Settle Station issues, who is responsible?

Noticed a few issues with Settle Station yesterday and wondered who is responsible for the upkeep of this station. Firstly a broken bench had been sealed off with hazard tape as it was a hazard, but more concerningly the footbridge is in a really bad state of repair, particularly the missing black grip ends creating a dip at the end of some steps which someone with poor eyesight/mobility could have a fall caused by the dip. The wood on the bridge looked to be in a poor state as well and it could do with a repaint. I found myself having to cautiously navigate the steps as felt they were unsafe.

Presumably it will be Northern Rail. If not, they'll be able to point you in the right direction.

It's a bit confusing as the Settle Carlisle Partnership Company have some say in the running of some stations on the line such as Settle and Appleby

Network Rail will be responsible for the condition of the footbridge. Doubt if it will be due a repaint for several years.

Lemmy99uk said:

Network Rail will be responsible for the condition of the footbridge. Doubt if it will be due a repaint for several years.

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There are plans to refurbish the bridge, Network Rail recently received listed building consent from North Yorkshire Council.

Geoffh73 said:

There are plans to refurbish the bridge, Network Rail recently received listed building consent from North Yorkshire Council.

Settle Station's footbridge with an interesting past to be refurbished

SETTLE Station's listed iron footbridge can be restored, after getting the go-ahead by North Yorkshire Council.

www.cravenherald.co.uk

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That's good news but I think for safety reasons, the bridge needs closing and the barrow crossing needs to be used by the public all the time from now until the works are complete. Although the structure is not unsafe, it won't take much for someone to miss their footing on one of the missing stair grip edge pieces crashing into people on the way down.

Ballyheigue said:

That's good news but I think for safety reasons, the bridge needs closing and the barrow crossing needs to be used by the public all the time from now until the works are complete. Although the structure is not unsafe, it won't take much for someone to miss their footing on one of the missing stair grip edge pieces crashing into people on the way down.

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And sending people across the track is safer!?

Ballyheigue said:

That's good news but I think for safety reasons, the bridge needs closing and the barrow crossing needs to be used by the public all the time from now until the works are complete. Although the structure is not unsafe, it won't take much for someone to miss their footing on one of the missing stair grip edge pieces crashing into people on the way down.

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You think that’s more dangerous than having the public wandering across the track on a barrow crossing?!?

SuspectUsual said:

You think that’s more dangerous than having the public wandering across the track on a barrow crossing?!?

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Exactly - if someone has a fall in the bridge andit can be proved that it was down to the missing stair end grip, Network Rail will have a problem: if they close the bridge and people have to use the barrow crossing, they will have a problem if there is any incident at all (as the person would only be on the crossing because NR had closed the bridge).

How about skip-stopping Settle (Northbound only) and providing a Rail Replacement bus between Long Preston and Horton-in-Ribblesdale? Similar to the current arrangement at South Bank?!

Mcr Warrior said:

How about skip-stopping Settle (Northbound only) and providing a Rail Replacement bus between Long Preston and Horton-in-Ribblesdale? Similar to the current arrangement at South Bank?!

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I realise that your post was probably tongue-in- cheek, but that would be a complete non-starter (or should I say 'non-stopper'? ). Hundreds - if not thousands - of coach tour passengers join Northbound trains at Settle every year....and they all have to troop over that footbridge, unless they are physically incapable of doing so, in which case they are escorted across the foot crossing by the station staff. What would be very useful would be a new entrance directly onto the Down platform from an adjacent new car and coach park....but, sadly, that isn't going to happen any time soon.

As someone has pointed out, the footbridge is due for some work (planning permission has been granted, noted above). A couple of years ago, 2023, when there was an attempt to close Settle ticket office along with lots of other station ticket offices), there were potentially issues with e.g. disabled access (where the footbridge wasn't practical) to the Carlisle bound platform for e.g. wheelchair access, as this had to be across the barrow crossing, and this was only available when the ticket office was open/staffed and this had fairly limited opening hours. As we now know, the ticket office closures did not happen. Additionally; the opening hours have been extended (https://www.cravenherald.co.uk/news/25777097.longer-opening-hours-settle-railway-station/), so this issue has been alleviated to some extent. Before that, if a Carlisle bound passenger needed to use the barrow crossing outside ticket office opening hours, they had to ring Northern, who would send a taxi from some far flung location for transport to the next station (Long Preston): necessary but not exactly ideal. I seem to recall seeing an old map where there was a footpath to the Carlisle bound platform from the rear of Goldielands/Prospect Terrace (don't have the said map to hand at present) but that wouldn't be realistic now. Getting direct access to the Carlisle bound platform from the public road would be tricky due to the steep drop as well. Someone suggested a new car and coach park for the Carlisle bound platform: this would probably be so far away as to be unfavourable due to the geography/geology, in addition the line corridor is a conservation area in its own right, and Settle is covered by quite a number of planning restrictions and on the edge of the national park, so it would take quite some head-scratching at the very least! If there was the will, it could be possible, but it would require jumping through many hoops! Maybe there could be a lift installed (tongue in cheek suggestion?) as has been recently done at Horton in Ribblesdale....
(Disclaimer: I have no connection with Northern Rail, Network Rail, or the Settle Carlisle Dev Co, and the above are only my observations)

Ballyheigue said:

It's a bit confusing as the Settle Carlisle Partnership Company have some say in the running of some stations on the line such as Settle and Appleby

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It would be worth cc'ing them and FoSCL into your mail to the TOC and NR.
Northern manage the station even if NR own the asset.

D6130 said:

I realise that your post was probably tongue-in- cheek, but that would be a complete non-starter (or should I say 'non-stopper'?

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Yes, was a semi-serious suggestion. Had wondered however if the running lines through Settle are bi-directionally signalled, but don't think the trackwork in the area allows 'wrong line' working and for Northbound trains to easily (or routinely) use platform 1.

Mcr Warrior said:

Yes, was a semi-serious suggestion. Had wondered however if the running lines through Settle are bi-directionally signalled, but don't think the trackwork in the area allows 'wrong line' working and for Northbound trains to easily (or routinely) use platform 1.

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Absolutely not, I'm afraid. Settle is mid-section on a line which is still worked by the traditional Absolute Block System. Since closure of the station's signalbox in the late 1970s/early 1980s there hasn't even been a trailing crossover....just a Down line and an Up line. The block section extends from Settle Junction - a couple of miles further South - to Blea Moor, with Intermediate Block Signals in the vicinity of Horton-in-Ribblesdale in each direction.

D6130 said:

Absolutely not, I'm afraid. Settle is mid-section on a line which is still worked by the traditional Absolute Block System. Since closure of the station's signalbox in the late 1970s/early 1980s there hasn't even been a trailing crossover....just a Down line and an Up line. The block section extends from Settle Junction - a couple of miles further South - to Blea Moor, with Intermediate Block Signals in the vicinity of Horton-in-Ribblesdale in each direction.

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I'm very unqualified, but I do remember a time, possibly about 10 years ago, when there was a longish temporary closure (some sort of engineering works) north of Settle, when somehow, there was a timetabled service Leeds to Settle and back, where the Leeds service terminated at Settle on the southbound platform, and then the service went back to Leeds. I think it was quite an innovative idea to keep the services going during the temporary closure between Settle and Leeds, and someone had enough energy and innovation to get it set up, and it involved some sort of clever crossing over (and obviously running "wrong way") from Settle junction, but it did happen. Details and memories are a little distant, but I did travel on it on more than one occasion.