Blackpool North customer service improved or same ?

[Vespa]

As stated in the title as some of you no doubt know about Blackpool North's reputation of keeping passengers couped up in the hall before releasing them out to the platform second before the train is due to depart, indeed I have heard of an occasion where they were released too late and missed the train.

Have the station improved or is it the same ?

I am considering a visit but plan to arrive North and leave from the South as I hate the North for the leaving part there is no logic to their behavior.

 

[RAPC]

Not had an issue boarding circa 10-15 mins before departure on recent trips through North.

Whether that is just good fortunate or a softening of approach, I can’t say for sure.

 

[matthewjohnson]

What a strange policy. Never come across that anywhere before

 

[12LDA28C]

What a strange policy. Never come across that anywhere before

Pretty well known that staff at Blackpool North aren't the friendliest. God help you if you dare to attempt to take a photograph on the station...

 

[childwallblues]

Staff at Blackpool North have told me that a lot has to do with fast turn rounds especially Liverpool trains.

 

[NORTHERNSOUL]

It does seem to work a lot more smoothly than it used to and the staff arent as ignorant as they used to be but there doesn't seem to be as many of them as there were previously.

 

[43066]

What a strange policy. Never come across that anywhere before

Euston?

 

[matthewjohnson]

Euston?

Is it a terminus thing? It's a long time since I last used any of the London stations but I've never come across it up north

 

[Merseysider]

Is it a terminus thing? It's a long time since I last used any of the London stations but I've never come across it up north

At Kings Cross etc you can just walk straight on, with platforms made known a reasonable time in advance, and never seen anything like it at any other terminal station in the country, north or south. I think it's a "Blackpool North" thing

 

[D1537]

A friend of mine who commutes from Blackpool to Preston says that recently (effectively post-Covid) that the staff are much less unhelpful and the experience is probably now better than Euston.

As someone who uses Euston a lot I'd say that's a very low customer experience bar to be comparing to, but small steps I suppose.

 

[43066]

Is it a terminus thing? It's a long time since I last used any of the London stations but I've never come across it up north

The policy of operating as a “closed” station, where passengers are generally prevented from accessing platforms, and are only permitted to do so to join a train, dates back to slam doors. It made sense in an era when there was nothing to stop someone physically boarding a train after it had already started moving! Nowadays it has largely been dispensed with at all London terminals, bar Euston.

It still makes sense in limited circumstances these days: where trains are splitting/joining; or where a busy train with a tight turn around is about to arrive, you don’t want the platform crowded with passengers waiting to join the same train, for example. Having it as a general policy seems “strange”, to say the least, and highly likely to generate unnecessary conflict.

 

[bramling]

At Kings Cross etc you can just walk straight on, with platforms made known a reasonable time in advance, and never seen anything like it at any other terminal station in the country, north or south. I think it's a "Blackpool North" thing

Euston does their own awful variation of it, albeit only on the “Intercity” platforms.

Skegness also do it, albeit (for the most part) without the rudeness. Like Blackpool, another place which seems to attract the oddest of clientele.

ISTR Exmouth used to keep the platform closed off, though I’m not sure if they still do. When we went for a ride down the branch last year there were certainly people waiting on the platform as our train arrived.

 

[AdamWW]

What a strange policy. Never come across that anywhere before

I have at Great Yarmouth on holiday camp changeover day.

 

[bramling]

The policy of operating as a “closed” station, where passengers are generally prevented from accessing platforms, and are only permitted to do so to join a train, dates back to slam doors. It made sense in an era when there was nothing to stop someone physically boarding a train after it had already started moving! Nowadays it has largely been dispensed with at all London terminals, bar Euston.

It still makes sense in limited circumstances these days: where trains are splitting/joining; or where a busy train with a tight turn around is about to arrive, you don’t want the platform crowded with passengers waiting to join the same train, for example. Having it as a general policy seems “strange”, to say the least, and highly likely to generate unnecessary conflict.

It’s rather appropriate that Blackpool North still operate this way given the whole town feels like it’s still in the 1950s. Even the station looks like something one would expect to find in a Soviet country.

What’s strange about Euston is that Virgin allowed this to persist throughout their tenure, in fact if anything it’s got worse over the years. But then they never addressed the “coach K” shenanigans either so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.

 

[Clip]

I dont believe for a minute its to do with fast turnarounds as why do the Manchester and York trains suffer from the same problems?

Staff at Blackpool North have told me that a lot has to do with fast turn rounds especially Liverpool trains.

