When I say “train quotes,” I don’t mean the train is talking: I mean automated stop announcements. Anyone reading this blog has likely been on a train with automated stop announcements; it’s when there’s an automatic prerecorded speaker that says the names of the stops with a display screen. It’s a nice touch, and it’s much better than older trains, where the driver says the names of the stops. With those, the speakers are either too muffled to be understood (see the previous Transit Tales) or the driver doesn’t even bother to say the stop names. Based on that, the automated stop announcements are a welcome addition 95% of the time. However, they glitch on occasion. Here are some of the most memorable:
- On a Red Line ride towards Boston, the speaker kept saying “Next stop: Davis Square” even though we were nowhere near Davis Square.
- My friends were riding the Red Line, entering Porter Square. The speaker said, “Next stop: Quincy Adams” while the display said “Entering Harvard.”
- Riding a Green Line C train towards Cleveland Circle, the speaker said, “The destination of this train is: Cleveland Circle [BEEP!] Reservoir [BEEP!] Reservoir.”
Leave a comment if you experience a Memorable Train Quote, and I’ll compile them into another post when I get enough.
so relatable miles!
one time me and my mom were on a red line train heading up to porter sq to check out ward maps ,the automated thing had been quiet most of the ride but then randomly in between central and Harvard it said "next stop porter square" ever though the next stop was Harvard not porter
I saw a video on YouTube of a red line ride between Charles and park street where the automated thing keep repeating the "entering park street" announcement
One time we were leaving Quincy Center, and then it said, "next stop, Quincy Center"
On a D branch train from Chestnut Hill to Government Center, the destinations appeared to be backwards.
For example, arriving at Park Street, we heard “The destination of this train is: Riverside. Next Stop: Woodland.”
I was quite confused when I boarded and heard it was a Riverside bound train, with the current stop being Fenway.