Euston overcrowding concerns

[uglymonkey]

Network Rail failing to stop 'unacceptable' overcrowding at Euston train station, says rail regulator

London's Euston saw hundreds of passengers stranded over the weekend after a points failure stopped all trains, following three 'incidents of concern' over the summer

news.sky.com

 

[Wokingham]

maybe a opportunity to replace the whole station with something like whats planned at liverpool street to make it pay

 

[startingaparty]

There should be staff on the platforms managing the crowds through announcements and roped, queuing systems (like at the UK Border at airports) if necessary. It's just too chaotic and someone is going to get hurt.

 

[Rail Quest]

I don't think it helps that because of how many avanti services seem to be delayed, from my (admittedly limited) experience of Euston, platforms for Avanti services can get announced a minute or two before or after a train is due to depart so everyone rushes to the train when the platform is announced because they think they'll be left behind. Would it benefit the station if they announced the platform for a train 10 minutes or so before staff will be able to open the doors? At least it would get the absolute sea of crowds off the concourse though I'm only speculating

 

[dk1]

It’s nothing new. Wonder why they are suddenly getting all excited about it.

 

[Huntergreed]

I don't think it helps that because of how many avanti services seem to be delayed, from my (admittedly limited) experience of Euston, platforms for Avanti services can get announced a minute or two before or after a train is due to depart so everyone rushes to the train when the platform is announced because they think they'll be left behind. Would it benefit the station if they announced the platform for a train 10 minutes or so before staff will be able to open the doors? At least it would get the absolute sea of crowds off the concourse though I'm only speculating

Correct - but this has always been an issue, the infamous “Euston Crush”.

The way around this is, of course, to allow platform access but not to release doors until the train is ready, but this seems to be beyond AWC. They would rather hold you on the concourse and then risk those who are slow/impaired missing the train due to the very short notice announcement whilst still insisting on a RT departure.

Must be a slow news day. All they need is a click to make money to be fair.

 

[Starmill]

It’s nothing new. Wonder why they are suddenly getting all excited about it.

The station has definitely been experiencing bigger demand peaks at certain times than before the pandemic, even if it's quieter at other times. Only a very small amount of extra ramp space has been provided. Also, the new screens make more people stand in the way of one another than was the case with the old screen location. Especially because they encourage more people to block the primary route from the Underground.

Must be a slow news day.

It's not. The ORR don't give their determination to the station operators just for a laugh.

 

[87015]

Possibly trying to get the main concourse gateline signed off, with its reduction in waiting area space before trains are advertised, has come to someone’s attention

 

[Starmill]

ORR made a site visit to Euston in September 2023 after analysing CCTV footage of three incidents of concern in the summer, which showed crowding reaching unacceptable levels and a lack of crowd control in place. While there were reports of minor injuries, the incidents were assessed to have had the potential for more serious consequences.

Rail regulator requires crowd management improvements at Euston Station | Office of Rail and Road

Network Rail has been issued with an improvement notice by the Office of Rail and Road for London’s Euston Station, where the company has failed to put in effective measures to prevent risks to passengers and others during instances of surges and overcrowding.

www.orr.gov.uk

 

[RPI]

I came through Euston on Sunday and it was carnage, I was on 09:30 from Glasgow which actually arrived nearly ontime, but we physically couldn't get out of the station at Euston when we alighted from the train, to the point where I felt uncomfortable really, and I've had 20 years working on the railway working at events etc, it really was bad!

 

[Starmill]

I came through Euston on Sunday and it was carnage, I was on 09:30 from Glasgow which actually arrived nearly ontime, but we physically couldn't get out of the station at Euston when we alighted from the train, to the point where I felt uncomfortable really, and I've had 20 years working on the railway working at events etc, it really was bad!

The effect of disruption is specifically mentioned by ORR as a concern.

 

[Merle Haggard]

When the new Euston opened the concourse was spacious and uninterrupted. Its size has steadily been reduced particularly by the food outlets on the Euston Road side but also in other parts of the perimeter, and there's various things appeared in the middle that provide obstructions. But it seems that the rental income is so great that it's been decided to make it a food hall that has some trains.
Much the same at Paddington; it's reasonable to guess that most people who arrive there will leave by tube. There was a brief period when access from the barriers to the underground entrance could be in a straight line, but soon an obstacle course was put in place. Presumably, some marketing guru thinks that if your transit is impeeded by a shop selling something you didn't know you wanted, you'll delay your journey to patronise it.

 

[setdown]

No risk assessments, but have the money for putting in useless "Platform Closed" screens that get ignored. Says a lot about the people and processes responsible.

 

[Adrian1980uk]

Euston is poorly designed and not helped by the operators / nature of the operations. When you compare with Liverpool Street or Paddington, Euston doesn't have the flow and large airy spaces the others do. What doesn't help is that the vast majority of passengers are long distance and therefore tend to turn up earlier than a commuter.

 

[Kite159]

All that will happen is the entrance gates to the station get pulled closed and instead of crowding on the concourse waiting for the Avanti train to get announced giving 60 seconds to reach it before it departs right time the crowds will simply be crowding around the smoking area outside.

What doesn't help is the location of the departure screens at Euston

 

[All Line Rover]

It’s nothing new. Wonder why they are suddenly getting all excited about it.

