The following announcements were all heard and reported by visitors on London’s Underground :
Heard at Earl’s Court:
“The train at platform three is not going to Parsons Green but to Richmond. The train approaching platform two is also not going to Parsons Green but to Ealing Broadway. These trains are not going to Parsons Green despite what the signal men think.
On the Northern Line:
“Beggars are operating on this train, please do NOT encourage these professional beggars, if you have any spare change, please give it to a registered charity, failing that, give it to me.”
On the Piccadilly Line:
“To the gentleman wearing the long grey coat trying to get on the second carriage, what part of ‘stand clear of the doors’ don’t you understand?”
At Leyton station (where a train was stationary despite a green light):
“Sorry for the delay ladies and gentlemen but there is a queue of trains ahead of us so I have decided to wait here, because I’m sure you don’t want to sit in a tunnel getting hot and sweaty”
On the Central line:
“Next time, you might find it easier to wait until the doors are open before trying to get on the train”
At King’s Cross:
“This train is completely broken, it isn’t going anywhere”
At Camden town station (on a crowded Saturday afternoon):
‘Please let the passengers off the train first…
Please let the passengers off the train first…
Please let the passengers off the train first…
Let the passengers off the train FIRST!…
Oh go on then, stuff yourselves in like sardines, see if I care, I’m going
home.’
At Moorgate (after a 20-minute delay):
“I apologise for the delay but the computer controlling the signalling at
Aldgate and Whitechapel has the Monday Morning Blues”
At West Hampstead:
“We can’t move off because some c*** has their f***ing hand stuck in the
door’
At Mill Hill East:
“Hello this is xxx speaking, I am the captain of your train, and we will
be departing shortly, we will be cruising at an altitude of approximately
zero feet, and our scheduled arrival time in Morden is 3:15pm. The temperature
in Morden is approximately 15 degrees celsius, and Morden is in the same time
zone as Mill Hill east, so there’s no need to adjust your watches.”
On a delayed train at Epping (when the driver had a chat with a colleague
unaware that he’d left the tannoy on):
“bollocks to the lot of them, I don’t care if they don’t make it to work.”
My ex husband was an underground driver and he did some doozies in his time. One time in London though, the underground driver did not realize he had the intercom on and was talking to his friend about his girlfriend. The entire carriage was in absolute stitches. I still think of that sometimes and wonder if he ever found out that we all knew everything about his love life!
Brilliant! But at least that wasn’t said on purpose as he didn’t know the intercom was on and he was not intentionaly addressing to the passengers.
I much more prefer those ‘incidents’ !
Some of these announcements are funny, others are exaggerated.
I wonder if they haven’t simply been made up as l take the underground several times a day when l’m in London (two weeks a month) and l’ve never heard such announcements. Or maybe l was not on the right lines??
Anyway, thank you for that pleasant reading!