A "Mind the gap" sign in the tube station at Charing Cross, London.

A "Mind the gap" sign in a London Underground station.

"Mind the gap" is a phrase popularised by its use on the London Underground. It was introduced in 1969 to warn passengers of a significant gap between the train door and the platform at some stations. Mind the Gap File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Mind the Gap File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Charing Cross Charing Cross railway station is a central London railway terminus. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 700 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 700 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... The London Underground is an all-electric railway system that covers much of the conurbation of Greater London and some neighbouring areas. ... Mind the gap may refer to: Mind the gap — The London Underground (subway) safety warning Mind the Gap — the album by Scooter mind the gap — the 2005 Australian short film written & directed by Rachel Givney Mind The Gap — the multi-story 2004 film written & directed by Eric Schaeffer Mind the... The London Underground is an all-electric railway system that covers much of the conurbation of Greater London and some neighbouring areas. ...

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 on 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" as the train is about to depart. A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. ... A railroad car (or, more briefly, car, not to be confused with railcar), also known as an item of rolling stock, is a vehicle on a railroad (or railway) that is not a locomotive — one that provides another purpose than purely haulage, although some types of car are powered. ...

The recording is also used where platforms are of a nonstandard 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. A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ... The Piccadilly Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. ... The District Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. ...

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. Tube Portal The Central Line is a line of the London Underground and coloured red on the tube map. ... For the station called Monument on the Tyne and Wear Metro, see Monument Metro station Bank and Monument are interlinked stations, spanning the length of King William Street in the City of London. ... The Bakerloo Line is a line of the London Underground and coloured brown on the Tube map. ... Categories: Piccadilly Line stations | Bakerloo Line stations | London Underground stubs ... For the station called Monument on the Tyne and Wear Metro, see Monument Metro station Bank and Monument are interlinked stations, spanning the length of King William Street in the City of London. ...

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 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. In digital recording, the analog signal of a motion-picture/sound is converted into a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure (chroma and luminace values in case of video) through time; thus making an abstract template for the original sound. ... In electronics, solid state circuits are those that do not contain vacuum tubes. ... The terms storage (U.K.) or memory (U.S.) refer to the parts of a digital computer that retain physical state (data) for some interval of time, possibly even after electrical power to the computer is turned off. ...

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] AEG volt-metre designed by Peter Behrens AEG (Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft) (English Translation: General Electricity Company) was a German producer of electronics and electrical equipment. ... Telefunken is a German radio- and television company, founded in 1903. ... The Independents old (pre-compact) masthead. ... A royalty is a sum paid to the creator of performance art for the use of that art. ...

While Lodge's recording is still in use in 2006, some Underground lines use other recordings. One was recorded by Emma Clarke, who runs a London-based voiceover agency. Other announcements, used on the Piccadilly line, are voiced by the actor Tim Bentinck, who portrays David Archer in The Archers. Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland, Graf von Bentinck (June 1, 1953— ) is a British actor and inventor, known as Tim Bentinck. ... The Archers is a British radio soap opera broadcast on the BBCs main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. ...

Image File history File links Mind_the_Gap. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ...

The phrase worldwide

"Mind the gap" sign at a Toronto subway station.

"Mind the gap" is also used as a warning by other transit systems, notably the Toronto Transit Commission, which has "Mind the gap" signs [2] posted prominently in all stations, even though almost none of the platforms on the system are curved. (There is a slight curve on the north side of the platform at Union Station). The phrase is also used in the automated announcements on board trains running on the North East Line of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) service, operated by SBS Transit. Onboard automated announcements on the trains running on the other two lines operated by SMRT did not include the phrase until 2006. In Hong Kong, the phrase is used by the MTR and the KCR in announcements and on signs. Image File history File links Mind-the-gap-toronto. ... Image File history File links Mind-the-gap-toronto. ... It has been suggested that List of Toronto Transit Commission stations be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that TTC Special Constable Services be merged into this article or section. ... TTC Union Station subway platform, to be renovated in the near future. ... Doors of the NEL Train, showing the system map above them. ... A C751B train at Eunos MRT Station. ... An SBS Transit Dennis Trident in Singapore. ... Logo Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) Corporation is a public transport operator founded on August 6, 1987. ... This article is about the metro system in Hong Kong. ... For other uses, see KCR (disambiguation). ...