Perhaps because passengers are complaining about it and trying to hold Network Rail accountable, rather than allowing staff to brush issues under the rug because they are common / "normal"?

 

[dk1]

Perhaps because passengers are complaining about it and trying to hold Network Rail accountable, rather than allowing staff to brush issues under the rug because they are common / "normal"?

Maybe.

 

[Bletchleyite]

All that will happen is the entrance gates to the station get pulled closed and instead of crowding on the concourse waiting for the Avanti train to get announced giving 60 seconds to reach it before it departs right time the crowds will simply be crowding around the smoking area outside.

What doesn't help is the location of the departure screens at Euston

The new screens are an abject failure and should be removed. They make flow worse, not better. Any user of the station could tell them that.

But yes, just stop suppressing platforms, particularly for LNR services going from P8-11 which are designed, with seating etc, for people to arrive in small numbers over time and wait there.

 

[dk1]

Maybe.

Not sure why they can be more bothered suddenly than they were previously.

 

[Statto]

Euston is poorly designed and not helped by the operators / nature of the operations. When you compare with Liverpool Street or Paddington, Euston doesn't have the flow and large airy spaces the others do. What doesn't help is that the vast majority of passengers are long distance and therefore tend to turn up earlier than a commuter.

Indeed, the concourse feels like it's miles away from the platforms, & the concourse is far too small to deal with the crowds in any sort of disruption, then even when their has not been any disruption you have trains announced minutes before departure, so you get that scrum to the trains when the train departures are announced.

Euston is the worst terminal station in London.

 

[dk1]

The new screens are an abject failure and should be removed. They make flow worse, not better.

They look better however lol.

 

[geoffk]

When the new Euston opened the concourse was spacious and uninterrupted. Its size has steadily been reduced particularly by the food outlets on the Euston Road side but also in other parts of the perimeter, and there's various things appeared in the middle that provide obstructions. But it seems that the rental income is so great that it's been decided to make it a food hall that has some trains.
Much the same at Paddington; it's reasonable to guess that most people who arrive there will leave by tube. There was a brief period when access from the barriers to the underground entrance could be in a straight line, but soon an obstacle course was put in place. Presumably, some marketing guru thinks that if your transit is impeeded by a shop selling something you didn't know you wanted, you'll delay your journey to patronise it.

Also Manchester Piccadilly. Too many shops at stations. When I was in Sydney a few years ago, I found Central Station a total contrast. There was a large unobstructed concourse and, from memory, a restaurant, a transport bookshop, a small museum and newsagent around the perimeter. This was 14 years ago though so maybe it's changed. Rental from shops will be significant and I suppose that's what matters.

 

[TheSmiths82]

I am a semi regular user of Euston (probably two journeys into London a year) and I hate the place. It is far too small for the amount of people it serves. I was there on Sunday at around 4:45 as I went down early to see if I could get another train as mine was "delayed". Thankfully they let me on an earlier train (despite having an advance single) and was only in Euston for a few minutes.

I have been there quite often in the past 20 years when there has been chaos due to delays including last Feb when the weather stopped the trains.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They look better however lol.

Waterloo has fitted that type in place of the main board above the gate line. That's what should have happened at Euston too.

 

[All Line Rover]

Might I also draw members' attention to this thread from July...

Raising the alarm when witnessing a crush at a station

If (1) witnessing a crush on a station platform caused by a stampede of passengers and seeing some passengers lying on the platform apparently unconscious, (2) the crush is NOT caused by a fire, (3) although the station is large and supposedly staffed, no members of staff can be found other than...

www.railforums.co.uk

...where the concerns I aired were variously described - by rail staff, oddly enough - as "completely implausible", from a "fantasy location", and prompted by a previous incident of "barging past some barrier staff when unable to show a railcard [due to the rail industry's own railcard app being offline and ticket inspectors not being briefed on that fact]" .

 

[dk1]

Waterloo has fitted that type in place of the main board above the gate line. That's what should have happened at Euston too.

I was very impressed last time I passed through Waterloo.

Also Manchester Piccadilly. Too many shops at stations. When I was in Sydney a few years ago, I found Central Station a total contrast. There was a large unobstructed concourse and, from memory, a restaurant, a transport bookshop, a small museum and newsagent around the perimeter. This was 14 years ago though so maybe it's changed. Rental from shops will be significant and I suppose that's what matters.

It is what matters and as a passenger my favourite outlets on the concourse enhance my travel experience.

 

[All Line Rover]

this has always been an issue, the infamous “Euston Crush”.

I suspect that, given the ORR appear to be particularly concerned about a select few incidents rather than the "Euston Crush" that happens several times every day, their concerns are directed at those isolated (but still all too common incidents) where, during severe disruption, a platform is announced just as a train is arriving into said platform, resulting in a crush of passengers (for the announced train and several prior cancelled trains) clashing with a crush of people who are getting off the delayed arriving train and trying to leave the platform.

An unobstructed stampede of passengers in one direction, though unpleasant, is not necessarily a safety concern.

 

[Bevan Price]

Have they ever done a Health & Safety assessment of passenger handling at Euston in "delay circumstances". If not, perhaps they should.

 

[jon81uk]

If only there was a plan to build additional new track capacity arriving into a newly designed station.

 

[physics34]

Yet another failure on our railways to add to all the others. Correct about too many shops, the location of the screens and the short time given to board services. All very poor.