Mind the gap


"Mind the gap" or sometimes "watch the gap" is an audible or visual warning phrase issued to rail passengers to take caution while crossing the horizontal, and in some cases vertical, spatial gap between the train doorway and the station platform edge.
The phrase was first introduced in 1968 on the London Underground in the United Kingdom. It is popularly associated with the UK among tourists because of the particularly British word choice.

Origin of the phrase

The phrase "Mind the gap" was coined in around 1968 for a planned automated announcement, after it had become impractical for drivers and station attendants to warn passengers. London Underground chose digital recording using solid state equipment with no moving parts. As data storage capacity was expensive, the phrase had to be short. A concise warning was also easier to paint onto the platform.
The equipment was supplied by AEG Telefunken. According to the Independent on Sunday, sound engineer Peter Lodge, who owned Redan Recorders in Bayswater, working with a Scottish Telefunken engineer, recorded an actor reading "Mind the gap" and "Stand clear of the doors please", but the actor insisted on royalties and the phrases had to be re-recorded. Lodge read the phrases to line up the recording equipment for level, and those were used.
While Lodge's recording is still in use, some lines use other recordings. From 2005, the voice of Phil Sayer was heard on the Jubilee, Northern, and Piccadilly lines. When he died in 2016, The New York Times, one of many newspapers worldwide to report his death, said, "Mr. Sayer's was not the only voice cautioning passengers to 'mind the gap', but it is arguably the most familiar one." For 15 years before that, the voice on the Piccadilly line was that of Archers actor Tim Bentinck, but is now Julie Berry's. Another announcement was recorded by voice artist Emma Clarke. At least ten stations were supplied with announcers manufactured by PA Communications Ltd. of Milton Keynes. The recorded voice is that of Keith Wilson, their industrial sales manager. It can still be heard at Paddington for example. Keith Wilson's voice can be heard in the background of a scene in the Bond film Skyfall.
In March 2013, an old "Mind the gap" recording by Oswald Laurence was restored to the curved northbound platform at Embankment station on the Northern line's Charing Cross branch so that the actor's widow, Dr Margaret McCollum, could hear his voice.

Use in Britain

London Underground

Because some platforms on the London Underground are curved, and the rolling stock that use them are straight, an unsafe gap is created when a train stops at a curved platform. In the absence of a device to fill the gap, some form of visual and auditory warning is needed to advise passengers of the risk of being caught unaware and sustaining injury by stepping into the gap. The phrase "Mind the gap" was chosen for this purpose and can be found painted along the edges of curved platforms and heard on recorded announcements when a train arrives at many Underground stations.
The recording is also used where platforms are non-standard height. Deep-level tube trains have a floor height around less than sub-surface stock trains. Where trains share platforms, for example, some Piccadilly line and District line stations, the platform is a compromise. On London's Metropolitan line, a gap has been created between the train and the platform edge at Aldgate and Baker Street stations. This is due to the phasing out of the old "A" stock trains and their replacement with "S" stock trains, which have low floors to ease accessibility for disabled people.
"Mind the gap" audible warnings are always played on the Central line platforms at Bank, the Northern line northbound platform at Embankment, and the Bakerloo line platforms at Piccadilly Circus. The markings on the platform edge usually line up with the doors on the cars.
While the message is sometimes played over the platform's public address system on some lines, usually it is an arrival message inside the train itself: "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform".
During the coronation weekend of King Charles III in 2023, the message was voiced by the King himself and his wife Camilla. The King says, "My wife and I wish you and your families a wonderful coronation weekend," followed by Camilla, who says, "Wherever you are travelling, we hope you have a safe and pleasant journey," which is ended with the King saying "And remember, please mind the gap." It was played throughout every railway station in the United Kingdom.

Use in Ireland

The phrase "mind the gap" can be heard at each station along Dublin's DART and at all stations in the city centre. The message can be seen in some train stations in the rest of Ireland. On Commuter and InterCity trains, the phrase "Please mind the gap" is accompanied by the Irish "Seachain an bhearna le bhur dtoil" when pulling into stations.

The phrase worldwide

In trains

Equivalents of "Mind the gap" are used by transit systems worldwide, particularly when stations curve, but most new systems tend to avoid these types of stations.

