By Trains told to get rid of ‘tannoy spam’
Rail chiefs will be getting rid of unnecessary announcements and “tannoy spam” in a bid to make journeys quieter.
Examples of “tannoy spam” include telling passengers to have their tickets ready and to keep the noise down.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said key safety messages would remain.
This could mean British Transport Police‘s “See it. Say it. Sorted” announcement, which was branded “the most annoying slogan of the century”, will be scrapped.
The DfT said it would be working closely with the Rail Delivery Group and passenger groups such as Transport Focus, as well as train operators, to identify how the “vast number” of announcements could be cut or reduced.
“The review will take place over the course of this year, with redundant messages identified and starting to be removed in the coming months,” it added.
The announcement comes as many office workers are preparing to resume regular journeys to their workplace, after the government scrapped its work-from-home guidance for England with immediate effect.
“As passengers come back to the railways, the DfT will continue to ensure journeys are more comfortable to all users, and that passengers continue to receive the important information that they need about their journey,” the department said.
“Officials will work with accessibility groups to ensure that access for all is maintained.”
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said train passengers were all too often “plagued by an endless torrent of repeated and unnecessary announcements”.
He told the BBC: “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.”
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