S stock and Victoria line announcement time changes
Request ID: FOI-1843-2122 Date published: 03 December 2021
You asked
Hello,
I would like to ask about the Victoria line and s stock announcement fluctuations. I’ve noticed that in off peak times, the Victoria and s stock announce exits at stations (e.g “Exjt for Tate Britain” at Pimlico and The royal national institute of the blind at kings cross. I would like to know why these announcements play and sometimes don’t, as I don’t see why it would be helpful or useful to not play these announcements, as tourists or people unfamiliar with the tube may find them useful.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1843-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13th November 2021 asking for information about announcements on the London Underground.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“I would like to ask about the Victoria line and s stock announcement fluctuations. I’ve noticed that in off peak times, the Victoria and s stock announce exits at stations (e.g “Exjt for Tate Britain” at Pimlico and The royal national institute of the blind at kings cross. I would like to know why these announcements play and sometimes don’t, as I don’t see why it would be helpful or useful to not play these announcements, as tourists or people unfamiliar with the tube may find them useful.”
There are two types of Tourist Information announcements used on the S stock trains: (1) Timed Tourist Information which is added to the station approach message for both audio and visual between 10:00 and 16:00, and (2) Tourist Information which is added to the station approach message at all times. The current set of Tourist Information messages and their play locations is shown below.
Station
Tourist Information (Always)
Timed Tourist Information (10am – 4pm)
Aldgate East
the Whitechapel Gallery.
Barbican
the Museum of London
Blackfriars
Riverboat services from Blackfriars Pier.
Baker Street
Madame Tussaud’s.
Embankment
Riverboat services from Embankment Pier.
Hammersmith
bus services to Olympia London.
Hammersmith
bus services to Olympia London.
High Street Kensington
bus services to Olympia London.
King's Cross St. Pancras
the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the British Library.
Olympia
Olympia London.
South Kensington
the Museums and Royal Albert Hall.
Temple
Somerset House.
Tower Hill
the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and Riverboat services from Tower Pier.
Wood Lane
Westfield London.
Westminster
Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Riverboat services from Westminster Pier.
Wembley Park
Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena.
The 10:00 to 16:00 announcements follow a requirement in the London Underground Standards at the time the S stock was designed. During initial design it was agreed that certain announcements were relevant at other times too - e.g. at Wembley Stadium and the Royal Albert Hall for evening events. Therefore the option for ‘always’ announcements was added. Initially, only Wembley and South Kensington were in this category but Westfield was subsequently added to cater for evening shopping. The Standards look to strike a balance between the desire to broadcast relevant information to customers without excessive information being relayed which may result in customers ‘tuning out’ and missing other relevant information. There is a lot of other information which needs to be broadcast at certain locations and not everything can fit in with the available dwell times and interstation run times. Tourist information is generally configured to play at the approximate times when attractions are open, seeking to avoid information being played at other times which may confuse tourists about the opening hours of those attractions. From a technical point of view it is relatively straightforward to change the timing of announcements if there was a business desire to do so.
If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