@OP nothing really has changed much - you may be lucky and get them open 10 minutes before departure but last week on wed or thursday it was 3 mins till departure till they opened theose infernal doors.

 

[43066]

It’s rather appropriate that Blackpool North still operate this way given the whole town feels like it’s still in the 1950s. Even the station looks like something one would expect to find in a Soviet country.

I visited Blackpool (by car) years ago, as part of a visit to the lakes. It isn’t exactly somewhere I’d rush back to.

If it wasn’t such an awful place (and at the wrong end of the country) I’d be tempted to visit Blackpool North station and try loitering on the platform, just to see what all the fuss is about!

It’s difficult to understand why Euston (let alone Blackpool north) still operates this way when Waterloo doesn’t, for example.

 

[D1537]

What’s strange about Euston is that Virgin allowed this to persist throughout their tenure, in fact if anything it’s got worse over the years. But then they never addressed the “coach K” shenanigans either so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.

I don't remember having any issues with Euston gateline when it was in BR hands - it really started with Virgin. I was commuting from Euston at the time of nationalisation.

 

[geoffk]

When I arrived at Cleethorpes some years back there was a locked gate at the exit from the platform and we had to wait for a member of staff to let us out.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I used Blackpool North a couple months back and we were let onto the platform quite early compared to our departure time
Based on previous experience I was pleasantly surprised at how early we were allowed on.

 

[Darandio]

Does that mean they have now taken these posters down?

We are listening

You said that Blackpool North was the most unfriendly hellhole on earth.

We hear you! From now on you don’t have to worry about encountering the wonderful staff at the station, we aren’t going to even bother letting you in!

Just look at the image above, look at how quiet it is when you lot aren’t cluttering the place. Bliss.

Download our app now at northernrailway.co.uk

Just to add some context, it was a poster I created for the a long locked thread on here some years ago. Many know of the constant issues experienced at Blackpool North with the herding of passengers on the concourse until departure time. On this occasion they hadn't even bothered to open the station to allow anyone in.

Blackpool North: The most unfriendly station in the country?

Lytham St Anne's is the postal address as they share a sorting office (in St Anne's). Very friendly with lots of nice places to eat and drink. Just a shame that the train service is so infrequent. As a local It's St Anne's and Lytham. 2 different places and demographics

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Mcr Warrior]

It’s difficult to understand why Euston (let alone Blackpool north) still operates this way when Waterloo doesn’t, for example.

Maybe because Blackpool North / London Euston stations seem to be modelled on how low cost airline flight departures were operated, for journeys from random UK regional airport to/from the Costa del Sunshine destinations, back in the 1980s/1990s.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Having used it yesterday, I only noticed a queue for the Liverpool train, everyone else was allowed onto the platform before departure. I'm using it tomorrow again, so I'll report back.

 

[bramling]

I visited Blackpool (by car) years ago, as part of a visit to the lakes. It isn’t exactly somewhere I’d rush back to.

To be fair, *out of season* Blackpool is okay. The surrounding area is quite pleasant, and even in its modern form the tramway is always worth a visit, as of course is the tower. The illuminations are one of those things worth seeing once as well, just to tick off the list. As ever, the biggest problem with Blackpool is the people, and to be fair to a large extent this is some of the people it attracts during the season.

If it wasn’t such an awful place (and at the wrong end of the country) I’d be tempted to visit Blackpool North station and try loitering on the platform, just to see what all the fuss is about!

Definitely a unique experience. You’ll be pounced on pretty much instantly. That’s if you can even get onto the platforms to loiter - when the doors are opened to allow people to board the staff keep a watchful eye to ensure no one strays out of line. So the only way to loiter is by arriving on a train and staying put on the arrival platform.

I did manage to get granted permission to spend a couple of hours on the platform on a Sunday morning, which to be fair the station supervisor was absolutely fine about. Even this ran into issues, as despite the staff being briefed accordingly, I still managed to be yelled at by a cleaner.

I get the feeling Blackpool North are very suspicious of essentially anyone using the station. Which kind of all ties in with the Soviet feeling. It’s such an odd setup in so many ways.

It’s difficult to understand why Euston (let alone Blackpool north) still operates this way when Waterloo doesn’t, for example.

Goodness knows why Euston do it. I can only assume it assuages the train managers, presumably by reducing the work they have to do in checking tickets on-board. This would tie in with the general theme of Virgin, and now Avanti, management seeming to be afraid of upsetting the on-train staff.

