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Rail companies are swapping the phrase “this train terminates here” in favour of “this train ends its journey here” to make “language easy to understand for everyone”.

On-board announcements across three major rail companies are being adjusted because rail bosses think the word “terminate” is too “jargony” and “bureaucratic” for modern-day passengers.

It is part of a years-long drive by Britain’s railway companies to simplify how they communicate with passengers.

Language campaigners have welcomed the move, saying it would make life easier for foreign passengers, but warned that it could lead to travellers paying less attention to important information.

Great Western Railway has told staff to avoid old-fashioned terms when making Tannoy announcements, and instead to make them “clear and engaging”.

Remove the word “terminate”
Meanwhile, pre-recorded announcements on LNER and South Western Railway trains are being updated to remove the word “terminate” from end-of-the-line broadcasts.

Removing the word “terminate” is part of a project started in 2019 which has seen paper tickets redesigned and online information revised to strip out confusing wording.

Phasing out of the phrase is expected to continue over the next few years as new rolling stock is introduced with the modernised wording installed on public address systems as standard.

Other railway-specific terms such as “alight” are also expected to disappear over time as part of the drive towards clearer English.

A GWR spokesman said: “We give our teams a fair bit of leeway in how they make announcements clear and engaging for customers.

“Every now and then we tweak our guidance to colleagues, and terminating ‘terminates’ seems like a sensible move to make way for something less jargony and needlessly bureaucratic.”

‘Native tongue’
A spokeswoman for the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the trade association for privatised passenger train companies, added: “We are always looking at how we can improve communication to customers and part of that is about making the language easy to understand for everyone.

“Some onboard announcements have been updated by train operators following an in-depth review of customer feedback. This is part of the Smarter Information, Smarter Journeys programme to improve customer information.”

Tony Maher, general manager of the Plain English Campaign, said that removing “terminate” could make it easier to understand rail announcements for passengers for whom English is not their native tongue.

“I would actually say that’s a good change… the word terminate probably would confuse more people if they’ve got English as a second language,” he said.

“I think the word ‘terminate’, with it being longer and more complicated, they’re less likely to understand it. And we tend to find, because of that, they will listen a bit more carefully.”

‘Obscure railway terminology’
Mr Maher added that jargon was not necessarily harder for non-native English speakers to understand.

“We do tend to find, believe it or not, that people who’ve got English as a second language actually have a better grasp of grammar than people in the UK because it’s taught differently in a lot of other countries,” he said.

A 2019 mystery shopper study commissioned by the RDG found: “Across the industry, there has been a legacy of some locations and regions using obscure railway terminology and jargon, rather than talking in simple customer-centric language.

“We did hear one passenger say that they thought the information was produced ‘by railway people for railway people’ thus underlining the opportunity for improvement.”

Part of the reason why rolling out new announcements is expected to take years is because those who originally recorded the voiceovers used today have since died, making it harder to insert new words and phrases.

Celia Drummond, whose voice is played on South Western Railway’s trains as well as London Underground’s Northern Line to this day, died in 2021.

Likewise, Phil Sayer, whose voice is also heard on trains and at stations up and down the country, died in 2016 after suffering cancer.

I certainly empathise with the consideration that clearer terminology facilitates and ameliorates comprehension.

BTW if 'terminate' is to be relocated to an appropriate redundant material receptacle does the term 'terminus' also suffer the same fate? And, if so, with what would it be replaced?

There should be no such thing as a terminus station - for example Severn Beach should be extended to Pilning , Scarborough should extend to Whitby, Henley on Thames should be extended to join up at Marlow, and Windsor Central should join to Windsor Riverside. In extremis, all stations at line ends should be loops like Dungeness on the RH&D.

Knowing the geography of Windsor, how would you propose joining Central to Riverside? Tunnel under the castle?

 ;)

https://prezi.com/t4nowetbs2gw/wlr-masterplan/#_0_24309637 

There should be no such thing as a terminus station - for example Severn Beach should be extended to Pilning , Scarborough should extend to Whitby, Henley on Thames should be extended to join up at Marlow, and Windsor Central should join to Windsor Riverside. In extremis, all stations at line ends should be loops like Dungeness on the RH&D.

'Vestibule' is also on GWR's list for the chopping block.

'Vestibule' is also on GWR's list for the chopping block.

I have to wonder if we are being too considerate as we water down wording for sensitivity reasons. "This train in the timetable at 17:44 will not run due to insufficient funding from HMG to staff it" may be the truth, but it's likely to upset the members of HMG who have restricted the funding and consider cancellation rates of around 10% sometimes acceptable.

YOUR next station stop is  XXXX incorrect
OUR next station stop is XXXX    incorrect

The next station stop is XXXX CORRECT

I found it odd when announcements changed from "the next stop will be XXXX" to "the next STATION stop will be XXXX", though I admit it is more correct with that extra word.   Especially on trains that call at Westbury that almost routinely seem to stop at the signals outside.

Though what’s wrong dropping the word ‘stop’? 
“The next station is xxxx.”

Devil's Advocate mode ... leaving Severn Tunnel Junction, the next station is Pilning ... now six days out of seven, the train doesn't stop there  ;D

There should be no such thing as a terminus station - for example Severn Beach should be extended to Pilning , Scarborough should extend to Whitby, Henley on Thames should be extended to join up at Marlow, and Windsor Central should join to Windsor Riverside. In extremis, all stations at line ends should be loops like Dungeness on the RH&D.

And Ryde Pier Head ?  ;D

Join via a bridge to Portsmouth Harbour?

Why?