| Amsterdam | An electronic "ding-dong" signal. There is also a "ding" and in a pre-recorded voice the next station name. At the terminus, the voice says "Endpunt". |
| Athens | There is a series of beeps that starts when the doors start closing and stops when they are closed. Then when a train reaches the next station there is a ding-dong and a station announcement in both Greek and English (English added for the 2004 Olympics). Lines 2 and 3: There is a continuous beep when the doors start closing until they are closed. |
| Atlanta | The MARTA subway in Atlanta has a 1 kHz beep going off four times on the newer trains, like: "boop-BOOP-BOOP-BOOP". The old trains have a loud "PONG". |
| Bangkok | All pre-recorded voices. MRT (MTA): In English "Please stand clear of the closing doors [beep-beep-beep]" (doors close). In Thai, "Sa-taa-nee-tor-pai: [name]", in English, "Next station: [name] – (Interchange station to line... / or interchange with BTS skytrain)". (Start decelerating), in Thai (or English when the name of the station is exactly the same in both languages), "[name], Kaa-ruu-na-ra-wang Ka-na-kaw-ork-jark-rod". In English, "[name], Please watch the gap between train and platform". BTS (Skytrain): "Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep" (doors close). In Thai, "Sataneetorpai, [name]", in English, "Next station: [name]". |
| Barcelona | After closing doors with a several-notes sound, a recorded announcement says: "Pròxima estació [name], enllaç amb línia [number]" (wav). This is Catalan and means "Next station [name], transfer with line [number]". |
| Beijing | No alert signal on some lines (especially with nearly ALL trains on Line 2, you just have to rush to the train before the doors close), others have just a rather quiet tone before the doors open and close. Lines Batong and 13, though, have an alert in two tones when the doors are closing. All announcements are in Mandarin and English. It goes like this:
"Lieche qianfang de chezhan shi [name of station]. You zai [station] xiache de chengke, qing nin tiqian zuo hao zhunbei. [Station] jiu yao dao le."
(Which means: The next station for this train is [station]. Passengers alighting at [station], please get ready. We will soon be arriving at [station]." When the train gets into the station, there is a Chinese alert only: "[station] dao le", which means, "we've arrived at [station]". This is right before the doors open. |
| Berlin | After arrival in station: "Zug nach [terminal station]" (dietzel.net (mp3)) – A few moments before departure: "Einsteigen, bitte!" (dietzel.net (mp3)) – Departure announcement: "Zurückbleiben, bitte!" (dietzel.net (mp3)) (pre-recorded voice, meaning "Train to [terminal station]" – "Please board" – "Please stand back"). Next-station announcements: dietzel.net. |
| Bilbao | There's a faint chirping sound while the doors are open and a series of warning beeps when they close. A pre-recorded female voice announces transfer stations in two languages, probably Basque and Spanish. For other stations the generic station name is announced only once. |
| Boston | On older trains, the doors make a "ding ding" or "ding dong" sound. There are new trains with automated announcements on the Red and Green Lines: As a train leaves a station, it says "Next stop, [name]". As the train enters a station, it says "Entering [name]". There is no announcement for closing doors, just "Beep beep". At major transfer points where rail lines cross, after the "Entering" announcement, the train says "Change here for the [name] Line" (such as the Green Line or Red Line, etc.) |
| Brisbane | Commuter rail: The driver or one of the staff who sit on the 'cabins' dings a 'bell' twice, then over a PA system a recorded voice says "Doors closing, please stand clear". IMU: railmedia.com.au (wma). Airport line at Nerang: railmedia.com.au (wma). |
| Brussels | A high pitch buzzing noise. Some Brussels trains now have next-station announcements. There is a three tone chime and the station is announced in both French and Flemish or vice versa and sometimes just one language. |
| Bucharest | A pre-recorded female voice says "Atentie se inchid usile" which means "Mind the closing doors". No beeping of any sort. Between stations she says "Urmeaza statia [station name] cu peronul pe partea dreapta/stanga" which means "The next station is [station name] with the platform on the right/left side". |
