Northern to re-record passenger announcements after mispronouncing Derbyshire town

Northern, which serves more than 500 stations, has made a plea for passengers to get in touch before the end of the month if they feel their local station is currently being mispronounced.

It comes as the rail company prepares to re-record announcements for ten stations - including Ilkeston.

Currently on-board announcements use the pronunciation ‘Ill-Kes-Ston” which is set to change to “Ilks-tonne” from the end of the month.

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With some stations, residents have been keen to reiterate full place names rather than shortened versions that have been adopted over time.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “We manage 467 stations across our network and some of them are pronounced very differently to how they appear in writing.

“That said, some corrections are, quite rightly, a request that station names be announced in full rather than shortened versions that have been adopted over time.

The new on-board announcements have been recorded by Peter Corley and Laura Palmer, two of Northern’s employees.

Speaking at the time the first recordings went live on some of Northern’s trains, they said: “Whilst every effort was made to get them right (the) first time, we know how proud people across the North of England are of their regional dialect.

“Who knows how long these recordings will be in the system – so now’s your chance to correct us if we’ve got it wrong.”

Those wishing to submit corrections or suggestions are asked to contact Northern on Twitter – @northernassist.