to be almost entirely down to the individual. Personally I prefer the more informal style – I have no desire to be referred to as sir.

Under BR, when we were passengers, there were also some excellent staff. Some pretty surly ones as well but if you pushed you would usually get somewhere. I’m sorry to say that some of the shiny people you see about now might have showered more recently and have a better attitude but are neither use nor ornament when you need information.

It was British Rail who introduced the term customer when refering to passengers

 

[whhistle]

I would rather be a customer than a passenger. It is called "Customer Service" for a reason.

You moan, but seem to be insistant on being called a "customer"?

I don't give a monkeys whether I'm a customer or passenger.
Being called one or the other doesn't give me any different sort of status.
Calling people one or the other doesn't change my approach with them either.

Same with the guard/senior conductor*/train manager.
They're all "Train Manager" to me and I always tell people to use the same term, as they all broardly carry out the same sort of duty.

*Senior Conductor is a strange one as I'd suggest if you have "Senior", there must be a grade that isn't "Senior", but I've never seen a "Conductor" before. Trainee doesn't really count as that's temporary, but I hate that term in any role anyway. Most roles, in most jobs area always "training" as you're surely always learning something new.

Although the term "Manager" means nothing to me after working in a role where nearly everyone was some sort of "manager". It's just a fancy title.

Passenger is the old fashioned term. You are paying for the railway service, therefore you are a customer.
Whatever will people find to complain about next.

Does that mean if I pay £20 to my friend as petrol money, I am a customer?
And if they break down on the way, or don't get me there in a reasonable amount of time, I can claim some sort of compensation?
No.
Customer/Passenger are so interchangable now - those who make effort to be called one or the other, I find strange.

 

[whhistle]

"Alight" - find it slightly archaic. Personally don't understand what is wrong with disembark?

Or just "get off"?

 

[Strat-tastic]

When they changed it from passenger to customer, I felt it indicated a change in my status. No longer was the company interested in my journey being a positive experience; now I was just a source of revenue.

 

[Deafdoggie]

"All passengers should get off here" as other connotations with the youth of today!

 

[Stigy]

*Senior Conductor is a strange one as I'd suggest if you have "Senior", there must be a grade that isn't "Senior", but I've never seen a "Conductor" before. Trainee doesn't really count as that's temporary, but I hate that term in any role anyway. Most roles, in most jobs area always "training" as you're surely always learning something new

you have never seen a standard conductor? Maybe it’s regional, but surely ‘conductor’ is the norm rather than senior conductor?

 

[Deafdoggie]

With the guard/senior conductor*/train manager.
They're all "Train Manager" to me and I always tell people to use the same term, as they all broardly carry out the same sort of duty.

*Senior Conductor is a strange one as I'd suggest if you have "Senior", there must be a grade that isn't "Senior", but I've never seen a "Conductor" before.

Plenty of conductors on Northern! XC have both Senior Conductors and Train Managers, so there is clearly a difference.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Plenty of conductors on Northern! XC have both Senior Conductors and Train Managers, so there is clearly a difference.

Yes, one is ex-Central Trains, so ex-RR, the other is ex-VXC, so ex-Intercity.

 

[Glen M]

When GN staff announce Moorgate as 'London Moorgate' despite that not actually being the name of the station. Don't know why but it really bothers me.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Yes, one is ex-Central Trains, so ex-RR, the other is ex-VXC, so ex-Intercity.

Yes, so there is a difference.

 

[pdeaves]

When they changed it from passenger to customer, I felt it indicated a change in my status. No longer was the company interested in my journey being a positive experience; now I was just a source of revenue.

That's interesting. I see it the other way round. Passengers were just a nuisance to get in the way of running trains. Customers are the ones paying the wages and deserve proper treatment and consideration.

My father used to work for Post Office Telephones way, way back (must be a long time as it was before it became BT!). When the users were referred to as 'subs' (subscribers), attitudes were poor. When the decision was made to call them customers, staff attitudes improved. I see a similar situation with passengers/customers.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Ooh, a pedants' thread (or should that be "pedant's thread"? )

My favourite archaic term used in railway announcements is the one on Transport for Wales services where the robot woman refers to the "passenger saloon", which for me conjures up images of a rough Wild West bar! Why can't they just use the word "carriage"?

 

[ComUtoR]

Why can't they just use the word "carriage"?

Because then we would have a thread about Carriage vs Coach.... Oh wait !

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/coaches-carriages-or-cars.97661/

 

[Aictos]

When GN staff announce Moorgate as 'London Moorgate' despite that not actually being the name of the station. Don't know why but it really bothers me.

Nothing new there, been done for years, I guess you get bothered by London Kings Cross too then? As it's just Kings Cross...

 

[choochoochoo]

When GN staff announce Moorgate as 'London Moorgate' despite that not actually being the name of the station. Don't know why but it really bothers me.

I tend to use London Moorgate in PAs at stations to help let passengers on board who aren't confident/familiar travelling on trains know the train's travelling in the direction towards London.

Might sound patronising, but when you get passengers who approach you at the 'dead end' at Moorgate and ask you which end is the front of the train you can understand why.

Once 717s are in, I won't have to worry as much about the destination PAs.