| Budapest | "[Dong-ding] Tessek vigyazni, az ajtok zarodnak" ("Please be careful, the doors close"), pre-recorded male voice (metrobudapest.fw.hu (mp3)). In refurbished trains, female voice: "[Dong-ding] Kerem vigyazzanak, az ajtok zarodnak" (meaning the same, freeweb.hu (mp3)). |
| Buenos Aires | Beep sound in some of the lines (lines B, C, D). "Próxima estación: 9 de Julio/Carlos Pellegrini (depending on the line you're travelling), combinación con linea B Alem-Los Incas, línea C Constitución-Retiro y linea D Congreso de Tucumán-Catedral". |
| Buffalo | The door-closing signal is a two to three second long series of harsh, fast, very high-pitched beeps (sounds like "scree-scree-scree-scree-scree..."), followed by a simple live announcement of the next station by the train driver. Every few stations, a live warning is announced: "No smoking, drinking, eating, playing of radio or tape players allowed in all Metro vehicles and stations". The sequence and announcement wording is unchanged from the time the system opened in 1984. |
| Caracas | A buzz indicates the closing doors, around two seconds long and similar to the one in Paris. Next-station announcements are spoken live by the operators: "Estación [station name] – Transferencia Linea dos y Linea tres" ([Station name] station – correspondence with lines 2 and 3). A very (in)famous delay announcement is: "Debido a un arrollamiento en la estación Colegio de Ingenieros, el servicio de trenes presenta un fuerte retraso en estos momentos" (Due to a holdup in Colegio de Ingenieros station, train service is suffering from a heavy delay).
|
| Chennai | No announcements. |
| Chicago | A very friendly, pre-recorded male voice is somewhat verbose and talks almost permanently to the passengers: "[Ding-dong] doors closing... Adams and Wabash is next. Doors open on the right at Adams and Wabash. Transfer to Green, Purple, and Brown Line trains at Adams and Wabash (chicago-l.org (wav))... This is Adams and Wabash. Transfer to Green, Purple, and Brown Line trains at Adams and Wabash. This is an Orange line train to Midway..." And sometimes, one of the following is being added: "Standing passengers: please do not lean against the doors.", "Priority seating is intended for the elderly and passengers with disabilities. Your cooperation is requested.", "Soliciting on CTA trains is prohibited. Violators will be arrested.", "Smoking, littering, and playing radios or loud devices is prohibited.", "Your attention please. We are being delayed because crews are working on the track ahead. We expect to be moving shortly.", "Your attention please: We are being delayed, waiting for signals ahead. We expect to be moving shortly.", "Thank you for riding the CTA Orange Line." (chicago-l.org). |
| Cologne/Bonn | No sound, each set of doors has sensors and closes when no one is between them. |
| Delhi | Bilingual announcements in Hindi and English (since the local language and the national language are the same – Hindi). |
| Detroit | The closing chimes on Detroit's People Mover are exactly the same as on Toronto's subways (see there). |
| Dublin | DART: Doors: soft whistling/chirping noise before and during door closing. Lights also flash. On board (male voice): "This train is for: [final destination]". Chime, "Your attention please. The next station is [name]" – "This is [station name]". Other announcements (all prefixed with a chime followed by "Your
attention please!"): "For your comfort and safety, please do not smoke or place your feet on the seats". "For your safety, CCTV is fitted on this train". LUAS: Doors: There's a soft tone and lights flash above every door before they close. A female voice "Doors are about to close" is sometimes used ahead of that announcement, particularly when departing from the end of the line. Stations: "The next stop is [station name]". On arrival at the stop "[station name]" in English and Gaelic. It will also add other information like "Change here for... " or "Last stop". Other announcements: "Thank you for traveling with LUAS". "Please keep your feet off the seats". |
| Genoa | Buzzing when doors close. |
