Audio announcers
Since the opening of the Kharkiv Metro in 1975, all station announcements have been made in Russian. In 1989-1990, bilingual announcements were introduced: the information was first read in Ukrainian by a male voice and then repeated in Russian by a female voice. Since 1993, all announcements have been made exclusively in Ukrainian. During UEFA Euro 2012, English announcements were also introduced.
When a train arrives at or departs from a station, the following standard announcement is played:
Станція «Академіка Павлова». Обережно, двері зачиняються. Наступна зупинка – станція «Студентська»
Akademika Pavlova Station. Please stand clear of the closing doors. The next station is Studentska.
Upon arrival at the terminal station, the standard announcement is followed by a reminder and a farewell message:
Станція «Індустріальна». Кінцева станція. Шановні пасажири, при виході з вагонів не залишайте свої речі. Всього вам найкращого!
Industrialna Station. This is the final stop. Dear passengers, please make sure you have all your personal belongings with you when leaving the train. We wish you a pleasant day!
At interchange stations (there are six in total), passengers also hear information about available transfers, including the name of the connecting line and station.
Станція «Університет». Перехід на станцію «Держпром» до поїздів Олексіївської лінії.
Universytet Station. Transfer here for Derzhprom Station and the Oleksiivska Line.
If a train is operating to the depot after completing passenger service, the following announcement is added after the arrival announcement:
Електропоїзд прямує до станції Турбоатом і далі в депо.
This train terminates at Turboatom Station and then proceeds to the depot.
Today, all onboard announcements on the three lines of the Kharkiv Metro are voiced by Anatolii Podorozhko, a long-time presenter at Kharkiv Regional Radio. Throughout his career, Anatolii has worked for Kharkiv Regional Radio and the Kharkiv Theatre for Young Audiences. He currently teaches at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, where he lectures on Stage Speech and Speech Technique. Radio listeners know him best as the host of the long-running programme From the History of My Native Land, which explores the history of the Kharkiv region. The programme became one of the station’s most popular broadcasts and brought him wide recognition. He also presents From My Favourite Collection, featuring readings from Ukrainian and world literature.
Anatolii Podorozhko
For UEFA Euro 2012, all station announcements were also recorded in English. They were voiced by Nataliia Mushchynska, a lecturer at the Kharkiv National University of Municipal Economy. Nataliia teaches management and marketing and regularly delivers lectures in English. Having travelled extensively and used metro systems in many countries, she sought to make the Kharkiv Metro’s English announcements clear, natural and easy for foreign visitors to understand.
Natalia Mushchynska
When a train arrived at or departed from a station, passengers heard the following announcement:
Station «Prospect Gagarina». Doors are about to close. Next station «Sportyvna».
Upon arrival at the final station:
Station «Kholodna Gora». Last stop.
Upon arrival at the interchange station:
Station «Universytet». Change here to the station «Derzhprom». Oleksiivska line.
Before a train arrived at the platform:
Dear passengers! Train is coming. Please, move back from the platform’s edge.
Unfortunately, the English announcements received mixed reviews. The voice recordings were processed poorly, making the pronunciation unclear in many places, and the speaker’s accent sounded noticeably non-native. In addition, both the translation and the wording of several announcements became the subject of lively discussion among passengers.
Modern Ukrainian-language audio announcers on all three lines
Red line 1 – Podorozhko
Red line 2 – Podorozhko
Blue line 1 – Podorozhko
Blue line 2 – Podorozhko
Grren line 1 – Podorozhko
Grren line 2 – Podorozhko
English-language dubbing announcers during Euro 2012.
You can also hear the following announcements in metro cars:
Шановні пасажири! Поступайтесь місцями пасажирам з дітьми, особам з інвалідністю, ветеранам війни та праці, людям похилого віку та вагітним жінкам.
Dear passengers! Please give up your seat to passengers with children, people with disabilities, war and labor veterans, the elderly, and pregnant women.
Шановні пасажири, будьте уважні при вході та виході з вагона. Робити висадку та посадку після оголошення про закриття дверей заборонено.
Dear passengers, please be careful when entering and exiting the train. Boarding or disembarking after the door closing announcement is prohibited.
Шановні пасажири, будьте уважні. При виявленні забутих речей або сторонніх предметів вам необхідно терміново інформувати машиніста або працівника станції.
Dear passengers, please be careful. If you discover any forgotten items or foreign objects, you must immediately notify the driver or station staff.
Шановні пасажири, прискорте посадку, проходьте на всі вільні двері.
Dear passengers, please speed up boarding and proceed to all available doors.
Відпустіть, будь ласка, двері, не затримуйте відправлення електропоїзда.
Please release the doors and do not delay the departure of the train.
Електропоїзд прямує до станції «Турбоатом» і далі в депо.
This train terminates at Turboatom Station and then proceeds to the depot.