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New Announcer at Victoria, *sigh*

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I normally don't have a reason to post here, but I really am irked about this, so I thought I'd be one of the first to blow the whistle on this one, excuse the pun.

I was hoping this wouldn't happen for another few years, because "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.", but it looks like 19th June 2012 was officially Phil Sayer's last day of announcing at Victoria.

I arrived at Victoria around 10:40 this morning, on the 20th June 2012, to hear "ping-pong" airport styled announcements, voiced by a female VA. I don't know who it is yet, but regardless of who provided the VO, I'm more than prepared to be a killjoy and start filing negative feedback/complaints with the Network Rail reception and encourage others to do the same. I've already seen issues with the system, because they had to manually announce the 10:40 Orpington service that wouldn't show up on the electronic displays.

It probably won't work, but you never know - pressure can work in some situations.
 
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pendolino

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I heard this today, perfectly clear and easily understood. I can't quite see what your problem with it is?
 

Uzair

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Ah man. Phil Sayer is a great announcer. Much better at WAT than Victoria though.
 

ole man

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Isn't she also at Paddington, i heard her last night with the 00.22 to Oxford
 

gnolife

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I normally don't have a reason to post here, but I really am irked about this, so I thought I'd be one of the first to blow the whistle on this one, excuse the pun.

I was hoping this wouldn't happen for another few years, because "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.", but it looks like 19th June 2012 was officially Phil Sayer's last day of announcing at Victoria.

I arrived at Victoria around 10:40 this morning, on the 20th June 2012, to hear "ping-pong" airport styled announcements, voiced by a female VA. I don't know who it is yet, but regardless of who provided the VO, I'm more than prepared to be a killjoy and start filing negative feedback/complaints with the Network Rail reception and encourage others to do the same. I've already seen issues with the system, because they had to manually announce the 10:40 Orpington service that wouldn't show up on the electronic displays.

It probably won't work, but you never know - pressure can work in some situations.

My question is, what does Sheffield Victoria want with automated announcements, its been closed quite a while now,?
 
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She's also at Euston. If it's her that's been installed at Victoria I don't see a problem - she's very clear and audible.

No, it's not "Anne", thank goodness. Anne sounds quite "nasally" as well as "Chavvy". They've got her at Platforms 5 and 6 at London Bridge, and really is quite irritating, but that's just my opinion.

Had another chance to listen to it today - to its credit, it is loud (but not as loud as Phil), and is for the most part clear (but again, doesn't have Phil's charm).

I have noticed that the gaps in between the station names are also a bit inconsistent, and the pronunciation for some of the station names are a bit off, e.g. Kearsney should be pronounced as "Kers-ney", not "K-ears-nee" (the A is for the most part invisible.)

It's "Okay", but it doesn't really feel like an improvement in any way - just an unnecessary change and a threat to that cosy feeling of nostalgia most of us enjoy. If money was invested into changing a system that really didn't need changing, then it could have been much better invested elsewhere.
 

DVD

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It may be my hearing but I always found the announcements at Victoria quite hard to follow amongst the noise and hubbub of the station.
 

Geeves

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Anne is everywhere, Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central... Salford Central :lol:

You guys shouldn't complain till you hear the TPE automatic announcer, oh dear lord :(

http://youtu.be/EOt7Aql9EWY

Listen at 05:19, thats how he announces every train, Urgh.
 

Robinson

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Anne is everywhere, Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central... Salford Central :lol:

You guys shouldn't complain till you hear the TPE automatic announcer, oh dear lord :(

http://youtu.be/EOt7Aql9EWY

Listen at 05:19, thats how he announces every train, Urgh.

Pretty sure Anne is not at Glasgow Central...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Is it just me or does Phil Sayer seem a tad unpopular with the TOCs at the moment? FGW seem to be replacing him at several stations as well...
 

Clip

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I've already seen issues with the system, because they had to manually announce the 10:40 Orpington service that wouldn't show up on the electronic displays.
.

Something not coming up on the displays has nothing to do with an automated announcer - that has to do with a glitch with the whole CIS system and being announced manually is one of the reasons they still have someone in the control rooms.

Whilst I applaud you in your right to complain about it switching from a man to a woman im guessing 99.9% of people who pass through victoria really dont care who it is as long asa they can hear and see what platform their train is departing from.
 
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Erm.......who cares?

So long as it is in English, clear and easy to understand, then does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?

There are much bigger things to worry about than who is doing the PA announcements at a certain railway station.

:)
 

announcements

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Erm.......who cares?

So long as it is in English, clear and easy to understand, then does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?

There are much bigger things to worry about than who is doing the PA announcements at a certain railway station.

:)

There are plenty of topics on this forum which are of little care to the majority. It really depends on your personal interests ;)

---

Is it just me or does Phil Sayer seem a tad unpopular with the TOCs at the moment? FGW seem to be replacing him at several stations as well...