| Frankfurt | No sound, each set of doors has sensors and closes when no one is between them. If there's someone between the doors, the driver can activate an automated announcement "Bitte zurücktreten" ("Please step back"). Next-station announcements are pre-recorded in German, for some stations in the central area in English too. |
| Guangzhou |
"[Dong-dong] Xia4yi2zhan4" (Mandarin) – "Haa6Yat1Zaan6" (Cantonese) – "The next station is [name]" (English). "Qu4wang3 [station name and major attractions] de4 cheng2ke4, qin2 zhun2bei4", which means "Passengers for [name and attractions], please be prepared (for alighting)". – "Xia4che1shi2, Qing2xiao3xin1 lie4che4 yu3 zhan4tai2 zhi1jian1de4 kong1xi1", which means "Please mind the platform gap between the train and the platform when alighting". – "Chu4za2shi2, chi2 dan1cheng2piao4 de4 cheng3ke4, qing2jiang1 cheng2piao4 zhi2jie1 tou2ru4 zha3ji1 de4 hui2sou1kou2", which means "Passengers holding single-ride tickets, please put your tickets into the barriers when you are leaving." |
| Hamburg | A pre-recorded female voice says "Zurückbleiben bitte!" (MP3). The doors beep in addition. The same voice announces the next stations in the trains, "Nächster Halt: [station name]", a few also in English with reference to places of interest. This is the voice of Ingrid Metz, who dubbed Marilyn Monroe in the German versions of several movies. For an unknown reason, the professional recordings for stations in the city centre have been abandoned and replaced in 2006 by inarticulate children's voices. |
| Helsinki | Older trains have a faint chime sound before closing the doors, newer trains have three beeps. Next-station announcements are in Finnish and Swedish, Rautatientori station (central station) also in English. |
| Hong Kong | Pre-recorded messages in Cantonese, Mandarin and English inside the train: "Tsing2 Mat6 Kau3 Gaun6 Tsae1 Mun4 – Qing3 Bu2yao4 Kao4jing3 Che1men2 &ndash Please stand back from the doors [do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do]" (numbers denote tunes of syllable) before the doors close (ushb.net (.RM)). "Ha Yat Jaam: Tai Jee. Sing Hak Hoh Yee Juen Sing Tsuen Wan Seen Wong Tsuen Wan Yuen Tou Gok Jaam" (Cantonese). "Xia Yi Zhan: Tai Zi. Cheng Ke Ke Yi Huan Cheng Quan Wan Xian Qian Wang Quan Wan Yuan Tu Ge Zhan" (Mandarin). "Next station: Prince Edward. Interchange station for the Tsuen Wan Line towards Tsuen Wan" (English). ushb.net. Outside the train: "Tsing2 mat6 kau3 gaun6 yuet6 toi4 mok6 mun4 – ching bu yao kao jin yue tai mu men – Please stand back from the platform screen doors". |
| Istanbul | Pre-recorded female voice in Turkish. |
| Izmir | For every stop a pre-recorded female voice announces the name of the station. The same voice also warns for the closing of the doors: "Dikkat! Kapilar kapanacak [ring]" in Turkish (which means "Attention! The doors will be closed"). |
| Kazan | Official language in Kazan is Tartar but the automated male voice is in Russian only: "Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvayutsya, sleduyushchaya stantsiya ..." (Attention, doors closing, next station is ...) and "Stantsiya ..., konechnaya, prosiba osvobodit? vagony i ne zabyvat? veshchi" ("... station -- terminal station, please leave the train and don't forget your belongings"). In case Tartar announcements would be added someday, they will probably be in a female voice before the Russian ones (as in the trams). |
| Kharkov | "Oberezhno, dveri zachinyayutsa – nastupna stantsiya [station name]" ("Mind the closing doors – next station is [station name]") (wav, voices.metro.ru). |
| Kiev | "Oberezhno, dveri zachinyayutsa – nastupna stantsiya [name]" ("Mind the closing doors – next station is [station name]") (wav, voices.metro.ru). |
| Kolkata (Calcutta) | All announcements are in three languages – Bangla (local language), Hindi (national language) and English. The announcement is of the form 'The Next Station is XYZ, platform on the right/left'. There are only beeps for closing doors, no announcements. |
| Kuala Lumpur | Putra: chime (ding-dong tune). Star and KTM Komuter: up-down tune, ERL: "[breep breep breep]". Monorail: up-down tune before doors close, recorded announcements: "The next station is [name], Stesen berikutnya [name]", at transfer stations: "Alight here for [lines]. Tukar sini untuk [lines]". |
