Mind the gap

All you want to know about Mind the gap

For other uses, see Mind the gap (disambiguation).

"Mind the gap" is a warning to train passengers to remind them of the sometimes significant gap between the train door and the station platform. It was first introduced in 1969 by the London Underground rapid transit system. The phrase is associated closely enough with the London Underground that the organization sells T-shirts with the phrase imposed on a London Transport symbol.

1 Variants
2 Origin of the phrase
3 The phrase worldwide
4 References
5 External links

Variants

A "Mind the gap" sticker onboard a KCR EMU SP1900 in Hong Kong's KCR stock

Some station platforms on the London Underground are curved. Since the cars are straight, the distance from the platform to the car at certain points is greater than normal, and the phrase "mind the gap" is painted in capital letters along the edge of such platforms. A recorded announcement is also played whenever a train arrives at a station, consisting of "mind the gap" repeated several times, followed by "stand clear of the doors, please," and "this train is now ready to depart".

The recording is also used where platforms are of a non-standard height. Deep-level tube trains have a floor height around 20 cm less than cut-and-cover line trains. Where these trains share platforms, for example some Piccadilly Line (deep level) and District Line (cut-and-cover) stations, the platform is built as a compromise between the two. The "mind the gap" warning is used in this situation as well.

The Central Line platforms at Bank and the Bakerloo Line platforms at Piccadilly Circus are two of the more notable examples of platforms where "mind the gap" is played. The "mind the gap" markings on the platform edge usually line up with the doors on the cars when the train comes to a stop. This can be useful to know for catching trains from busier stations such as Bank.

While the message is often played on some lines over the platform's PA system, it is becoming more common for the message to be played as part of the in-carriage arrival message ("Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.")

Origin of the phrase

"Mind the gap" sign at a Toronto subway station

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 frequently warn passengers about the gap between train and platform. The Underground management chose what was then a new technology, digital recording, in order to be able to save the announcement using solid state equipment that would have no moving parts. As storage capacity was highly expensive, the phrase had to be relatively short. A short warning would also be easier to fit in writing on the platform.

The recording equipment was supplied by AEG Telefunken. According to the Independent on Sunday, sound engineer Peter Lodge (who owned a company called Redan Recorders in Bayswater), working with a Scottish Telefunken engineer, initially recorded a professional actor reading "mind the gap" and "please stand clear of the doors", but the actor insisted on performance royalties and the phrases had to be re-recorded. In the event, Lodge read the phrases to line up the recording equipment for level and those recordings were chosen for use.^[1]

While Lodge's recording is still in use nowadays, some Underground lines use other recordings. One was recorded by Manchester-based voice artist Emma Clarke. Other announcements, used on the Piccadilly line, are voiced by the actor Tim Bentinck, who portrays David Archer in The Archers.

The phrase worldwide

"Watch the gap" variant used on Metro-North

"Mind the gap" is also used as a warning by many transit systems worldwide. However, most new rapid transit systems avoid building stations on curves for the reasons described above.

The equivalent sentence exists in other languages, for example in French it is occasionally written on signals on the platforms in the Paris Métro. In Hong Kong's MTR, as well as Singapore's MRT, the phrase is used in announcements (3 languages) and on signs in stations. The phrase can also be heard at the Athens Metro system. In Stockholm's tunnelbana it is phrased: "Tänk på avståndet mellan vagn och platform när du stiger av".

The New York City-area commuter railroads Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North make wide use of the variant "watch the gap" on their trains and station platforms, particularly after the falling of passengers on the LIRR mainline. Due to recent news reports of people falling through the gap, a warning is now played at every station and automated announcements on board the trains on LIRR and MNRR. The MTA which operates both rail roads has retained key New York personalities including Maria Bartiromo and Al Roker to recite the slogan.