It isn't so much Phil's unpopularity, it is more so a case of different systems using different voice-overs. FGW have gone over to ATOS which uses Anne and Rodger. FGW used to have a mixture of systems including DITRA which uses Phil and Celia. DITRA is still used by other operators including Northern Rail, Southern and South West Trains which is why you hear Phil/Celia on those. London Overground also has a DITRA system, although they use Emma Hignett's voice.
 
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PR1Berske

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Anne is everywhere, Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central... Salford Central :lol:

You guys shouldn't complain till you hear the TPE automatic announcer, oh dear lord :(

http://youtu.be/EOt7Aql9EWY

Listen at 05:19, thats how he announces every train, Urgh.

I've never heard the TPE man before!

I was going to share my pain with you about the TPE on-board woman, whose tones get on my nerves a bit (she's *too* robotic in my opinion, coming across as almost sarcastic!)

Someone needs to re-word the "automatic ticket gate" thing she says at Oxford Road.
 
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Was popping through Viccy again on Monday, and thought I'd record a quick sample. Just as I pulled the phone out, the devil himself struck - the Information System toppled-over entirely and needed a reboot.

http://youtu.be/TDTq-DRQ014

New Announcer sample can be heard at 02:38 and again at 03:16.

I will say, she's not as irritating as "Anne" or "Mike", but I still miss Phil!
 

oversteer

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It fell over on Friday when I was there. Cue some very long non-automates announcements and very confused tourists..
 

burneside

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There's a mixture of announcers at Charing Cross, but the woman who warns us off smoking or skate boarding has a dreadful deadpan voice, I wish they would get rid of that one.
 

louis97

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Is it just me or does Phil Sayer seem a tad unpopular with the TOCs at the moment? FGW seem to be replacing him at several stations as well...

It isn't so much Phil's unpopularity, it is more so a case of different systems using different voice-overs. FGW have gone over to ATOS which uses Anne and Rodger. FGW used to have a mixture of systems including DITRA which uses Phil and Celia. DITRA is still used by other operators including Northern Rail, Southern and South West Trains which is why you hear Phil/Celia on those. London Overground also has a DITRA system, although they use Emma Hignett's voice.

Nothing to do with the different CIS systems or him being unpopular - its all down to one thing - Cost!

FGW could use the Ditra PA with the new ATOS system if they wanted, just like SWT. The reason they didnt was down to the cost, the ATOS PA system is far cheaper than Ditra, which requires FGW to pay for the use of Phil and Celias voices.

That is a totally new announcer then, never heard them before.

The new PA voice at Victoria is that of an announcer who is at some stations operated by Virgin Trains, such as Wigan North Western, and other stations on that route.
 

user15681

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm pretty sure this new announcer has been installed at Sittingbourne too! Was there at 8am this morning and the announcer has changed to a female robotic voice. Unsure if it's exactly the same to the one at VIC as I've only heard it once, but they sound similar.

Could this be a thing that SE are changing at all their stations?
 
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Interesting - do you know what the text that flickered up briefly was, including the 'Special notice' on all boards that appeared briefly? :P

"Special Notices - Please Check Timetable for Services"

Nothing to do with the different CIS systems or him being unpopular - its all down to one thing - Cost!.

I spoke to one of the NR Receptionists at Victoria today (I wasn't looking for him - he was just in the right place at the right time), and he said that it was changed to try and make the announcements clearer for passengers (Phil wasn't already clear?), especially in preparation for the final run-up to the Olympics. He also informed me that I would have to approach the TOCs (SE, SN/GX) if I wanted to complain or provide feedback, as they are the ones who select the VO. In this case, I'd assume it would be Southern, as Southeastern share the same parent.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm pretty sure this new announcer has been installed at Sittingbourne too! Was there at 8am this morning and the announcer has changed to a female robotic voice. Unsure if it's exactly the same to the one at VIC as I've only heard it once, but they sound similar.

Could this be a thing that SE are changing at all their stations?

I think Bromley South is getting the same treatment - "improved" Passenger Information Systems are advertised on the Station Upgrade posters. Speaking of which, work in the main station building really has kicked-up a notch, and from what little you can see, the new ticket hall is going to be absolutely massive.
 

Yew

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Maybe people complained about automatic announcements, and TOC's got the wrong idea and changed the Voice, to invoke the Hawthorne Effect?
 

Requeststop

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Standing at Plymouth Platform 5 last Saturday evening, I noticed that the security announcements at platforms 1-5 where given by a woman and the other platforms by a man, simultaneously!

Having visited London and Cornwall the previous week and traveled on some new routes I found that generally the announcing at stations got on my nerves due to the monotonous tone. In Cornwall I missed the local voice. Apparently station announcements are made from Cardiff? according to station staff at Truro.

My favourite announcer was a gentleman at Bristol Temple Meads in the 1970/80's. Lovely Brissle Accent.
 
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