Mismatch of Station Capacity and Service

[jagardner1984]

Hi All,

Hoping this is the right place for this. The measures by which this might be measured are arguably quite subjective. But, seeking opinions ….

In people’s opinions, which stations have the most facilities with the lowest level of service (e.g. additional platforms, waiting rooms, onward connections, station retail options) - i.e. facilities which, if a new build, would not be justified by the current service level.

And conversely, the stations which are most heavily utilised for the poorest facilities (i.e. fewest number of platforms served by a great number of Services, limited covered areas, few station retail options, few onward travel connections).

The trigger thought for this was a visit to St Albans City today, which does seem to have remarkably few facilities for the highly intensive Thameslink service (including terminating trains) and the entire EMR Main line service running through it. It is hard to believe a couple of glorified bus shelter waiting rooms and a coffee booth on one of the regularly used platforms did, in pre Covid times, handle over 7 million passengers annually.

Had a search and couldn’t find a topic on a similar theme (as opposed to least used stations etc).

 

[Dr Hoo]

There is a school of thought that stations with high-frequency through trains, predominantly short journeys and relatively little interchange need few 'facilities'. Especially in these days when people don't need to buy newspapers and cigarettes for their journeys.

Metro/underground stations being a case in point.

 

[Bald Rick]

The trigger thought for this was a visit to St Albans City today, which does seem to have remarkably few facilities for the highly intensive Thameslink service (including terminating trains) and the entire EMR Main line service running through it. It is hard to believe a couple of glorified bus shelter waiting rooms and a coffee booth on one of the regularly used platforms did, in pre Covid times, handle over 7 million passengers annually.

The coffee booth is a recent addition…

The station facilities have been recently near doubled in size - new second entrance (previously it was a bus shelter), a bigger main station building, and now a Sainsbury‘s

 

[yorksrob]

The old Epsom Downs would have been ideal for this thread !

Difficult to think of any nowadays. They've mostly been rationalised !

 

[jagardner1984]

The coffee booth is a recent addition…

The station facilities have been recently near doubled in size - new second entrance (previously it was a bus shelter), a bigger main station building, and now a Sainsbury‘s

Indeed - both Post Covid I believe - when of course numbers are still hugely down. Perhaps less than number of shops - it’s more it feels a very constrained site - for example not a specific terminating platform.

Obviously NOT comparable on a number of levels - but later on my journey travelling through Doncaster - half the pre Covid passenger numbers of SAC but 9 platforms and feels much more of a “hub”.

Definitely something in the metro point made above too.

Closer to home - there is a uniformity to many of the Strathclyde stations of two platforms some electrified lines, some not - some 4,6,8 car length. But the same basic format applied to Partick - 1.7m entrances / exits - and just up the road Maryhill at a mighty 77k. Obviously Partick is much better connected but in terms of the basic station layout - some similarities at least.

 

[SynthD]

Isleworth has no staff, barrier, toilet, barely any shelter. 1.4m users.

Wembley Stadium is very lightly used on 95+% of calls there, and skipped a lot, despite being large? 0.9m users.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Wembley Stadium is very lightly used on 95+% of calls there, and skipped a lot, despite being large? 0.9m users.

Aren't the figures for Wembley Stadium skewed by event days at the stadium? (And, to a lesser extent, by all the folk short-faring, claiming to have travelled from there).

 

[tbtc]

It’ll probably be a lot easier to identify places that lack sufficient facilities for the number of passengers that they get than places that get “too much”

However (much as I enjoyed watching trains there back in the 1980s) I’d probably have to highlight Carstairs - it was still a staffed station last time I was there (is it still?), it’s a stop for some* of the 125mph trains from London/ Manchester to Glasgow, it’s a stop on the Sleeper… it was getting around sixty thousand passengers a year before Covid… not too shabby!

(* - a minority, sure, but still some)

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not all that much calling at Carstairs just now apart from rail replacement buses!

 

[wilbers]

It’ll probably be a lot easier to identify places that lack sufficient facilities for the number of passengers that they get than places that get “too much”

However (much as I enjoyed watching trains there back in the 1980s) I’d probably have to highlight Carstairs - it was still a staffed station last time I was there (is it still?), it’s a stop for some* of the 125mph trains from London/ Manchester to Glasgow, it’s a stop on the Sleeper… it was getting around sixty thousand passengers a year before Covid… not too shabby!

(* - a minority, sure, but still some)

Just had a look at current timetables. None of the Avanti's stop there, and towards Glasgow its only the first Transpeninne train of the day at 0744.

 

[Bald Rick]

Indeed - both Post Covid I believe

Planned well over a decade ago, and construction started well before Covid of course.

 

[fandroid]

University station in Birmingham used to have an horrendous mismatch of platform space compared with passenger numbers. It's the only National Rail station where I regularly felt unsafe due to the mass of passengers crowding the narrow city-bound platform in the afternoons. That's been sorted recently, but it took a long time.

 

[Bald Rick]

It's the only National Rail station where I regularly felt unsafe due to the mass of passengers crowding the narrow city-bound platform in the afternoons.

Try platform 3 at St Albans in the morning peak, when an EMR comes through at 100.