Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #644362  by JCGUY
 
Yes, and in fact I made that point in the chain in the PA-5 topic. The automated announcements strike me as a bit of wizardry for it's own sake. I mean, the most stop-laden run is JSQ to 33rd, right? Your train would leave JSQ and stop all of seven times, this does not really require a NASA spec computer system for passenger notifications, any first grader can memorize the stops and announce them. Not a big deal, but I'll miss the personal touch.
 #644731  by keithsy
 
I wish to God they would announce the stops and the transfer points. I know where the train is going. In fact, I remember the days of NO ANNOUNCEMENTS! We are a dumb society, catering to the least. Public transit is now a social service.
 #644765  by ROCKER
 
keithsy wrote:I wish to God they would announce the stops and the transfer points. I know where the train is going. In fact, I remember the days of NO ANNOUNCEMENTS! We are a dumb society, catering to the least. Public transit is now a social service.
i say this all the time on my train no matter what you do signs, announcement some people will never pay attention
 #645446  by jkb246
 
You mean blur blur blurb step in stand clear bing bing.

Or the poor people left on the train at JSQ because they can't hear the conductor say last stop. I love watching the train pull away from the platform when the 2-3 tourists on the train realize that they were supposed to get off. Time for the 21st century. Let the computers handle it. I don't understand the conductor stand in the new trains though. They couldn't give them a full cab
 #645502  by ROCKER
 
jkb246 wrote:You mean blur blur blurb step in stand clear bing bing.

Or the poor people left on the train at JSQ because they can't hear the conductor say last stop. I love watching the train pull away from the platform when the 2-3 tourists on the train realize that they were supposed to get off. Time for the 21st century. Let the computers handle it. I don't understand the conductor stand in the new trains though. They couldn't give them a full cab
most people who don't get off my train 99% of the time are wearing ipods and the other 1% are drunk/sleepers and in my travels i find that tourist know the system even better than the people who ride it every day because they study the map and plan there route.I dont want to be put in a cab i love being out with the people you hear and see so much and your more able to help people when your out there
 #649678  by blasito
 
Yes, I will miss them.

"Hooee Bo ken Train, this is the Hooee Bo ken Train" - That guy is one of my favorites. I find most of the time the conductors are very good at announcements on the PATH system.

It also seems like a waste of money. Is it that hard to keep the PA working and have all the employees do their job of making announcements? We are turning into a world where everyone stands next to a computer that does their job for them.

If you ride the NYC subway you may have noticed that when the new trains on the IRT start out of the station they make this whistley kind of 3 note melody. I wonder if the new trains on the PATH sound the same?

Oh, and do the door chimes ring in unison or are they out of tune like the old PATH trains?
 #649972  by Terry Kennedy
 
blasito wrote:"Hooee Bo ken Train, this is the Hooee Bo ken Train" - That guy is one of my favorites. I find most of the time the conductors are very good at announcements on the PATH system.
Many also have a great sense of humor. Pre-9/11 I was dating a girl who lived on 34th St. and I'd take the PATH back to NJ late at night. I had been taking the 33rd/HOB/JSQ train, but was getting tired of the spaced-out mob at the 9th and Christoper stations when the clubs let out. So I decided to take the subway to the WTC and catch a NWK train there, since time-wise it was about the same, what with the detour to Hoboken on the midtown service.

I'm sitting in the lead car at WTC, waiting for the train to depart. The engineer boards (this was back before 9/11 when they didn't wear uniforms unless they wanted to, and this guy didn't) and asks the passengers "this train goes to Hoboken, right?" He gets a bunch of "no" and "huh?" responses (this is after HOB service ended for the night). He goes on about how he's sure this train goes to Hoboken. At this point, the conductor in the second car closes the doors (first) and announces "This is an A train to Far Rockaway" (second) and then the engineer goes into his cab and we depart. This left the passengers extremely confused. I decided to switch back to the club version of weirdness on the midtown service on subsequent nights.
 #650031  by fredct
 
That may be a great sense of humor, but its awful customer service and unprofessional. I feel bad for anyone on that train who was less than certain about the route in the first place. If stories like that got back to the PA, no wonder they wanted automated announcements.
 #650301  by Terry Kennedy
 
fredct wrote:That may be a great sense of humor, but its awful customer service and unprofessional. I feel bad for anyone on that train who was less than certain about the route in the first place. If stories like that got back to the PA, no wonder they wanted automated announcements.
It wasn't that bad - remember that at that time at night, this is the only service from the WTC station. Everyone had presumably paid their buck fifty and decided to get on this train already. And as I recall, the rest of the station announcements (including transfers at Grove St.) were fine.

Contrast with an E train I was on around the same era, where the conductor simply announced "Dis A Brain Due Queens" in an unidentifiable accent at each station.

Or a 1 train (with automated announcements) that went "Mrrrrrgle blumph hess foour feet" (presumably a conductor override) when the doors closed at 14th St. Given that the next time that local train stopped was at 42nd street, I guess "hess foour feet" meant "express to 42nd street".

If you want some real howlers, try Overheard in New York.
 #650455  by fredct
 
Terry, true, there's a lot worse than people playing a joke. But all those examples - which no doubt happen to an extent on PATH as well - as still just more arguments for automated over manual announcements. Nostalgia aside, they're more understandable and more helpful for more people.
 #652020  by Hamhock
 
blasito wrote:"Hooee Bo ken Train, this is the Hooee Bo ken Train" - That guy is one of my favorites. I find most of the time the conductors are very good at announcements on the PATH system.
Ah, I haven't lived in Hoboken in 5 years, and I still recall that one. Definitely a favorite, along with the sad "ho-bone-trane" guy who sounded like a dejected 1920s bicycle horn, and the nasally "Whirl Tray Center Tren" girl.
 #652942  by umtrr-author
 
There was one conductor I would get every so often who would add, "Have a pleasant journey!" I remember this same conductor adding quite a bit of color commentary to the itinerary: which stops were in New York, which in New Jersey, etc.
 #712003  by Idiot Railfan
 
blasito wrote:Yes, I will miss them.

"Hooee Bo ken Train, this is the Hooee Bo ken Train" - That guy is one of my favorites. I find most of the time the conductors are very good at announcements on the PATH system.

I love that guy! He could make a living doing voiceovers!