| Kyoto | In Kyoto, the subway plays beautiful guzheng (sort of an Asian violin) compositions for its door-closing tones. |
| Lille | The very same buzzing sound as in Paris. A pre-recorded female voice announces the next station shortly before arriving: "[station name]". |
| Lisbon | Buzzing before the doors close. On the train: "Ding-dong...Proxima estacao: [station name]". |
| Liverpool | Merseyrail: An obscure sound. On refurbished trains, next station is announced by a pre-recorded voice. |
| London | A faint chirping sound before the doors close. Sometimes announcements like "Mind the doors, please"; "Mind the closing doors"; "This train is about to depart". When the train comes to a halt, there's sometimes the famous repeated "Mind the gap!" announced by an automated male voice (Wikipedia (ogg)), sometimes a single "Mind the gap between the train and the platform" by a female voice (emmaclarke.com (wav)). |
| Los Angeles | Metro Red and Purple lines: "ding-ding" (wav). LRT lines: a high-pitched beep. |
| Lyon | "[Bup bup bup bup bup bup bup bup bup]". A pre-recorded voice in French announces the next station. It goes something like "[three descending tones] prochain arret [station name] – correspondance avec ligne [line number]". If exiting to the right is necessary, the voice will say "descendre à la droite". |
| Madrid | Buzzing before departure. Before arriving to the station, a recorded announcement says: "Próxima estación [name], correspondencia con línea [number]". This is Castilian and means: "Next station [name], transfer with line [number]". Sometimes, especially in old stations on line 1 they have also this text: "Próxima estación: Tirso de Molina. ¡Atención! Estación en curva, al salir tengan cuidado de no introducir el pie entre coche y andén", which means: "Next station: Tirso de Molina. Attention! Station is in a curve; while you get off the train, mind your step, don't step between the train and the platform." Line 6 and 7 have older trains and those have a whistle sound when the doors close. |
| Manila | Manila LRT: The messages played to announce next station and arriving station are pre-recorded in English and Tagalog. "Next station: Gilmore / Ang susunod na istasyon ay Gilmore" or "Arriving at Santolan Terminal Station / Padating na sa Santolan Terminal Station". |
| Marseille | Buzzing like in Paris. |
| Mexico City | Older trains have a 3-seconds "BOOP" sound and a recorded voice announcement in Spanish. Newer trains on Line 2 have a buzz that sounds like "TURU-RU" and then "Por favor, permita el libre cierre de puertas" ("Stand clear of the closing doors, please"). Next-station announcement: "TURU-RU – Próxima estación: [name]" ("Next station: [name]"). |
| Miami | Two-tone digitalized chime. |
| Milan | A beep and a voice saying things like "Centrale - Fermata Centrale", "Duomo - Fermata Duomo". |
| Minsk | "Astsiarozhna, dzvery zachinyayutsa – nastupnaja stantsiya". The text is identical to those in Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov etc. but is in Belorussian (voices.metro.ru). |
| Montreal | No signal at all for closing doors (though conductors will often rattle the doors to warn users to hurry up). Announcements are in French. After leaving stations, it's simply "Prochaine station, [name]." When arriving at a station, it's "Station, [name]". When leaving the terminus, it's "La STM vous souhaite la bienvenue à bord. Prochaine station, [name]." ("The STM bids you welcome on board. Next station: [name]".) |
| Moscow | "Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvayutsa – sleduyuschaya stantsiya [station name]" ("Mind the closing doors – next station is [station name]") (wav, voices.metro.ru). |
| Mumbai | No announcements. |
| Munich | Type B trains now have LED lights and an oscillating whistle after the "Bitte zurückbleiben" spoken live by the driver. The announcement is sometimes succeeded by "Die Türen schließen" ("Doors closing"). Type C trains have a pre-recorded "Bitte zurückbleiben" and a buzzing sound like the Berlin U-Bahn dietzel.net (mp3). Some of the next-station announcements are in English also (dietzel.net (mp3), dietzel.net). |
| Newcastle | Buzzing (like an electronic alarm clock), then a female pre-recorded voice: "Doors closing". |