However, most new rapid transit systems avoid building stations on curves for the reasons described above.

"Watch the gap" variant used on Metro-North.

The New York City-area commuter railroad Metro-North makes wide use of the variant "Watch the gap" on its trains and station platforms, particularly Croton-Harmon. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (572x676, 344 KB) Photographed by Daniel Case 2006-12-12 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (572x676, 344 KB) Photographed by Daniel Case 2006-12-12 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The Metro-North Railroad (officially the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, and usually abbreviated as Metro-North) is a suburban commuter railroad service between New York City to its northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... A Connex commuter train stands by the platform in Melbourne, Australia Regional rail systems, or commuter rail systems, usually provide a rail service through a central business district area into suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a daily basis. ... The Metro-North Railroad (officially the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, and usually abbreviated as Metro-North) is a suburban commuter railroad service between New York City to its northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut. ... The Croton-Harmon Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of Croton-on-Hudson, New York via the Hudson Line. ...

Cultural impact

A "Mind the gap" T-shirt.

• The phrase is well known enough for London Underground to print it on t-shirts and other souvenirs sold to the public.
• The phrase also inspired songs of the same name by Judge Dread, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Osamu Kubota, and Matrix.
• The Thompson Twins called their tour of the UK, in 1984, the "Mind The Gap" tour.
• In Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, Richard Mayhew (the protagonist) ignores the warning and encounters a beast known as "The Gap".
• In the videogame X2: The Threat, the phrase can be heard being broadcast in the space stations.
• The phrase is the title of an interactive 'Tube map' showing the process of creativity and innovation with reference to Harry Beck, the tube map originator.
• Composer Robert Steadman wrote an experimental composition entitiled Mind the Gap for cello orchestra, which depicts a journey around the Circle Line of the London Underground beginning and ending with the performers shouting "Mind the gap".
• The phrase was sampled on The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu's album 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?).
• On the Infected Mushroom album Converting Vegetarians (2003), the title track contains the line "Minding the gap since 1996".
• Bentley Rhythm Ace has a song titled Mind The Gap
• In the video game Halo 2, the phrase is one of many semi-humorous messages randomly broadcast through the loudspeakers on the railway station-based multiplayer level Terminal.
• Mind the Gap is a recurrent theme and the title of a 2004 film written and directed by Eric Schaeffer.
• The primeval man in the 1972 film Death Line can say only "mind the doors" - the original phrase spoken by the drivers before the automated system was put in place.
• "Mind the Gap" is the name of a song created by Osamu Kubota for the video game Beatmania IIDX Happy Sky.
• On The Ricky Gervais Show, Steve Merchant described a t-shirt he saw on a youth that read, "Fuck the Gap".
• "Mind The Gap" is also the name of an album by Scooter
• In the video game Metal Gear Solid 2, the phrase is said by a malfunctioning A.I. saying random things.
• "Mind the Gap" is the name of a Hungarian metal band that has broken up.
• "Mind the Gap" is mentioned in "New Frontier", a song by Counting Crows on This Desert Life LP ("little children mind the gap")
• "<a href="http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117932635.html?categoryid=31&cs=1">[[Mind the Gap]"</a> is the title of a film: A Svensk release of a Sweetwater Filmright II production, in association with Svensk, TV4, Cinema Art Prods., Succefilm, with participation of Break Even. (International sales: Svensk, Stockholm.) Produced by Colin Nutley. Co-producer, Waldemar Bergendahl. Directed by Helena Bergstrom. Screenplay, Denize Karabuda, from an idea by Bergstrom, Karabuda. With: Rakel Warmlander, Nina Zanjani, Korhan Abay, Zinat Pirzadeh, Dan Ekborg, Birgitte Sondergaard, Mattias Redbo, Lars Bethke, Stella Enciso, Erik Johansson.

