British train stations are testing technology that can transmit live translations of platform announcements to passengers’ headphones using the language of their choice.
The technology – initially created to support those who are deaf or hard of hearing – is expected to become widely available on headphones by 2028. The aim now is to assist those more familiar with other languages to have the same seamless support that is available in English.
Bristol Temple Meads station, a hub for the south-west of England where there is also a large Polish-speaking community, is trialling live translations on four of its platforms until November. Another pilot is being tested at Brighton station for a year.
The service pairs Auracast, a Bluetooth low energy audio feature that enables broadcasts to be transmitted to headphones or hearing aids, with AI-powered live audio translation by the company XRAI.
The pilot scheme is available to passengers with Auracast-enabled phones – most new Androids – and headphones. The latter are harder to find but are expected to become widespread within a few years.
Andy Rhodes, who manages Bristol Temple Meads’ Innovation Zone, said the project was the product of a collaborative technology business environment in which firms are offered as much as £45,000 (about $60,800) in grant funding to come up with transport solutions.
The Victorian Bristol Temple Meads station can be a lottery for anyone wishing to hear travel announcements, thanks to its high metal roofs, stone arches and glass-walled sidings.
With trains arriving and leaving its 13 platforms throughout the day, there are announcements every minute – but it can be difficult for passengers to distinguish the one they need. The Grade 1-listed building is also protected from major alterations that might help contain the sound and reduce interference.
“This pilot shows how emerging technologies like AI and Auracast could help remove language barriers and improve the travel experience, while giving us valuable insight into how these innovations could be applied across the wider rail network in the future,” Mr Rhodes said.
Test bed
Part of the challenge during The National's visit to the station was finding the right headphones to connect to the broadcasts. The range of Auracast-enabled headphones is currently limited to fewer than 30 models and not many shops stock them. Headphones brand Creative has the largest range.
But that will soon change. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which includes all companies incorporating Bluetooth in their devices, projects that eight out of 10 new devices in 2028 – approximately seven billion on the market – will be Auracast-enabled.
“We’re expecting to see the implementation of Auracast change quite rapidly in the next few years,” said Jonathon Hoskin, division sales manager for Ampetronic, which builds the Auracast transmitters being used at Bristol and Brighton stations.
There are signs the technology could be adopted more widely on public transport. The Department for Transport recently recommended the introduction of Auracast technology on new buses to improve accessibility for deaf or hard-of-hearing passengers.
Mr Hoskin envisions a future where the technology will be available not just on buses and at train stations but on the trains themselves, so passengers can move seamlessly from one broadcast to another. “The key with this technology is the integration into all the elements and all the modes of transport,” he told The National.
“You would join the audio on the tram or the bus, and you would hear the next stop announcement. You leave the bus and enter Bristol Temple Meads station. If you’re a regular user of that transportation, it’s likely that by 2028 there will be a functionality that will remember that you’ve previously joined a broadcast.
“You’ll get a notification on your device to say: 'Would you like to join this broadcast again?' You would say 'yes'. Then you are connected to the Bristol Temple Meads broadcast for the whole station,” he said.
That could be enhanced by joining broadcasts for a specific platform, or even connecting to a ticketing app, which would issue a broadcast ID for specific journeys. “These are all questions we’re asking,” Mr Hoskin said.
This would give passengers the chance to have announcements delivered to their headsets while they are on their phone or listening to a podcast, in the language of their choice. “It removes any kind of anxiety that you might have of missing an announcement,” he said.
If implemented, the technology could mark a radical change on how public announcements are made, according Dan Scarfe, chief executive of XRAI.
“For more than a century, public announcements have followed the same model: one voice speaking to everyone at once,” he said. “This project shows what’s possible when you combine AI with the latest broadcast technology. Instead of asking every passenger to adapt to the announcement, the announcement adapts to the passenger.
“Whether you’re visiting the UK for the first time, travelling on business, or using compatible hearing technology, being able to hear important travel information in your own language has the potential to transform the passenger experience.”
