Request ID: FOI-2487-2223 Date published: 30 January 2023
You asked
• I would like to know about the Docklands Light Railway current onboard announcements. These are the main onboard announcements that announce where the train is going and the next stop etc. Could you please tell me what the name of the female voiceover artist is who voiced these? Also what company provides this onboard CIS system used onboard? Finally could i please get the sound files (like mp3 or wav etc) and the scripts of the automated announcements used on your current Docklands Light Railway trains?
• Onboard your Docklands Light Railway trains you have also added a male voice for a "Mind The Gap Please" announcement that plays onboard the train. This was only added a few years ago and never used to be there. Could you please tell me what the name of the male voiceover artist is who voiced these? Also do you have a list of all of the stations where this message plays as it seems it only plays at some stations?
• I understand that there are some new Docklands Light Railway trains built by CAF on order. I believe many have already been built and are being tested. I have seen lots of photos of them on the test tracks in Spain currently. I would like to ask about the automated announcements on these new trains. Will these trains use the same exact automated announcements as the current trains? Or will you install new automated announcements voiced by someone different? If so then could you please tell me the name of the new voiceover artist that will be used on these new trains? Also could i please get the sound files (like mp3 or wav etc) and the scripts of the automated announcements on these new trains?
• I would like to know about the Docklands Light Railway current station platform announcements that announce the next train to arrive. I know that unlike most of your announcements this is actually a Text To Speech voice (not a real human voiceover artist) but i am wondering what the name of this Text To Speech voice is? So i mean the name of the company that this Text To Speech voice is from and the name of the voice as most Text To Speech voices are given names? Also what company provides this CIS system used on the platforms at Docklands Light Railway stations? Finally do you have the scripts for these announcements?
• Lastly this relates to the London Underground and is unrelated to the Docklands Light Railway above. At the London Underground station at Kings Cross St Pancras you have a Text To Speech voice in use for the various announcements across the station. This voice is used for the various safety announcements and information announcements (but this voice is not used for the next train announcements on the platforms which are the normal standard Elinor Hamilton ones used at most stations) all across the London Underground station and corridors and passageways at this station. It seems that Kings Cross St Pancras is the only London Underground station to use this Text To Speech voice. Note this is a different Text To Speech voice than the Docklands Light Railway one. Again i know that unlike most of your announcements this is actually a Text To Speech voice (not a real human voiceover artist) but i am wondering what the name of this Text To Speech voice is? So i mean the name of the company that this Text To Speech voice is from and the name of the voice as most Text To Speech voices are given names? Also what company provides this CIS system used for these Text To Speech announcements at Kings Cross St Pancras station? Finally do you have the scripts for these announcements?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2487-2223
Thank you for your request which we received on 2 January 2023, asking for information about audio announcements on the London Underground and DLR.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You specifically asked:
• I would like to know about the Docklands Light Railway current onboard announcements. These are the main onboard announcements that announce where the train is going and the next stop etc. Could you please tell me what the name of the female voiceover artist is who voiced these? Also what company provides this onboard CIS system used onboard? Finally could i please get the sound files (like mp3 or wav etc) and the scripts of the automated announcements used on your current Docklands Light Railway trains?
The voice over artist is Emma Hignett. The company that provides the system is Televic.
In regard to the DLR sound files, we do not hold this information. The on train announcements for the DLR are not held in any central repository and are not ‘recorded’ as such. The voice files are segmented, they are therefore not complete sentences. These are done digitally as needed by typing them into a system, combining previously typed announcements where necessary. It is therefore not possible to provide an audio recording, as requested. The station announcements are held on a central system but not in a form that allows them to be distributed
• Onboard your Docklands Light Railway trains you have also added a male voice for a "Mind The Gap Please" announcement that plays onboard the train. This was only added a few years ago and never used to be there. Could you please tell me what the name of the male voiceover artist is who voiced these? Also do you have a list of all of the stations where this message plays as it seems it only plays at some stations?
The “Mind the Gap” announcements are recorded by a member of KAD staff not a voiceover artist.
We believe that the announcements were made at Greenwich, Island Gardens, All Saints, Poplar, Canary Wharf and Limehouse stations. These stations are shown on the step-free Tube map with a ‘B’ gap level. All other DLR stations have an ‘A’ rating. In the past this may also have included Royal Victoria and Crossharbour stations.
• I understand that there are some new Docklands Light Railway trains built by CAF on order. I believe many have already been built and are being tested. I have seen lots of photos of them on the test tracks in Spain currently. I would like to ask about the automated announcements on these new trains. Will these trains use the same exact automated announcements as the current trains? Or will you install new automated announcements voiced by someone different? If so then could you please tell me the name of the new voiceover artist that will be used on these new trains? Also could i please get the sound files (like mp3 or wav etc) and the scripts of the automated announcements on these new trains?
No, the trains will not use the same automated announcements. The messages will be synthesised (text to speech) therefore not recorded by a voiceover artist.
• I would like to know about the Docklands Light Railway current station platform announcements that announce the next train to arrive. I know that unlike most of your announcements this is actually a Text To Speech voice (not a real human voiceover artist) but i am wondering what the name of this Text To Speech voice is? So i mean the name of the company that this Text To Speech voice is from and the name of the voice as most Text To Speech voices are given names? Also what company provides this CIS system used on the platforms at Docklands Light Railway stations? Finally do you have the scripts for these announcements?
The next train announcements are automated. The Thales signalling system sends a code to the ASL’s Long Line Public Address (LLPA) system which triggers the announcement from text to speech. ASL use their own proprietary software. We do not hold any scripts.
• Lastly this relates to the London Underground and is unrelated to the Docklands Light Railway above. At the London Underground station at Kings Cross St Pancras you have a Text To Speech voice in use for the various announcements across the station. This voice is used for the various safety announcements and information announcements (but this voice is not used for the next train announcements on the platforms which are the normal standard Elinor Hamilton ones used at most stations) all across the London Underground station and corridors and passageways at this station. It seems that Kings Cross St Pancras is the only London Underground station to use this Text To Speech voice. Note this is a different Text To Speech voice than the Docklands Light Railway one. Again i know that unlike most of your announcements this is actually a Text To Speech voice (not a real human voiceover artist) but i am wondering what the name of this Text To Speech voice is? So i mean the name of the company that this Text To Speech voice is from and the name of the voice as most Text To Speech voices are given names? Also what company provides this CIS system used for these Text To Speech announcements at Kings Cross St Pancras station? Finally do you have the scripts for these announcements?
The digital voice announcement (DVA) system in use at Kings Cross Underground station is a Siemens system and is the only one of its kind on the London Underground. Within the next few weeks this system is being replaced and standardised with the same DVA that is in use at the majority of London Underground stations.
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, 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
Eva Hextall FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
