New stations leak like a sieve

[HowardGWR]

The following has been reported:

Passengers' shock as water gushes through ceiling of new Bromsgrove Station

PASSENGERS travelling through Bromsgrove's new £24million train station last Friday were shocked to find water "gushing" through the ceiling and flowing along the station floor.

Heavy rain on December 23 was seen to be pouring through the building's lights, loud speaker system and roof tiles, despite extensive improvement works on the site over the last two years.

Rock Hill resident Mary Brewer, 29, snapped the leak on her mobile phone, after alighting at the station at around 4.50pm.

She said: "It was gushing through the ceiling and people were just trying to avoid it. It was coming through everything. Where it was gushing through the roof....

http://www.kidderminstershuttle.co....ng_of_new_Bromsgrove_Station/#comments-anchor


The photo is a shocker. The comment below by a reader who twice bought a parking ticket and railway ticket, only finding it impossible to board the train is not good either. No good having new stations if the train won't have you.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The cross-city line hasn't reach Bromsgrove yet, so all that has happened is the existing 1tph Hereford trains call at the new station.
They will get 4/5tph next year sometime, when the wires reach down the Lickey.

 

[fgwrich]

Ouch! It wasn't another quality design by Grimshaws was it? Everything they seem to design has the added effect of leaking like a sieve - Indeed it takes a brave person to stand under the stupidly thin canopy's at Reading Station.

That said, I've seen similar affect the new ticket office in Basingstoke station a few years ago, with the walls appearing to be more like an indoor water feature - although the ticket machines below weren't that impressed!

The cross-city line hasn't reach Bromsgrove yet, so all that has happened is the existing 1tph Hereford trains call at the new station.
They will get 4/5tph next year sometime, when the wires reach down the Lickey.

I've been thinking about this, Could it be described a bit like the cart before the horse? Would it have suited Bromsgrove better to open the station closer to the time of wiring?

 

[swt_passenger]

I've been thinking about this, Could it be described a bit like the cart before the horse? Would it have suited Bromsgrove better to open the station closer to the time of wiring?

They had to open the new station first so that the new layout could be completed following closure, as some of the new alignments are built through the site of the old platforms. Then with the new layout complete they can now install the wiring around it. That seems to be the logical order to do it in really...

 

[FOH]

Ouch! It wasn't another quality design by Grimshaws was it? Everything they seem to design has the added effect of leaking like a sieve - Indeed it takes a brave person to stand under the stupidly thin canopy's at Reading Station.

The new London Bridge concourse is the same, actually, large areas get cordoned off and equipment covered with tarpaulins when it rains

 

[Class172]

Ouch! It wasn't another quality design by Grimshaws was it? Everything they seem to design has the added effect of leaking like a sieve - Indeed it takes a brave person to stand under the stupidly thin canopy's at Reading Station.

That said, I've seen similar affect the new ticket office in Basingstoke station a few years ago, with the walls appearing to be more like an indoor water feature - although the ticket machines below weren't that impressed!

I've been thinking about this, Could it be described a bit like the cart before the horse? Would it have suited Bromsgrove better to open the station closer to the time of wiring?

They had to open the new station first so that the new layout could be completed following closure, as some of the new alignments are built through the site of the old platforms. Then with the new layout complete they can now install the wiring around it. That seems to be the logical order to do it in really...

As swt_passenger says, it's necessary to open the station first as it required a major remodelling of the track layout. Nonetheless, if I recall, the electrification has been delayed from its original intended date so the gap between opening and new services was envisaged to be less originally.

 

[XDM]

The new London Bridge concourse is the same, actually, large areas get cordoned off and equipment covered with tarpaulins when it rains

And the new footbridge at Winchfield or Hook. Can't remember which. It pours like a jug over a key unavoidable step on the down platform. It has done this from new & has never been put right. I am afraid as the entire infrastructure forum,& the passenger experience attests, there is something fundamentally wrong with Network Rail. It is an unanswerable monopoly. I think the Southern fiasco,which has been far worsened by Network rail's daily failings,has made the government finally realise it needs changing. Although network rail employs some great people,a few of whom I know,there are laggards & worse. If you are spending huge amounts of money with a small group of contractors, many NR managers will identify with the contractor,who may give them a future job,rather than the railway passenger who is just a niggling nuisance,as is a 'here today gone tomorrow' TOC. That said,the new Bromsgrove layout is great & the designing mind deserves a pat on the back.

