“Change here for Unknown LineID [11].”
![Change here for Unknown LineID [11]](/images/2008/1119-train-sign1.jpg)
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been to Unknown LineID [11]. It sounds like a delightful part of the world.
To my surprise, it didn’t happen just once.
![Change here for Unknown LineID [9]](/images/2008/1119-train-sign2.jpg)
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Have you ever been to Unknown LineID [11]?
12 replies on “Have you ever been to Unknown LineID [11]?”
I prefer announcements done by humans – less chance of a stuff up, and I just prefer listening to a human than the recorded voice :)
Even a mumbled “Nurlutta” like they do in Adelaide is better!
I don’t know if I’ve said this before but I love how happy the lady is when she says stopping all stations to CRAIGIEBURN!
Check this post about Craigieburn, Jen! Since then they seem to have re-recorded it.
I’ve seen this several times. There’s one particular carriage I’ve been in where their seems to be a dodgy connection between the overhead display and the system and it keeps restarting, proudly declaring it has 32K of RAM.
I just want to know who’s in charge of the wording and the scripting of the automated announcements. Once upon a time, it went like this “The next station is Burnley, change here for the service to Glen Waverley”. The “Burnley” and “Glen Waverley” bits are obviously taken from a list and pasted into the “The Next Station is A$, change here for the service to B$”. But then someone decided to change it, so now it says “The Next Station is A$, change here for B$, Service”. The Service sounds all tacked on and it just doesn’t flow well. Why they changed it is beyond me. It’s annoyed me for ages.
http://thedailywtf.com for more similar software failures – you could probably submit this photo for one of their regular Error’d segments …
Those “next station is…” announcements are always behind every time I get on a train. The dodgy speak will for example announce “the next station is Mordialloc” when the train is arriving at parliament station.
A response to your question Daniel, I don’t think I have been on the unknown line, sounds like a super place though.
Nathan, yeah I reckon it’s bad grammar to say “change for Sandringham service”.
Malcolm, yeah I read that, and considered it, but you don’t really get to see the full text, so it’s a little out of context.
Nick, “always behind every time”? I think you’re exaggerating. They’re certainly unreliable some of the time, but nowhere near 100%. Maybe 10% from what I’ve seen.
It only seems to be the Siemens trains that have issues with the announcements not matching the reality of where you are (at least in my experience). I recently caught one to Windsor, and when we arrived it welcome us to Southern Cross. Somethings up there. It’s the same woman who says “Cranborn” not “Cranburn”.
This morning my normal city loop train had all the correct signs advising Flagstaff as the next station as we left North Melbourne; we even had an announcement from the driver apologising for the standard mid station stop (congestion apparently).
However the one important thing they neglected to tell anyone was that the train wasn’t going via the loop today. Lots of puzzled faces getting off at Southern Cross. Perhaps the driver just took a wrong turn?
Daniel, it keeps us long-suffering commuters on our toes (instead of our feet). It makes my life interesting and it provides good blogger material.
Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, I think more 20% of the time they are unreliable, every time I have boarded a train.
I suspect it’s an existentialist statement about us all heading toward the unknown country from whose bourn no traveller returns.