ScotRail is asking passengers to give their new AI announcer “time to grow on you” following mixed reactions to the synthetic voice now being trialled on some routes.
The new voice, named Iona, replaces traditional pre-recorded messages by a human voice actor with a text-to-speech AI model, developed by global technology company ReadSpeaker. The change aims to improve efficiency and flexibility in delivering real-time announcements – but it hasn’t landed well with everyone.
“I could tell it was AI because it sounded so robotic,” one passenger told BBC Scotland. Others on social media have described the voice as “horrible and unnatural,” with one post suggesting Iona “sounds unsure of what she’s saying and questions everything.”
In response to the feedback, ScotRail commented: “Sorry you’re not a fan. I love the new voice but appreciate it may not be to everyone’s liking. Give it time and it may grow on you.”
The synthetic voice is trained to replicate a Scottish accent, and effort has gone into phonetic spellings for tricky place names like “Milngavie” (input as “Mill-guy”) and “Achnasheen” (“Akna-sheen”) to avoid mispronunciations.
Iona was first piloted on a small number of services in July 2024 and is still in the early stages of rollout. Alongside the voice, ReadSpeaker has created an AI-generated image to represent Iona – a red-haired woman in a green coat and scarf, set against a backdrop of Scottish moorland.
While the image is a fictional representation, the voice is real enough to stir opinion – with ScotRail hoping time and familiarity will soften the scepticism.