Europe

  • The French version "Attention à la marche en descendant du train", an Alexandrin, can be heard on trains arriving at curved stations on Metro lines 1 to 7, 9, 11, 13, 14 and RER A, B, E. Announcements are also played in English and in either Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, or Korean. Written signage can be seen when walking up to said platforms. Another version used by SNCF is "Prenez garde à l'intervalle entre le marchepied et le quai" on national rail services.
  • In the Athens Metro, the message "Παρακαλούμε προσοχή στο κενό μεταξύ συρμού και αποβάθρας" is heard in both Greek and English at the stations of Monastiraki and Agios Nikolaos.
  • File:LRTA 2000 Class Door Stickers.jpg|thumb|"Mind the gap" sticker used on a Manila LRTA Line 2 2000 Class EMU.In Stockholm's tunnelbana and on Stockholm commuter rail's stations two versions can be heard: "Tänk på avståndet mellan vagn och plattform när Du stiger av", meaning "Mind the distance between carriage and platform when you exit". It is also displayed as text on electronic displays.
  • In Oslo, T-bane trains play a recorded Norwegian warning: "Vær oppmerksom på avstand mellom tog og platform" -- followed up by the English "Please mind the gap."
  • In Helsinki, on some commuter rail stations, "Mind the gap" can be heard in English, Finnish, and Swedish.
  • In Hamburg, passengers at the S-Bahn station Berliner Tor are warned with yellow flashing lights and the announcement "Bitte beachten Sie die Lücke zwischen Zug und Bahnsteigkante!".
  • On the Berlin U-Bahn, the phrase "Bitte beachten Sie beim Aussteigen die Lücke zwischen Zug und Bahnsteigkante" is used, followed by the English "Please mind the gap between platform and train."
  • On the Madrid Metro, a recorded warning message can be heard inside the trains when approaching a station with curved platforms: "Atención: estación en curva. Al salir, tengan cuidado para no introducir el pie entre coche y andén." No warning messages are heard when arriving at a station with straight platforms.
  • On the Lisbon Metro at the Marquês de Pombal station on the blue line, the announcement "Atenção ao intervalo entre o cais e o comboio" can be heard.
  • On all of the trains of the Milan Metro network, a yellow sticker on every door is visible with the warning in the Italian language "Attenzione allo spazio tra treno e banchina" and also in English "Mind the gap between the train and the platform".
  • On the Amsterdam Metro, a female voice announces the phrase "Let bij het in- en uitstappen op de ruimte tussen metro en perron." when approaching some stations, which is then followed in English by: "Please mind the gap between the train and platform."
  • Trains of the Dutch Railways have an announcement that warns passengers to carefully disembark because of high-level difference: "Beste reizigers, let goed op bij het uitstappen. Er is een niveauverschil tussen het perron en de trein." This is only announced in Dutch.
  • In Warsaw Metro, a sticker over the doors depicting a stick figure falling into the gap with texts below: "Uważaj na odstęp!" in Polish and "Mind the gap" in English, both written in Frutiger font.

    Asia

  • On Jakarta's Commuterline, the train announcement "Perhatikan jarak antara peron dengan kereta." is spoken. This translates as "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform." An English announcement is then played: "Please mind the platform gap."
  • On Singapore's MRT, the phrases "Please mind the platform gap" and "Please mind the gap" are used in announcements in English, played in the trains whenever a train approaches an underground station after the station's name has been announced twice. It is played on underground station platforms just after the train doors open or, sometimes, just as the train approaches the platform. Trains also have stickers pasted on the windows to caution passengers. The Chinese version "请小心空隙" is also commonly heard.
  • The phrase can be heard in New Delhi Metro in two languages : "कृपया दूरी का ध्यान रखें" "Mind the gap".
  • It also can be heard in Chennai Metro in two languages : "அன்புகூர்ந்து இடைவெளியை கவனத்தில் கொள்ளவும்" "Please Mind the gap".
  • On Hong Kong's MTR, the phrase "Please mind the gap" is announced in three languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. In recent years, a more elaborate version of the announcement, heard on some East Rail line stations with very curved platforms, says, "Please mind the gap and be aware of the difference in levels between the platform and the train".
  • Several mainland Chinese metro systems use the phrase extensively; on the Tianjin Metro, announcements and stickers on train doors and platforms mention the gap in both English and Chinese. The Beijing Subway uses "Mind the Gaps". On lines operated by Beijing MTR Corp., Ltd., the Hong Kong/British influence is prominent, with the English announcement "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform" – having a British pronunciation – being played every time a train arrives. Both the Shanghai Metro and the Nanjing Metro use versions with slightly mutilated grammar.
  • On the Manila Metro Rail Transit System Line 3, a pre-recorded message is played at certain stations reminding passengers to "Watch your step and watch the gap between the train and the platform as you get on and off the train". This is simplified in its Filipino translation, which reminds passengers to be careful when boarding and alighting the train.
  • When approaching Taipei Main Station and Guandu Station on the Red line of Taipei Metro, after the transfer information is announced, the phrase "Mind the gap" is announced in Mandarin, English, Hokkien and Hakka.
  • On many trains in Japan, the message "電車とホームの間が広く空いておりますので、ご注意下さい" is spoken. This translates as: "There is a wide space between the train and the platform, so please be careful". The phrase "足元にお気をつけ下さい" is also common, which means "Please mind your step".
  • File:Mind the Gap MRT Thailand.ogg|thumb|Bangkok underground train announcement in Thai and English In Thailand, the announcement is used somewhat differently from the London one. On Bangkok underground trains and Airport Rail Link trains, it says, "Please mind the gap between train and platform". Some grammarians argue that as specific and countable nouns, the words "train" and "platform" should be preceded by "the". Also, the Thai language version of the announcement does not refer to a "gap" but translates to "Please be careful when stepping out of the train", and is announced at every station as "โปรดใช้ความระมัดระวังขณะก้าวออกจากรถ". However, in the Bangkok skytrain stations, the Thai announcement mentions the "gap", and is announced quite infrequently as: "ผู้โดยสารโปรดทราบ ในขณะที่เข้าและออกจากรถไฟ โปรดคำนึงถึงช่องว่างระหว่างชานชาลาและรถไฟ ขอบคุณคะ" and can be translated into: "Attention, passengers, while entering and exiting the train, please mind the gap between the platform and the train. Thank you."
  • Signs on ferry docks in Shanghai render the phrase in Chinglish as "Note that the level of gap".
  • Announcements are made on Seoul Metro trains when arriving at stations with a curved platform, e.g. Myeongdong station on Line 4 and Singil station on Line 1, saying "이 역은 타는 곳과 전동차 사이가 넓습니다. 내리실 때 조심하시기 바랍니다" and "Please watch your step" in Korean and English.
  • The phrase is used in Dhaka Metro's pre-recorded audio announcement in a female voice after stopping at the stations in both Bangla and English. In English, the phrase goes, "Please mind the gap". In Bangla, however, the audio announcement does not explicitly mention or announce the gap; therefore, the phrase goes as "দয়া করে নিরাপদ দূরত্ব বজায় রাখুন" meaning "Please maintain a safe distance".