As has been reported by several members here on the forum, there have been changes made to the automated announcement system. In a massive shift, the AAS has been dramatically altered for the first time in nearly 15 years. While this has been previously reported to be on the 2 line, I can assure you it's not isolated to the deuce alone. My Manhattan-bound 5 train also had the update. Since my trainset (6555-51+6521-25) was from the 2-line, I have to assume that the 239th Street sets are being updated first while the other yards will follow soon after.
Gone are the days of the following:
This is a(n) [X]-bound [Y] train. The next stop is [Z].
In are the days of:
[Y] train to [X]. Next stop: [Z].
X=borough, final destination
Y=route
Z=stop
For instance, what was previously "This is a Bronx-bound 5 express train. The next stop is Wall St." is now "5 express to the Bronx. Next stop: Wall St." with the "next stop" portion recorded by Cowdery. Now that's not the only thing. Several stations have new recordings for both stations and transfers. Speaking of transfers, it's no longer "Transfer/connection is available to the..." It's now "Transfer/Connect to the..." Getting back to the new recordings, they sound like they were done by both Jessica Ettinger and Catherine Cowdery.
Onto my observations from the train I was on. I got on at Nevins St and got off at Baychester Av.
- From Nevins St to Borough Hall, the announcements were not synced to the correct location, so I cannot tell you what the new Manhattan-bound announcement sounds like. My conductor re-synced the program right before she closed the doors at Borough Hall.
- Most of the station recordings have been retained but others have been rerecorded by Cowdery.
- Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall - now "Brooklyn Bridge"
- 14 St-Union Sq - now "Union Sq"
- Grand Central-42 St - now "Grand Central"
- 138 St-Grand Concourse - rerecorded
- 149 St-Grand Concourse - now "149 St"
- Eastchster-Dyre Av - now "Dyre Av"
- All transfers with the exception of the one at 86 St have been changed or altered slightly. The "transfer/connect to the" part is done by Cowdery with the rest of the transfer recording is done by Ettinger or Cowdery as noted:
- Bowling Green: connect to the Staten Island Ferry (Cowdery)
- Fulton St: 2, 3, A, C, J and Z trains (Ettinger)
- Brooklyn Bridge: 6, J and Z (Pellett)
- 14 St: 6, L, N, Q and R (Ettinger)
- Grand Central: original ('04) 6, 7, shuttle to Grand Central; Metro-North
- 59 St [unknown because conductor cut off announcement]
- 86 St: unaltered announcement
- 125 St: same announcement with "transfer/connect" edited in as needed
- 149 St-GC, 3 Av, E 180 St: see previous
- Pelham Pkwy: Bx12 Select Bus Service (Cowdery)
I mentioned the announcements at 59 St were interrupted by the conductor. She had to cut those off at a few stops. Apparently, someone decided a new Charlie announcement about not blocking the doors needed to be played at every major station. Problem is, the announcement is way too long. What can be summed up as "don't block the doors when they open and let people off the train" has turned into a 30 second recording that ends well after the doors open. Between this new announcement and the "watch the gap" one that plays at more stations than it needs to, along with the necessary transfers, I clocked the total recording at Brooklyn Bridge (the first stop the "door blocker" played on my trip) at over a minute. Every other time it started playing, she cut it off so the next stop announcements would play. If they are going to have the announcements run long, they have to change the distances.
All in all, this is not a change I thought they'd do. Quite frankly, the announcement system needs to be changed. The hodgepodge arrangement of different people doing announcements on the same line has to end. It sounds unprofessional. Unfortunately, the current setup isn't much better. It's like someone took the 7-line approach with Annie and Catherine finishing each other's sentences and decided a it needed to be system-wide. I hope this is just a start and the rest of the stations and transfers are rerecorded so they have one voice.