A few years ago I had to change at Stratford to get from the GE platforms to the HS1 part. This involves using the DLR, and trying to find the correct one out of the six DLR platforms was a nightmare, paricularly as I had to lug a suitcase up and down escalators.
If it’s actually an excellent interchange, why do so many regular rail travellers - myself included - find it a confusing mess? Placing the blame on the passengers really isn’t a good enough explanation.
Sounds like the nightmare that is Manchester airport, i.e. you MUST go through the shops to reach the gates.indeed I thought the way to connect was to go through Westfield?
And in fact almost every other British airportSounds like the nightmare that is Manchester airport
Improvements planned for 'baffling' New Street station to stop Commonwealth Games visitors getting lost
Politicians have warned that it's 'impossible to find a way out' of Birmingham's New Street station
Birmingham's New Street station has been described as "baffling" with "appalling" signage which leaves visitors struggling to find the way out.
The criticisms were levelled as Parliament debated the 2022 Commonwealth Games, to be held in Birmingham, and members of the House of Lords warned that Birmingham's main rail station is in danger of letting the city down.
One, former Black Country MP Lord Snape, said: "It is not a railway station with some commercial properties; I am afraid it is a shopping centre with a station attached, perhaps as an afterthought."
Another peer, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, said: "It is impossible to find your way round. I worry that when visitors come, they too will find it impossible to find a way out."
And the Government revealed the organisers of the Commonwealth Games are looking at how they can improve the signage in the station, to make it easier for people to navigate, before the Games take place.
There was widespread praise for the new and improved New Street station when a £600-million, five-year refurbishment was completed in 2015. It was certainly an improvement on the old New Street, which had been described as a concrete box.
And the station is now part of a high-class shopping centre which includes a Birmingham branch of John Lewis. Attracting the prestigious department store was seen as a real coup for the city.
But members of the House of Lords set out a series of complaints about the station, as they discussed Government legislation that will allow the games to go ahead.
Lord Snape, the former Labour MP for West Bromwich East, said: "Birmingham New Street station is a pretty baffling place to someone with railway experience. The signage there is appalling. For those not familiar with it, the station’s platforms are divided into “A” and “B” areas. For someone not particularly experienced with it, particularly someone from abroad, getting from one platform to another is a fairly difficult task.
- The train station is called Birmingham New Street but the bus and Metro stops are called "Grand Central" - the name of the shopping centre above it - which is confusing for visitors
- There's nowhere to get a taxi without standing outside, even if it is raining
- The platforms are divided into "A" and "B" areas but it's not clear to passengers what this means
- Passengers are invited to sit in chairs describe as "red lounge", "blue lounge" or "green lounge" but it's unclear to passengers what these names mean
"It is the busiest railway station outside London, yet the bus and Metro stops outside are labelled not 'Birmingham New Street' but 'Grand Central', which is the shopping centre."
And he added: "Most people, particularly those going to the Games, will want to know how to get to the various districts in which the different sports are being held. 'Red lounge' and 'blue lounge' will not be particularly helpful.
They will not particularly want to get on a Metro tram or bus labelled “Grand Central” if they are coming back to New Street station. These areas are all up for discussion. I hope something can be done to ease the passage of people arriving and departing by train before the Games themselves."
Liberal Democrat Peet Baroness Brinton said that she struggled to get around New Street station as a disabled person. She said: "As a disabled person I found the signage totally and utterly appalling. The access to taxis for disabled people is dreadful.
"It is bad enough for wheelchairs, but if you are ambulant disabled and using sticks, it is even worse: you have to go a very long way to get access."
But she added: "The attitude of the staff on the station to helping assist disabled passengers is excellent."
And Lord Hunt of Kings Heath also criticised the station, saying: "A magnificent retail outlet was built on top of New Street station, and it is very successful; it has John Lewis, lots of restaurants, and it is used by many people. However, to make it work financially, the station itself has simply been squeezed into four little bits of the huge atrium."
He added: "It is just bizarre that both taxi ranks are out in the open, so that if you are waiting for a taxi and it is raining, there is no protection at all."
