Train station overcrowding

jadex

slyracoon wrote: »

My guesss is Wimbledon?

http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/9228782.It_s_official__Wimbledon_station_among_most_crowded_in_UK/

nah, can't be, Wimbledon's two exits are always open, OP said one of two exits is often closed
besides it is not Central London and as it is not Clapham Junction either then it leaves us with Vauxhall which although not regarded by many as central location is on the border of Zone 1

Esoog

Just to clear this up;

Photography

Taking photographs on stations is permitted providing it is for personal use. For any commercial photography, prior permission must be sought from the appropriate train operator or, from Network Rail at their 17 major stations. On busy stations the use of a tripod may cause a dangerous obstruction to passengers and you may be asked not to use one. In addition, tripod legs must also be kept away from platform edges and behind the yellow lines. Flash photography on platforms is not allowed as it may distract the attention of train drivers and train despatch staff and is therefore a potential safety hazard. You are also not allowed to take photographs of security related equipment such as CCTV cameras.

slyracoon

newfoundglory wrote: »

I'm not sure revealing the station is appropriate for this forum - but i'll give you a clue - its not clapham.

Why is it not appropriate?

We're lucky that in this country we have freedom of speech, others are not so lucky.

Stupid pointless thread.

Mids_Costcutter

newfoundglory wrote: »

Like a lot of people, I travel by train into central London on the train. The station I get off at suffers from extreme overcrowding due to an exodus of people trying to leave the station at the same time.

Because of this hundreds and hundreds of people are left queuing and standing on the stairs from the platform to the exits - sometimes with heavy bags and children - something which appears to be a serious health and safety risk.

This is a problem experienced by many stations, but the staff at this station are particularly disorganised, clueless and simply do nothing other than look on in bemusement every morning as if a herd of cattle are moving through the station.

Most of the problem is caused by the train operator and their staff - there are two exits and often only one of them open (lack of staff I suspect). Staff refuse to open the gates to just let people through, and often the gates fail to accept either oyster cards or paper tickets due to technical problems with the gates causing even more chaos.

I do not want to complain to the train operator as I believe they are already aware of the problem, but have chosen to ignore it.

Instead - I would like to make the situation as difficult, lengthly and expensive for them as possible - and wondered if anyone had any suggestions as to what I could do?

Passenger Focus are the independent public body set up to protect the interests of rail and bus passengers. If you're not happy with the response you receive from a train operating company, you can ask Passenger Focus to take it up on your behalf

http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/

But you don't want to complain to the manager of the station to begin with. Involving the media then might be best to generate adverse publicity.

I'm sure that there are many stations around the country where existing exits are kept closed to reduce staffing needs for the station manager, to the detriment of the passenger of course. Oxford, Coventry and Birmingham New Street are just a few examples that come to mind.

newfoundglory

The reason not to reveal the name of the station, is that if want to ask the regulator to carry out an inspection or assessment - there wouldn't be much point in that if SWT where prepared for that eventuality would there? There is no specific need to protect the name of the station.

Certain people on here seem to fail to grasp how very green the grass is for a train operating company. Perhaps you work for a TOC and are biased - maybe you even get your travel for free.

They have no competitor. They have guaranteed income and customers (we don't have a choice). They have large government subsidies. They make massive profits (South west trains alone almost £50,000,000 in profit at last count).

This is a money saving site. If you don't subscribe to this way of thinking, why are you even here?

Or is it acceptable to screw over any industry, as long as it not the one YOU work in?

robt_2

newfoundglory wrote: »

This is a money saving site. If you don't subscribe to this way of thinking, why are you even here

You are the one who wants to make things as "expensive for them as possible".

You seem to have a serious attitude problem because lots of people disagreed with what you wanted to do.

newfoundglory

Money talks. Things which are expensive, get fixed quickly. Welcome to the real world.

robt_2

Like I said. Major attitude problem, demonstrated throughout the thread, not just with me.

luckwudaveit

newfoundglory wrote: »

The reason not to reveal the name of the station, is that if want to ask the regulator to carry out an inspection or assessment - there wouldn't be much point in that if SWT where prepared for that eventuality would there?

But if it sorted the problem, wouldn't you get the result you wanted?

timbo58

When a barrier gateline is installed there is a very lengthy flow assessment carried out, the gateline must be capable of several things, including not hampering people in an emergency evacuation (i.e they open automatically when fire alarms are activated), hence any accusation that the gateline being 'closed' (i.e. operating) is causing a safety problem at busier times will result in the TOC defending themselves with their flow assessment.

The position and number of gates is paramount to a safety case being proven for an installation.
I know as I set up Reading Barriers some years ago, the paperwork and expense is phenomenal!

Quite correctly IMHO, a few others also have stated most TOC staff will open barriers and check tickets manually when flows are congested.
Often the only time real congestion occurs is during disruption when more than one train will arrive at the same time or a major event is occurring.

I think the belief that gatelines are a sign that TOCs are greedy (although they certainly are IMHO!) is laughable: there would be no reason for gatelines or ticket checking if every passenger bought a valid ticket, the mere fact that anywhere between 2 and 5%+ of passengers travelling overall is stealing their service is the reason all of this inconvenience is levelled at the remaining 95-98%.

If you seriously believe you are unsafe due to the congestion on a regular basis you should write to the TOC responsible, that is the only sensible option, they have a duty of care to customers and staff alike and must at least respond.

If you don't like their answer you can appeal and even take it to your MP, if you want to cause the TOC maximum expense you will have to do something drastic which will inevitable mean breaking the law and causing you far more distress.