Euston £50m upgrade

[Sorcerer]

Merely moving the passengers from the concourse to the ramps to face the famously friendly and competent Avanti gateline staff isn't achieving anything.

I wouldn't even say the ramps, I'd want to allow passengers to actually be able to wait on the platform even if the train isn't ready yet. I've never seen Liverpool Lime Street close off the platform, they either just let people on, or keep the doors locked until it's ready. But in Euston it genuinely feels like a criminal offence to even hang around on the ramp. It feels more like an international airport than a public transport hub.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wouldn't even say the ramps, I'd want to allow passengers to actually be able to wait on the platform even if the train isn't ready yet. I've never seen Liverpool Lime Street close off the platform, they either just let people on, or keep the doors locked until it's ready. But in Euston it genuinely feels like a criminal offence to even hang around on the ramp. It feels more like an international airport than a public transport hub.

It was designed to work like that when airports were considered the height of modernity, to be fair, and during that period when hiding the planes was the thing to do (that too no longer is).

 

[SCDR_WMR]

I wouldn't even say the ramps, I'd want to allow passengers to actually be able to wait on the platform even if the train isn't ready yet. I've never seen Liverpool Lime Street close off the platform, they either just let people on, or keep the doors locked until it's ready. But in Euston it genuinely feels like a criminal offence to even hang around on the ramp. It feels more like an international airport than a public transport hub.

Platforms do get closed off at Lime St, presumably you do mean 6-10 as they aren't barriered, but only for large events. Usually managed by TOC revenue and BTP teams.

It's probably down to passenger numbers - for example;
LNWR Euston - Crewe regularly has 400-500 passengers boarding
LNWR Liverpool - New St regularly has 150-180 boarding.

Now granted, the trains are longer for Euston services than Liverpool, and would hopefully spread out down the platforms, the reality is both stations have big issues with crowding at the concourse end of platforms, making it difficult for those departing the train to get off and subsequently leave the platform.

This is something I see every weekend at Lime St for instance, and something that I'm glad I don't have to see at Euston (other than when platforms are announced ahead of the incoming train service which has happened before and is a very dangerous situation)

 

[Sorcerer]

It was designed to work like that when airports were considered the height of modernity, to be fair, and during that period when hiding the planes was the thing to do (that too no longer is).

This is true, and it was very much reflective of a society where politicians didn't understand or care to understand public transit that wasn't cars or aviation. But given that Euston won't be getting rebuilt for today's needs I think the very least that could be done is allow passengers to disperse more around the station including waiting on the platform. Boarding ten minutes before departure would feel a lot less chaotic than it would from the concourse.

Platforms do get closed off at Lime St, presumably you do mean 6-10 as they aren't barriered, but only for large events. Usually managed by TOC revenue and BTP teams.

It's probably down to passenger numbers - for example;
LNWR Euston - Crewe regularly has 400-500 passengers boarding
LNWR Liverpool - New St regularly has 150-180 boarding.

Now granted, the trains are longer for Euston services than Liverpool, and would hopefully spread out down the platforms, the reality is both stations have big issues with crowding at the concourse end of platforms, making it difficult for those departing the train to get off and subsequently leave the platform.

This is something I see every weekend at Lime St for instance, and something that I'm glad I don't have to see at Euston (other than when platforms are announced ahead of the incoming train service which has happened before and is a very dangerous situation)

Yes, I did mean platforms 6-10. Quite often when I've gone there, be it either passing through, meeting someone or getting a train, I've never seen anyone be prevented from walking down the platforms beyond a ticket inspection. Even platforms 1-5 with the ticket barriers people are free to wait on the platforms even when the train isn't ready to go yet (and sometimes when the train hasn't even arrived). Lime Street is a small station as far as terminus stations go, but it's very much operated like a railway station where you can walk in and get your train no hassle, unlike Euston which was rebuilt to work like an airport and still does to this day.