Sports Minister Baroness Barran said: "I must say, it is vastly better than it used to be, but as part of the detailed operational planning, the Games partners are looking at the signage and wayfinding for all users, including spectators."
Having used the escalator from 1/20 there is no need to descend to the concourse since there's a mezzanine -level walkway across the front of the main building. Great place to watch people below.Having lived in Birmingham for over two years now, I have got used to the layout of New Street station, and I think that it works, provided you know where to go.
The various lounges disperse passengers in different directions, rather than have them all concentrated in one place.
The toilets are all on the "paid" side of the barriers, which can cause a problem, but it does at least keep some the undesirable elements out.
I do agree that it is very confusing for newcomers, but some of the issues regarding the signage are going to be addressed ahead of the Commonwealth Games next year.
Improvements planned for 'baffling' New Street station
Politicians have warned that it's 'impossible to find a way out' of Birmingham's New Street stationwww.birminghammail.co.uk
My votes for best and worst interchanges in the UK are both in Scotland.
Edinburgh Waverley is the worst, especially since the addition of new platforms, and subsequent renumbering of the old platforms. To get from a platforms at the Princes Street side of the station (eg on a train arriving from the Borders) to one at the Market Street side of the station you have to go up an escalator to the bottom of Waverley Steps, cross the line and go back down another escalator into the main concourse. Then you have to go up another escalator to cross the line to reach the passageway leading from the Market Street entrance and then back down to your platform. Not easy to do if you have luggage, a tight connection, or you just don't know where you are going. No doubt those familiar with the station will know where to go, but Edinburgh gets a lot of visitors, and I am sure I am not the only one who finds it a bit of a struggle. There is also a special place in hell for whoever decided to locate the taxi rank outside the station, instead of at the bottom of the slope leading from Waverley Bridge.
Glasgow Central is one of the best stations. For a train arriving at the high level platforms, you go through the barriers on to the spacious main concourse, which has all the facilities you would expect. The platforms are numbered in a logical sequence starting at platform 1, and there is a large departures board with all the trains clearly and legibly displayed. Those trains departing from the low level platforms are displayed separately, and there is signage directing you to the low level platforms if that is where you need to go. There are usually plenty of staff around to help if you need assistance, and the taxi rank is right outside the front entrance in Gordon Street.
If you put the taxi rank there, how would the taxi's turn around at the bottom of the ramp?There is also a special place in hell for whoever decided to locate the taxi rank outside the station, instead of at the bottom of the slope leading from Waverley Bridge.
If you put the taxi rank there, how would the taxi's turn around at the bottom of the ramp?
I did not realise that they had moved the loop outside the station and i must of walked by it enough times! So i can now see the posters point. I wonder if taxi's turning right at the top of the ramp was an issue?There is a loop there, as it formerly was the taxi rank. It was moved outside the station I believe for two reasons - security (due to a tendency a few years ago for people to attack places by driving vehicles into people) and pollution (removing exhaust fumes from the trainshed, yes, I know there's an irony there).
Having used the escalator from 1/20 there is no need to descend to the concourse since there's a mezzanine -level walkway across the front of the main building. Great place to watch people below.
That is the point though.
If you are unfamiliar with Edinburgh Waverley you wouldn't necessarily know that you can use the mezzanine level walkway to access the other platforms, in the same way that people don't know that it is easier to change trains at Birmingham New Street by using the corridor at the "B" end of the platforms.
Especially if you are like me, familiar with Edinburgh Waverley during the 1980s and early 1990s, and then return to it a few years ago after the rebuild.
If you want to talk about really confusing inteI found Brussels Zhange stations, try Penn Station in New York, or the Midi/Zuid station in Brussels.
Birmingham New Street is a piece of cake in comparison to those two places.
I found Brussels Midi fairly straightforward - a major passageway with access up to all the platforms in one line, and all in numerical order...
Though maybe that's only true if you kbow the platform number you want - I don't remember how clearly there's a display of all departures in one place?
Hasn't that mezzanine walkway always been there? So if you used to station in the past, you would know it was there,That is the point though.