 

[D1537]

Goodness knows why Euston do it. I can only assume it assuages the train managers, presumably by reducing the work they have to do in checking tickets on-board. This would tie in with the general theme of Virgin, and now Avanti, management seeming to be afraid of upsetting the on-train staff.

The fact it happens isn't the issue, it's the combination of platform numbers being released at the last minute and the appalling attitude of (some of) the gateline staff.

 

[Ashley Hill]

ISTR Exmouth used to keep the platform closed off, though I’m not sure if they still do. When we went for a ride down the branch last year there were certainly people waiting on the platform as our train arrived.

Not for a considerable time.

The policy of operating as a “closed” station, where passengers are generally prevented from accessing platforms, and are only permitted to do so to join a train, dates back to slam doors. It made sense in an era when there was nothing to stop someone physically boarding a train after it had already started moving!

AIUI a closed station was one with ticket barriers whereas an open one didn’t. Agreed though they could provide the service you describe.

 

[DaventryRabbit]

When I last was there on a Charity Railtour (Note the first word..) back in Sept 2022, the attitude of staff was pretty abysmal.
OK so I appreciate our arrival at 2225 on a Sat Night still in Illuminations/Holiday Season the staff may have had some other more pressing issues to deal with in the overall scheme of things. But, even so, you would have thought a perfectly simple and reasonable polite request from our esteemed Tour Manager, to deposit a few bags of rubbish from our Train, would be met with something a bit better than a steadfast stony faced refusal.
This was in direct contrast to ALL other Staff we encountered over this weekend on our CHARITY RAILTOUR, which enjoyed unlimited cross-industry support otherwise, with many staff often digging into their own pockets to donate small change to the Charity Pot on the day
Even the following Morning for our early departure (admittedly, at 0740, before the first service train, and I assume after an 0600 Shift change maybe?) They kept us waiting OUTSIDE the station (let alone on the concourse) untill about 5 mins before our booked departure, before belatedly opening the side gate to platform 1 to allow us on...

 

[M!T]

Funnily enough I was wondering, just a few days ago, if Blackpool North still operated this abhorrent policy having experienced it myself in the early 2000s. I actually found a thread about it on here but it was closed to replies. Interesting to see a new thread on the topic and that things don't appear to have changed much. Fortunately the chances of me returning to Blackpool by train are vanishingly small due to the excruciatingly long time it takes from Bingley... along with the fact that it's a lot cheaper to go by car if there's more than one person travelling. Not that I'm in a rush to return to Blackpool at all, though my other half has childhood memories which she seems to want to revisit.

 

[D1537]

Funnily enough I was wondering, just a few days ago, if Blackpool North still operated this abhorrent policy having experienced it myself in the early 2000s.

It goes back to the early 1980s. Indeed, in 1987 when the Nottingham-Blackpool and return vice-Sprinter daily service was often hauled by rare 47s, we quite often used to forgo 34 miles of haulage by leaving the outward at Preston and spending a couple of hours in the pub to avoid having to deal with Blackpool North. On one of the occasions we actually went there, I walked down the platform to photograph the locomotive and was told to "get in the f***ing train" by platform staff.

 

[MP33]

I have returned from a visit to Blackpool and I did not experience any issues in being held outside the platforms. Blackpool is described as the Las Vegas of the North. I have not heard of any issues at Southend Victoria, the southern version of Blackpool North.

 

[Pigeon]

The policy of operating as a "closed" station, where passengers are generally prevented from accessing platforms, and are only permitted to do so to join a train, dates back to slam doors. It made sense in an era when there was nothing to stop someone physically boarding a train after it had already started moving! Nowadays it has largely been dispensed with at all London terminals, bar Euston.

Has it? That's good news. Last time I visited Paddington, and also on earlier visits, they were keeping everyone crammed onto the Lawn area among all the crowds and the hot greasy fumes from portakabins selling overpriced food until a few minutes before the train left, at which point they would open the gates and unleash a horrid scrummy race for seats which you were bound to lose to all the regulars who knew which gate to wait at before it was announced. Marylebone was the same, and they both gave the impression that this was the new and coming thing and there was no chance of them reverting to their former relaxed habits. It's actually been a not insignificant deterrent to me going to London at all, not that I've had much call to lately.

I don't need any extra deterrents to keep me from Blackpool; grim, grey/brown, wet, filthy, and sticky. Not just a coating of dirt on everything, but dirt with sugar in it. Vile, weird place, depressing, boring, and now long devoid of any griceworthiness.