Railing against the tedious train Tannoy
DO you regard a train journey as an opportunity to sit back, relax and read a book or newspaper? To engage in an interesting conversation? Or just look out of the window at the view and let the day’s stress fade away? Well, those days are over. Instead, prepare to be subjected to tedious repetitions of Tannoy announcements. A constant stream of warnings instructs you to keep yourself on your toes, look out for suspect luggage, be ready to inform the police and which phone number to text. The travelling public are treated as children who can’t think for themselves. There are messages advising you to make sure that when you leave the train, you should remember to take your possessions with you. Just in case you don’t know where you are going, you will be told time and time again the final destination, plus all the intervening stations. At every stop you will be subjected to the same recording to mind the gap between the train and the platform. If you have tinnitus, this onslaught of noise can leave you in agony. If the endless announcements are not enough to have you grinding your teeth in irritation, every carriage has a tickertape electronic sign repeating the same information. People incapable of original and beneficial thoughts have been let loose on the transport system to impose these intrusions on passengers. Out and about, you might consider asking someone who is being loud, repetitive or irritating to quieten down, but this right does not exist on the railway. There is no let up. Someone, somewhere has decided to force this endless babble upon you. Non-enlightenment is the endurance test that is included in the price of a train journey, thanks to the petty-minded idiots who think they know better than we do.
MARTIN POWELL, Leeds.