(Swedish, Turkish dialogue) Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1914x1622, 575 KB) Other versions of this file File links The following pages link to this file: Mind the gap Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1914x1622, 575 KB) Other versions of this file File links The following pages link to this file: Mind the gap Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... The London Underground is an all-electric railway system that covers much of the conurbation of Greater London and some neighbouring areas. ... T-Shirt A T-shirt (or tee shirt) is a shirt with short or long sleeves, a round neck, put on over the head, without pockets. ... Alexander Minto Hughes (1945 - March 12, 1998), better known as Judge Dread, a British reggae and ska artist. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Osamu Kubota Osamu Kubota is a near-exclusive composer for the Beatmania IIDX line of games. ... Matrix is the pseudonym of London based drum and bass producer and DJ Jamie Quinn. ... The Thompson Twins were an English New Wave/pop band normally associated with the 1980s. ... Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960, Portchester, Hampshire) is an English author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many graphic novels. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... The main character is the central figure of a story. ... Harry Beck (Henry C. Beck, 1903–1974) was a graphic designer, best known for creating the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. ... Tube map is the commonly used name for the schematic diagram that represents the lines, stations, and zones of Londons rapid transit rail system, the London Underground. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Robert Steadman (born April 1, 1965) is a British composer and conductor of classical music who mostly works in a post-minimalist style but also writes lighter music, including musicals, and compositions for educational purposes. ... The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello, or cello (the c is pronounced as the ch in cheese), is a bowed stringed instrument, the lowest-sounding member of the violin family. ... A philharmonic orchestra An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually a fairly large instrumental ensemble with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. ... The Circle Line of the London Underground became known as such in 1949, when it was separated from its parent lines, the Metropolitan Line and the District Line, although it had been shown on Underground maps since 1947. ... The London Underground is an all-electric railway system that covers much of the conurbation of Greater London and some neighbouring areas. ... The Justified Ancients of Mummu is one of the two protagonist secret societies in the Illuminatus! series of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. ... 1987 (What The Fuck Is Going On?) was the debut album by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (The JAMs) and a landmark release in the early history of sampling. ... Infected Mushroom is an Israeli psychedelic trance duo which has attained significant popularity from the late 1990s to the present time (2006). ... Converting Vegetarians is a two-disc set album by the Israeli Psychedelic trance duo Infected Mushroom. ... Bentley Rhythm Ace is a band formed in Birmingham, England in the late 1990s. ... Halo 2 is a first-person shooter developed by Bungie Studios. ... Osamu Kubota Osamu Kubota is a near-exclusive composer for the Beatmania IIDX line of games. ... beatmania IIDX (alternately beatmaniaIIDX or just IIDX, pronounced two dee-ecks or two deluxe) is a series of rhythm video games introduced by Konami in 1999. ... The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy audio show in the UK starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. ... X-FM Promotional Photo Stephen Merchant (born November 24, 1974 in Bristol, England) is co-writer and co-director with Ricky Gervais of the popular British sitcoms The Office and Extras, as well as being a co-host on Xfm London and the ricky gervais podcasts. ... Scooter may refer to: Vehicles: Motor Scooter, a two-wheeled motorized vehicle with a step-thru frame such as a Vespa or Lambretta Maxi Scooter, a large motor scooter with an engine displacement greater than 250 cc such as a Honda Silverwing or Suzuki Burgman Kick Scooter, a vehicle consisting... Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (commonly abbreviated MGS2) is a stealth-based game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. ...

External links

• BBC "Mind The Gap" article - written by The Mole from Going Underground.net
• Independent on Sunday article about the phrase
• Voices in the Deep - Departure sounds and next-station announcements in subway systems around the world
• Emma Clarke with demos of her LU announcements
• [3]"Mind the Gap" film-2007