 

[Phil.]

Grimshaws. Designed and built Waterloo International. Leaked from day 1 and at closure still leaked. 16 years and no-one could ever ascertain where the water came in from.

 

[daikilo]

Grimshaws. Designed and built Waterloo International. Leaked from day 1 and at closure still leaked. 16 years and no-one could ever ascertain where the water came in from.

Clouds? I wonder if it has been fixed or will it still occur when the platforms are reopened?

 

[swt_passenger]

And the new footbridge at Winchfield or Hook. Can't remember which. It pours like a jug over a key unavoidable step on the down platform. It has done this from new & has never been put right...

Fratton and Fareham too. Open wire mesh sides above shoulder level. But at Southampton Airport the generic NR design has been adapted slightly to have full glass sides - and amazingly enough they keep the rain out...

 

[HowardGWR]

It was the same at Newport Mon, IIRC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22294831

A railway station's futuristic roof is being repaired after leaks were reported less than three years after a £22m revamp.
Newport's new station opened in September 2010 ahead of the Ryder Cup golf tournament at nearby Celtic Manor.
But this month passengers reported dodging puddles on walkways.
Network Rail said "interface issues" with the roof's construction material were being addressed and contractors said two leaks were remaining.
The new roof is comprised of 31 air-filled cushions, made from the polymer ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, which give a "bubble-wrap" effect.

The cushions are created using two layers of film measuring around two to three strands of hair in thickness.
The panels for the Eden Project in Cornwall are also made of the material.

"We have rectified the readily accessible leaks identified in the roof with the exception of two which require possession of the line" said spokesman, Galliford Try

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Grimshaws. Designed and built Waterloo International. Leaked from day 1 and at closure still leaked. 16 years and no-one could ever ascertain where the water came in from.

The much admired Berlin Hbf also leaks (German designers).
It has also suffered storm damage.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Pretty sure that Bromsgrove isn't one of Grimshaws' (too small).

 

[moggie]

Buckingham Group constructors. Wakefield Westgate, Llandudno and Northampton being other recent efforts.

 

[fgwrich]

Fair enough, I had a feeling that it may not have been a Grimshaws design. It is however, suffering from the cheapening trend of modern railway architecture.

Here is a picture from Reading station this afternoon. It's not particularly raining that much, but the floor of the entire "transfer deck" is damp and very slippery. If only they'd chosen to install the glass towers instead of cheapening out the design the affects would largely be mitigated, but that's more for the Reading Station threads.

Thanks SWT Passenger and Class 172 - I had a feeling that the new station couldn't be built and operated until the old one had been demolished, but it is a shame that the electrification has been delayed from the station opening point to nearly a year later - resulting in the affect of new station to tempt passengers, onto full and standing services with no increase until the Lickey and Cross City extension is completed.

 

[HowardGWR]

I've changed the title of the thread as it almost warrants the 'trivia' label, but the issue is anything but trivial. It's something I disagree about with our mods.

I wonder what penalty clauses have been invoked. None at Reading (yet) it would appear.

 

[MedwayValiant]

Not on the same scale as Bromsgrove, but the new Rochester station leaks too.

I was last there on Friday, and the tray where you put your money and the ticket office person puts your tickets was wet. Apparently it hadn't happened before and the amount of water was small enough that you can wipe it up with a tissue, but shouldn't happen at all in a brand new building.

 

[Chrisgr31]

At London Bridge for some strange reason the canopy rises from the centre of the platform to the platform edge. This allows more rain in. Older stations only have a small gap between any train and the canopy.

Both East Croydon and New Cross Gate Have the ridiculous footbridges that let in water.

