Request ID: FOI-2946-2324 Date published: 08 December 2023
You asked
Hello,
I have recently seen the CLIP test train (91001) out on test and heard new announcements playing, such as ‘mind the gap between the train and the platform’ and this is a Central Line train to xxxx and this is xxxx) . I would like to request the new announcements which I believe have been recorded by Adrian Hieatt.
Thank you
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2946-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on14 November 2023 asking for access to announcements. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You will have received an email separately that provides a link to the requested audio announcements. Please note that all of the audio announcements across the full TfL network that we are currently able to provide access to are accessible via this site. However, please be aware that many of the audio announcements that can be heard across the network are actually made up of smaller, fragmented recordings which are then combined for the purposes of public announcements so there will be some instances where full recordings of specific stop/station names, numbers or locations are not held.
The audio announcements made available to you are copyrighted material and access is provided for personal use only with permission not granted for any re-production or re-use. In the event that these files are re-used in any way we are likely to consider this to constitute a breach of copyright and will consider appropriate next steps.
These announcements are temporary and are being used for testing purposes on the refurbished Central and Bakerloo line trains. Therefore, these announcements are uploaded to the SharePoint site, please be advised that the contents may not reflect our latest customer language and/or insights as they have been recorded for use over a limited time period. We are also actively exploring the use of a female voice for permanent use on the refurbished Central and Bakerloo line trains, which will better reflect our customer research findings.
Please be aware that we are unable to provide full access to audio announcements across the London Underground network because of contractual prohibitions on disclosure which means these are exempt from disclosure in accordance with section 43(2) of the FOI Act. We do not consider it in the public interest to breach these contractual obligations for the purposes of disclosure given that there is limited wider public interest in this material to support that. Those that we are able to provide can be found at the link provided. We intend to update these files on a six monthly basis and so any newer recordings will be uploaded as part of this pre-determined schedule, rather than in response to specific future FOI requests. This is to ensure our resources can be managed effectively. Therefore, if you are aware of newer recordings that have been created that are not yet uploaded, we would appreciate your patience with this as requests for these recordings will be refused under section 22 of the FOI Act on the basis that there is a pre-existing intention to publish these in accordance with our publication schedule. We would therefore encourage you to wait for this upload rather than submit requests for recordings in this way. To confirm, these updates are expected to occur around January and July of each year.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Abidakun FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