| New York City | "Stand clear of the closing doors, please [ding-dong, ding-dong]" in newer trains with pre-recorded voice (subwaynut.com (mp3)). In older trains, drivers often swallow a couple of syllables and mumble something like "Clear closing doors!" (subwaynut.com). |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Text is similar to other Russian metros (wav, voices.metro.ru). |
| Novosibirsk | Text is similar to other Russian metros (wav, voices.metro.ru). |
| Nuremberg | "Zurücktreten bitte", spoken live by the driver, who is at that time out on the platform with a wired microphone, watching the closing doors. On the newer U-Bahn trains, there is a high and low tone for the next
station announcement, with a pre-recorded female voice: "[ding-dong] Nächster Halt – Plärrer – Umsteigemöglichkeit zur Linie
U1. In Fahrtrichtung rechts aussteigen". |
| Osaka | Next-station announcements in Japanese and English. |
| Oslo | "Dørene lukkes" (meaning "Doors are closing"). |
| Paris | Buzzing indicates the closing doors (navily.net (mp3)). Next station announcements (dietzel.net) can be heard on line 1, 3 and 14. Before some announcements, a jingle is played (navily.net (mp3)) . Line B of the RER is being equipped (operation should be completed by the end of 2006). On RER line A at this moment only newer or renovated trains have the system. At curved stations there is the message "Attention à la marche en descendant du train", which means "Watch your step as you disembark." |
| Philadelphia | On the Broad Street Line, the trains have two chimes at the same tone "[dong-dong]" and a two-tone chime before any announcements. The Market-Frankford Line has automated announcements that go something like this: "This is a 69th Street train making all stops. This is a Frankford train making A stops. A stops only! [same for B] Doors opening! Doors closing!" |
| Portland | Light rail: "The doors are closing" (female voice). |
| Porto | Buzzing. When it arrives and leaves the stations: "[Trim, trim]". |
| Prague | Pre-recorded chime and then a female voice: "Ukoncete prosim, vystup a nastup, dvere se zaviraji." – "Pristi stanice: [name]", which means "Finish alighting and boarding, doors closing" – "Next stop: [name]". When there is a final stop, the voice says: "Konecna stanice, prosime vystupte." – "Terminus, please leave the train". This is both in Czech and English for the tourists. |
| Rhine-Ruhr | No sound, each set of doors has sensors and closes after a few seconds when no-one is between them. |
| Rio de Janeiro | A siren-like sound (resembling a crying baby or meowing cat) of variable duration announces the closing doors. A pre-recorded female voice announces the next stations in Portuguese and English ("Proxima estacao: [name] ... – Next stop: [name] station"). |
| Rome | Buzz. On line B, stations are announced with the words "Prossima fermata", followed by the name of the station and the same announcement in (poor) English, "Next stop" and the name of the station. |
| Rotterdam | In newer trains there is a three-tone signal (low-high-low) announcing departure. Doors start closing during the last tone. The older trains just have a very short and not very loud 'ping' just before the doors close. In all trains there is a pre-recorded (female) voice announcing the next station just before arriving in it: "station [name], hier kunt u overstappen voor (change here for) [line/branch]". |
| Saint Petersburg | Pre-recorded "Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvautsa" ("Mind the closing doors") (wav, voices.metro.ru). Upon arriving the message is "Stanciya [name]. Sleduyuschaya stanciya – [name]. (Perehod na liniyu [number])" ("Station [name]. Next station – [name]. (Transfer to line [number])". |
| San Francisco | BART (newer trains): "The doors are closing – please stand clear of the doors", followed by a one-tone beep. BART (older trains) and MUNI: One-tone beep.
|
| San Juan | Tren Urbano: 3 or 4 beeps. Sometimes the operator also says "Cuidado, cerrando puertas". |
| Sao Paulo | A long beep. |
| Seoul | Next-station announcements in Korean and English. |
| Shanghai | Doors-closing signal is a "beep-beep-beep...", continued until the doors are closed and accompanied by flashing lights above the doors. Pre-recorded announcements on the ride: "Next station is [name]."