If you are unfamiliar with Edinburgh Waverley you wouldn't necessarily know that you can use the mezzanine level walkway to access the other platforms, in the same way that people don't know that it is easier to change trains at Birmingham New Street by using the corridor at the "B" end of the platforms.
Especially if you are like me, familiar with Edinburgh Waverley during the 1980s and early 1990s, and then return to it a few years ago after the rebuild.
If you want to talk about really confusing interchange stations, try Penn Station in New York, or the Midi/Zuid station in Brussels.
Birmingham New Street is a piece of cake in comparison to those two places.
Having lived in Birmingham for over two years now, I have got used to the layout of New Street station, and I think that it works, provided you know where to go........I do agree that it is very confusing for newcomers...
You expect an interchange station to be free-flowing and not encounter barriers that are NOT ticket barriers. I didn't regard myself as "blundering" around a railway station, merely encountering an obstacle that I didn't expect to be there.
Edinburgh Waverley is the worst, especially since the addition of new platforms, and subsequent renumbering of the old platforms.
The only thing really confusing about Waverley is the numbering, which makes sense in a technical sense but is confusing if you don't understand it (it's done round in a circle, basically).
To be fair if you want the city centre it is the station you want, so the name is accurate. "Central" as a station suffix was never meant to mean "Main station"... it doesn't even always mean in the centre of the town or city, so at least Exeter has that!I wonder how many people, back in the day, got off the train at Exeter Central to change, thinking because of its name it was the main station in the town?
I found Brussels Midi fairly straightforward - a major passageway with access up to all the platforms in one line, and all in numerical order...
Though maybe that's only true if you kbow the platform number you want - I don't remember how clearly there's a display of all departures in one place?
There are a couple of "all trains" departure boards in the tunnel. I too found Midi/Zuid fairly easy, the only problem really with it is crime - it's rough and in a very rough area* so guard your pockets and bags.
* I've walked to it once, the area felt really seedy and unsafe to me.
To be fair if you want the city centre it is the station you want, so the name is accurate. "Central" as a station suffix was never meant to mean "Main station"... it doesn't even always mean in the centre of the town or city, so at least Exeter has that!
Are they the traditional continental big paper sheets showing all the trains in chronological order, as opposed to a big display where you can stand back and read all the pending departures in one go? I guess there's both.
Immediately outside Brussels Midi is a bit seedy - but in the direction I usually needed to go, it was quickly into pleasant and familiar territory; though I usually just took the tram from Midi. I did have my pocket picked on a tram (on a different route) a couple of stops from Midi once; but I've never felt hassled at all in the station itself. (Unlike in Paris Gare de Nord - much of which I find very hassly, though I did successfully fend off an attempted robbery there years ago.)
I was robbed on either Trieste or Venice station - forget which now - very many years back; but it was my own fault for nipping out of the carriage, while awaiting departure, to fill up a water bottle, leaving my jacket in the compartment. Totally stupid - never done it before or since if travelling alone.
Immediately outside Brussels Midi is a bit seedy - but in the direction I usually needed to go, it was quickly into pleasant and familiar territory; though I usually just took the tram from Midi.
Gare du Nord to be fair is the lowest of the low - a dump of a station in a dump of an area in a dump of a city (which for some reason people seem to think is romantic).
I quite like that!Is it any wonder (given the posts here) that certain members of my cycling forum refer to Birmingham New Street as "Mordor Central"?
Worst European station I have came acorss is Barcelona Sants.
Have to say that as a relatively infrequent user of New Street (even less frequent now than 30 odd years ago) I used to find it shabby and depressing (getting worse the further down you went) but at least fairly easy to find your way around. On more recent visits the immediate optical impression has been much better (though less "human") but many times more confusing. Give me shabby and simple over "airport" and incomprehensible any day.I quite like that!
The vast improvement from the previous version - going from a single main barrier line to no fewer than six, plus the direct exit into Stephenson Place (for the excellent tram interchange) - certainly means that New Street has 'more doors' than it did.
It seems to me that perhaps both New Street and Waverley are stations where if you're moderately familiar with the layout it's hard to understand why anyone finds them confusing, but which genuinely are confusing for new or occasional users.