 

[Glen M]

I tend to use London Moorgate in PAs at stations to help let passengers on board who aren't confident/familiar travelling on trains know the train's travelling in the direction towards London.

Might sound patronising, but when you get passengers who approach you at the 'dead end' at Moorgate and ask you which end is the front of the train you can understand why.

Once 717s are in, I won't have to worry as much about the destination PAs.

Makes sense I guess, still won't stop me from cringing when I hear it, sorry!

 

[LowLevel]

There are far more conductors than senior conductors. Ex Central Trains/Silverlink TOCs and Greater Anglia are the only TOCs using senior conductor. ScotRail, TFW, GWR, TPE, Northern, Merseyrail, GTR Southern, South Eastern and so on use conductor.

It's an archaic term going back to the 80s.

BR organised it's guards into 3 grades. Trainmen for non commercial suburban passenger and freight duties, conductors for Regional Railways and most Network SouthEast services and senior conductors for Intercity.

On privatisation depots were split and reallocated.

Most IC TOCs renamed their senior conductors as train managers.

Central Trains and Silverlink did an early pay deal to abolish the conductor rate of pay and grade and move all staff to senior conductor (effectively a pay rise) and that's how it's remained to this day.

Greater Anglia still use senior conductor for staff who mostly work the Intercity sets and some 'rural' services. Conductors are the ex Great Eastern staff and more junior Anglia side guards who mostly work rural services but also do cover a limited amount of Intercity work, just to add to the confusion.

 

[mrcheek]

Does that mean if I pay £20 to my friend as petrol money, I am a customer?
.

No, because there is no intention by either of you to create a legal relationship. a very important principle of contract law.

 

[swt_passenger]

"Alight" - find it slightly archaic. Personally don't understand what is wrong with disembark...

I think a dictionary would explain that embark and disembark are terms only related to ships and aircraft.

Oddly enough a few people have previously used the term deboard, and that doesn’t seem to be a real word. Apparently used in some aeroplane ‘scripts’, and subject to some criticism.

 

[choochoochoo]

I think a dictionary would explain that embark and disembark are terms only related to ships and aircraft.

Oddly enough a few people have previously used the term deboard, and that doesn’t seem to be a real word. Apparently used in some aeroplane ‘scripts’, and subject to some criticism.

I've been on cruises in the USA and they use 'debark' much to my chagrin.

 

[Esker-pades]

I've been on cruises in the USA and they use 'debark' much to my chagrin.

I thought 'to debark' was when one removed the vocal chords from a dog or strip a tree.

 

[Bob M]

At Southampton Airport station, SWR trains tell one to 'change here for Southampton Airport'. Actually one has to walk about 100 yards.

 

[Bletchleyite]

At Southampton Airport station, SWR trains tell one to 'change here for Southampton Airport'. Actually one has to walk about 100 yards.

In railway-speak change means leave the train, for some reason, even if there is no requirement to take any other form of transport to get to the place concerned.

 

[xotGD]

"Station stop" is the one that I find daft. Like, who would be announcing the names of stations that the train doesn't stop at?

And if I buy a ticket from the website of Company A for a journey on a train operated by Company B, am I a customer of A and a passenger of B?

 

[Dr_Paul]

In railway-speak change means leave the train, for some reason, even if there is no requirement to take any other form of transport to get to the place concerned.

In that case, 'alight' would be a more suitable term than 'change'.

As it is, I find 'alight' to be a rather pleasing, somewhat archaic-sounding word, pretty much exclusively used in respect of railway carriages and buses, and I wouldn't be surprised to find it in the modern bus and railway companies' lexicon of obsolete terms.

 

[Bletchleyite]

In that case, 'alight' would be a more suitable term than 'change'.

As it is, I find 'alight' to be a rather pleasing, somewhat archaic-sounding word, pretty much exclusively used in respect of railway carriages and buses, and I wouldn't be surprised to find it in the modern bus and railway companies' lexicon of obsolete terms.

I quite like it as well, and I think you could use any word you liked because it's effectively a filler - that kind of statement is clearly suggesting that you "get off" the train there for <wherever>, and the word used doesn't really change the message.

Does anyone else want to scream "DEPART! The word is DEPART!" each time Annie says "Will passengers intending to travel on this service, please board the train now, as it is ready to leave"?

 

[EM2]

Not used in announcements, but I wonder why the railway is so used to using 'vice'? I don't recall it being used in this context anywhere else.

 

[Esker-pades]

"Station stop" is the one that I find daft. Like, who would be announcing the names of stations that the train doesn't stop at?

And if I buy a ticket from the website of Company A for a journey on a train operated by Company B, am I a customer of A and a passenger of B?

I haven't heard "station stop" for quite a while now. Although, I have noticed "station call" being used instead. Both waste as many syllables as each other.

 

[30907]

Not used in announcements, but I wonder why the railway is so used to using 'vice'? I don't recall it being used in this context anywhere else.

It's shorter than "instead of" - is it telegraphese, like CAPE and PINE and the rest?

And it is definitely jargon, rather than just misuse of English, unlike many of the examples on this thread. (I'm one of the many pedants...)