Station and on board train announcements - merged topic, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

"Time, Gentlemen, please!"

At 9:01pm?

I've just opened a bottle of Shiraz. You don't expect me to finish it in the 10 minutes allowed for drinking up do you?

[Surrey 455]

You don't expect me to finish it in the 10 minutes allowed for drinking up do you?

Wasn't that extended to 20 minutes many years ago?

[bobm]

It was indeed extended to 20 minutes, but then abolished in 2003. 

Pubs/clubs etc can now use their discretion on how long to allow people to remain on the premises after the sale of alcohol stops.

[ChrisB]

coz they don't have to close unless their licence says so.

[Btline]

A few months ago I read an article declaring that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had cut announcements down.
Unsurprisingly this has turned out to be PR^▸ (Public Relations) spin.
My recent travels on FGW have been accompanied by constant announcements that drone on and on.

Have any regular commuter found a difference?

It really isn't difficult! You only need two.

*We are now arriving at X.
*This train is for X; the next station is Y.

And please, none of this "arriving into". You cannot arrive into a place. You arrive at a place. Drives me up the wall!

[Southern Stag]

I've noticed a drop in announcements. Generally all you get now is a the calling pattern and the obligatory security announcement. Some guards still give more information, but that's the exception nowadays.

[John R]

I think it's reduced. At least, I don't get so irritated by them so often.

[TonyK]

"Time, Gentlemen, please!"

At 9:01pm?

I've just opened a bottle of Shiraz. You don't expect me to finish it in the 10 minutes allowed for drinking up do you?

No, but I wouldn't rule it out.

[ChrisB]

I've noticed a drop too.

[Btline]

Wow - I must have had a few bad examples of trains then!
The safety ones need to be cut now. There are clearly no enforced rules as LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise), ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))), Chiltern etc manage to cope without them.
(Although I better not say that in case a Eurocrat in Brussels reads this forum and decides to get out the box of red tape and set up a committee to "harmonise" train announcements across the EUSSR)

[Chris from Nailsea]

A few months ago I read an article declaring that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had cut announcements down.

Yes, you read it here, on this forum: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=1715.msg128841#msg128841 

[Btline]

Of course!

[Super Guard]

Wow - I must have had a few bad examples of trains then!
The safety ones need to be cut now. There are clearly no enforced rules as LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise), ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))), Chiltern etc manage to cope without them.
(Although I better not say that in case a Eurocrat in Brussels reads this forum and decides to get out the box of red tape and set up a committee to "harmonise" train announcements across the EUSSR)

We are told the security announcement is still required, even with the reduced announcement changes. It's put in writing so guards will continue to make it.

If the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)/TRANSEC do not have an issue with other TOCs not making the announcements then that's their business, but clearly the requirement has come from somewhere. Perhaps it is because we do not have PIS^▸ (Passenger Information System) displaying it on HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train)?

[grahame]

We are told the security announcement is still required, even with the reduced announcement changes. It's put in writing so guards will continue to make it.

Now I was told that one of the great ways to help ensure better security is to make its checking and enforcement stronger but more occasional. I have a hat here that I may be talking through, but I see open stations across many parts or Europe, and not-always but reasonably often checking on trains. Probably much less expensive to run - certainly a lot of equipment saved (and dare I say fewer people to do it?) and I suspect it's very effective.   It does need adequate ticketing facilities at places like Trowbridge where, incredibly, you can't buy a ticket after 14:50 on a Saturday, nor collect pre-purchased tickets, and that with a footfall of over 750,000 per annum.

How does this relate to security announcements?   Perhaps they would be more effective on one journey in 10 ... if the last digit of the train code coincides with the last digit of the day of the month.  So today - 28th - you'll have no security announcements on 1A77 and 1A79, but you will have them on 1A78.

[stebbo]

One that gets me is the "Mind the gap between train and platform edge" used regularly. OK so it's needed at places like Bank on the Central Line but not at other "normal" stations. Surely people don't need to be told the b...... obvious.