Before the train stops, you hear in Mandarin Chinese "Arrived at station [name]", followed in English:"We are now at [name]." |
| Shenzhen | "[Dong-dong] – Xia4yi2zhan4 [name]" (Mandarin) – "Haa6Yat1Zaan6 [name]" (Cantonese) – "The next station is [name], left/right doors will open". – "Qian3wang3 [station name and major attractions] de4 cheng2ke4, Qian3 zai4 ci3zhan4 xia4che1" – "Passengers for [name and attractions], please alight at this station". |
| Singapore | SMRT MRT: "[Ding-dong] doors closing [beep-beep-beep]". LRT: "Doors closing, next station [name]". SBS Transit MRT: "Doors closing [beep beep beep]". LRT: "Doors closing, please stand clear of doors [beep beep beep]" (amr). |
| Sofia | Annoucement is similar to that of Moscow, with the Bulgarian translation that sounds like: "Molya vhod ili izhod zabranen, dveri zatvorya – Sledvashchata Stanica [station name]" (meaning "Please do not enter or exit, the doors close. Next stop [station name]"). The name of the station is repeated just before the doors open at the next stop. |
| Stockholm | A buzzing sound, several seconds long, announces the closing doors. Inside the trains, a pre-recorded female voice says: "Nästa: [name]" (meaning "Next stop: [name]"). |
| Sydney | Sydney's millennium train goes like this: "Beep Beep Beep!" – "Please stand clear. Doors closing. Next stop, Town Hall. Get off at Town Hall for Queen Victoria Building and Darling Harbour". |
| Taipei | The departure sound resembles a siren. |
| Tashkent | See here: (voices.metro.ru). |
| Tehran | A few beeps before the doors close. Next-station anouncements in the train are in Farsi language by a recorded female voice. |
| Tokyo | Asakusa Line (Keikyu train in this soundfile): door chime (ototetsu.jp (rm)). Yamanote line: In some stations, hypnotizing little melodies are played before departure (issp.u-tokyo.ac.jp). |
| Toronto | The drivers call the station (usually "[Name] station is next. [Name] station.") There is a three-note chime (G, E, C downward) announcing the closing doors (ttc.ca (wav)). A new call system with an automated female voice says "Next stop is [name] station. [Name] station." Then as the train decelerates entering the station, "Now arriving at [name] station. [Name] station." The first single note of the chimes is also played when the doors open (G note). |
| Turin | Buzzing when doors close (similar to Paris). "[Chime] prossima stazione: [name] – next station: [name]" (mp3). |
| Valencia (Spain) | There's an electronic guitar-like sound before the announcement of the next station in Valencian (Catalan): "Pròxima parada: [station name], correspondència amb la línia [line]". |
| Vancouver | Beep or musical notes C#, G#, C# (upward), vanmag.com (WAV). |
| Vienna | The train operator says "Zug fährt ab" ("Train departing") before the doors close. A few seconds after the U-bahn train departs the station, there is a high and low pitch bell, and then the name of the next station announced in a "robotic" sounding male voice with a bit of a Viennese accent. Any connections to busses, trams or other trains are announced. For example: "[ding dong] [station name]. Umsteigen zu den Linien [lines]". |
| Warsaw | Beep only. Next-station announcements: metro.waw.pl |
| Washington DC | An automated "Doors closing, [ding-dong]" (orenstransitpage.com (WAV)). A new type of announcement says: "Doors opening, step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car. – [Ding-dong ding-dong] step back, doors closing!". |
| Zurich | S-Bahn trains and new Cobra trams use High-German for the next-station announcements. These can be either male or female. It goes something like "[low and high tones] [station name]". |
Printer-friendly
