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Denver airport passengers will hear new voices on trains

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER ” Passengers at Denver International Airport will soon hear different voices telling them to hang on and stand clear of the doors when they take the trains between the main terminal and departure gates on the three concourses.

Starting in June, recordings by the late Pete Smythe and former anchorwoman Reynelda Muse will be replaced with messages from former Coors Field announcer Alan Roach and KUSA-TV anchor Adele Arakawa.

Airport officials sought out new voices when they decided to update the recordings based on changes at the airport and suggestions from travelers.



For example, the recordings will mostly refer to gates rather than concourses because frequent travelers said the term was confusing and isn’t used in most airports. References to baggage claim monitors near the train will also be deleted.

The monitors were removed several years ago because people looking at them clogged the flow of traffic.



Mayor John Hickenlooper will also play a role. He’ll deliver the “Welcome to Denver” message but won’t identify himself.

Sound artist Jim Green said he picked Roach, a sports personality on KOA-AM, because his voice is “friendly but authoritative.”

Green, who also recorded the singing bathroom sinks at the Denver Art Museum, auditioned 10 women, including Grammy award winning jazz singer Diane Reeves, before settling on Arakawa. He labeled her voice as “sultry.”

“I don’t like sultry ” it’s not what I do for a living,” Arakawa said. “But he asked me to try it. I was cracking myself up.”


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