Public Address Overkill

[Ronald Binge]

Ever since the six car sets came on stream the 08:35 ex Hazelhatch and the 18:35 Thurles train, my usual two, have become more reliable. Credit where credit is due. However, the trade off has been the incredibly verbose and in two languages PA announcements. Station names, in Irish and then English. Ridiculously complicated announcements in both languages that take us from Inchicore works to the throat at Heuston. Dear oh God. Monday I'm taking the walkman with me.

[Mark Gleeson]

We will shortly be arriving at Heuston Station Dublin, this is the terminus for this service.....Buses and taxis are available.... DART and Connolly station....

Thank you for travelling with ...

For a commuter service it is overkill to give the full PA.

Irish Rail clearly need to do something about the PA structures, clean and simple

Should be very simple

Next station is Thurles, this is the last stop.
Beidh muid ag teach isteach i Durlas go luath is é seo crioch statsuin an serbhis seo

There is a legal requirement for dual language pa's its not uncommon elsewhere, eg Wales

[MrX]

They could really do with removing some of the ridiculously verbose unnecessary PA announcements.

A simple "Next station : XXXXXXX"
This is : XXXXXXX

would suffice on most commuter services.

There are a lot of announcements on the Cork-Dublin trains that are just far too long winded.

Info messages do not all need to be played one after the other, they can be played after the journey has commenced.

The key information that the passenger needs to hear when bording is the final destination of the train and stations it is calling at.

.....

DO NOT OCCUPY RESERVED SEATS! (Needs to be played at each station)

SMOKING IS ILLEGAL IN ANY PART OF THIS TRAIN (randomly)

PLEASE STOW YOUR LUGGAGE CAREFULLY - DO NOT BLOCK THE WALKWAYS OR LOAD HEAVY ITEMS INTO THE OVERHEAD RACKS (at major stations e.g. at Cork, Heuston, Limerick Junction and Mallow)

They could do away with a lot of the "ladies and gentlemen .." type stuff.

What you need is simple, professional, quick and clear.

They could learn a lot from the way airlines do things.

On the signage thing the name plates above the seats should be highlighted with a sticker or something e.g. a LARGE red RESERVED FOR :

If the seat's free it should display "SEAT VACANT"

[markpb]

Originally Posted by MrX

They could really do with removing some of the ridiculously verbose unnecessary PA announcements.

Absolutely. The last time I went to Cork I ended up phasing out the messages after the first few words because it felt too much like someone reading a book.

[Laois Commuter]

Originally Posted by MrX

.....


On the signage thing the name plates above the seats should be highlighted with a sticker or something e.g. a LARGE red RESERVED FOR :

If the seat's free it should display "SEAT VACANT"

Highlighted, maybe. NOT name - for a variety of reasons. Should say where seat is reserved from and to only, so others know it is otherwise free. This would also allow seat to have multiple reservations (eg Cork - Limerick Jun, Thurles - Heuston) during a journey.

LC

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by MrX

On the signage thing the name plates above the seats should be highlighted with a sticker or something e.g. a LARGE red RESERVED FOR :

If the seat's free it should display "SEAT VACANT"

Bad bad idea, it was tried on the Mk4 and it caused serious problems

The current software is very simple, if the seat is reserved for the portion of the journey in which the train currently is, the name is displayed. If the seat is reserved for a future portion, system says "This seat is reserved between X and Y". The name makes it very much easier to identify your seat and also logically enough makes it easy to spot someone who shouldn't be there

The MK4 PA actually says

Ladies and Gentlemen, Iarnród Éireann welcomes you on board. This is the xx:xx hours service from A to B, calling at C, D & E. Your attention is drawn to the safety and evacuation notices. This is a no smoking service. We thank you for your attention and hope you have a pleasant and comfortable journey.

The legal requirements is the second sentence

The safety notice is result of a recommendation from the Southhall and Ladbrooke Grove accidents in the UK

For a premier intercity service the PA is professional and a massive improvement on the past PA's of random content

The real problem is the intercity railcars give the full long distance spiel when running a suburban service

[grainne whale]

Well you should really have been on the 08.58 this morning out of Hazelhatch, the announcements included what sounded like a tiger/lion growling!!

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

The MK4 PA actually says

Ladies and Gentlemen, Iarnród Éireann welcomes you on board. This is the xx:xx hours service from A to B, calling at C, D & E. Your attention is drawn to the safety and evacuation notices. This is a no smoking service. We thank you for your attention and hope you have a pleasant and comfortable journey.

Well, that's what it says when it's waiting to depart. It's a bit longer after subsequent stops, viz:

Seo í an traein ó A go B, agus beidh sí ag freastal ar C, D, & E. Tabhair aird le bhur dtoil ar na fógraí sabháilteachta agus asloinneatha. Tá cosc ar chaitheamh tabac ar an seirbhís seo. Cinntigh le bhur dtoil go bhfuil bhur mbagáistí stóráilte i gceart, agus nach bhfuil siad sna bhealach sna pasáistí. Cinntigh le bhur dtoil go mbreathnaíonn sibh ar na fógraí thar na suíocháin atá curtha in áirithe. Ná suígí i suíocháin atá réamháirithe. Go raibh maith agaibh as cluas a thabhairt dúinn, agus tá súil againn go mbeidh turas deas compordach agaibh.

Ladies and gentlemen, Iarnród Éireann welcomes you on board. This is the (time) train from A to B, calling at C, D, and E. Your attention is drawn to the safety and evacuation notices. This is a no-smoking service. Please ensure your luggage is properly stored, and does not obstruct passageways. Please ensure that you observe the reserved seating notices, and do not occupy pre-booked seats. Thank you for your attention, and have a pleasant and comfortable journey.

And usually this is added to by the train host, and by announcements about the catering service. I can see how some folks would tune out.