Bonfire of the banalities: Unnecessary train announcements banned in government shake-up

The government have announced a new initiative that will see train announcements stripped back to ensure more peaceful journeys for passengers. The Department for Transport released the new move saying that they will be reviewing and reducing train announcements that add unnecessary noise and disruption to journeys, in a “bonfire of the banalities”.
The changes mean that passengers will no longer be bombarded with unnecessary ‘tannoy spam’ that distracts from important safety-critical messaging. Working closely with the Rail Delivery Group, passenger groups including Transport Focus, and train operators, the Department for Transport (DfT) has said they will work to identify how the vast number of announcements can be cut or reduced while maintaining vital obligations to ensure train travel remains accessible for all. Messages that play a safety-critical role, or that ensure the railways are accessible for all, will remain.
The “bonfire of the banalities” will take place over the course of this year, with redundant messages identified and starting to be removed in the coming months. The kind of announcements set to be culled includes self-evident instructions, such as having your ticket ready when leaving the station and contradictory calls for passengers to keep volume levels low while onboard announcements blare out. There will also be new curbs on the maximum frequency at which remaining announcements will be heard.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Train passengers are all too often plagued by an endless torrent of repeated and unnecessary announcements.
“In line with the passenger improvements, we are rolling out with our Plan for Rail we want to see improvements to the railways for those who use them day in day out.
“That’s why I’m calling for a bonfire of the banalities to bring down the number of announcements passengers are forced to sit through and make their journey that little bit more peaceful.”
The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, launched last year, said it will put passengers at the heart of the railway. The Department for Transport is aiming to improve the comfort and enjoyment of train travel, saying that customer service will be modernised and upgraded across all stations and, on trains, they will focus on providing passengers with better communication and more personalised service.
Anthony Smith, Chief Executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers will welcome a review intended to cut out unnecessary announcements. Transport Focus looks forward to helping with the review so passengers get the information they want, including those with additional accessibility needs.”
Jacqueline Starr, CEO of the Rail Delivery Group, added: “We know people want the most relevant and timely messages on their journeys and to help with this, train operators are continuing their work to improve customer information, including cutting unnecessary onboard announcements.
“We’re also going further by asking customers what they want to know and using their responses to plan more useful and consistent announcements across the network, helping people have a better experience travelling by train.”

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.