 

[47271]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...nswers-victoria-station-roof-network-12047960

Well, and there was also this incident.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

It was the same at Newport Mon, IIRC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22294831

There have been problems at Newport for many years, even before the new station buildings were built.

There are lots of gaps in the old style canopies on platforms 1, 2 & 3, although as far as I know the new canopy on platform 4 is okay. Hopefully, when the electrification work has been completed, they'll sort out the problems, but I'm not holding my breath!

The new bridge connecting all the platforms is a nightmare; it leaked when it was built, and it's still leaking. As far as I know, no attempts have been made to cure the basic problem; they just mop up the water.

 

[greaterwest]

And the new footbridge at Winchfield or Hook. Can't remember which. It pours like a jug over a key unavoidable step on the down platform. It has done this from new & has never been put right. I am afraid as the entire infrastructure forum,& the passenger experience attests, there is something fundamentally wrong with Network Rail. It is an unanswerable monopoly. I think the Southern fiasco,which has been far worsened by Network rail's daily failings,has made the government finally realise it needs changing. Although network rail employs some great people,a few of whom I know,there are laggards & worse. If you are spending huge amounts of money with a small group of contractors, many NR managers will identify with the contractor,who may give them a future job,rather than the railway passenger who is just a niggling nuisance,as is a 'here today gone tomorrow' TOC. That said,the new Bromsgrove layout is great & the designing mind deserves a pat on the back.

I think you mean the footbridges at Fleet and Farnborough. Winchfield and Hook still have their old ones. Can confirm this is an issue though.

 

[Skoodle]

Both East Croydon and New Cross Gate Have the ridiculous footbridges that let in water.

Yup! Whoever designed the new footbridge at New Cross Gate needs to go back to school! From bottom to top, wall, glass window (with some that open for some reason) then above that, a wire mesh panel. That's it. So above head height on both sides is still open to the elements. Well done, well bloody done!

 

[SodTheDrummer]

Fair enough, I had a feeling that it may not have been a Grimshaws design. It is however, suffering from the cheapening trend of modern railway architecture.

Here is a picture from Reading station this afternoon. It's not particularly raining that much, but the floor of the entire "transfer deck" is damp and very slippery. If only they'd chosen to install the glass towers instead of cheapening out the design the affects would largely be mitigated, but that's more for the Reading Station threads.

Thanks SWT Passenger and Class 172 - I had a feeling that the new station couldn't be built and operated until the old one had been demolished, but it is a shame that the electrification has been delayed from the station opening point to nearly a year later - resulting in the affect of new station to tempt passengers, onto full and standing services with no increase until the Lickey and Cross City extension is completed.

Call me naive, but isn't the primary function of a roof to keep the sodding rain off? Or perhaps that's not important in architectural circles these days..? Architects will no doubt blame the builders, and vice versa, pax suffer and need umbrellas inside stations! Why are these people still getting contracts? :roll:

 

[exile]

I had the misfortune to work in a building designed by Sir Basil Spence in the 50s. Leaky windows, bits falling off in windy weather, too hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It appears the more awards a building wins the worse it is at doing what it's designed for.

 

[wimbledonpete]

Folkestone Central canopy leaks like a sieve, too.

 

[fredk]

It's the obsession with aesthetics over function. No one cares how many fancy wooden slats and interesting modern materials there are if the building cannot even fulfill it's basic purpose.

 

[Phil.]

Basically, architects should never be allowed near glass.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Basically, architects should never be allowed near (Insert words as necessary)

I've fixed this for you!

 

[Deepgreen]

It really is farcical. It seems that all new building work has built-in flaws these days - the new (Solum Regeneration) Epsom station ticket hall entrance leaked from day one when it rains, the canopies at Reading, London Bridge and possibly others are simply useless as weather protection, and the East Croydon footbridge is so inadequate that I'm amazed there haven't been more accidents - the rain falls directly onto the polished floor tiles and steps creating a disastrously-slippery route. I cannot imagine how the construction passed any building and safety standards!

 

[takno]

East Croydon footbridge is so inadequate that I'm amazed there haven't been more accidents - the rain falls directly onto the polished floor tiles and steps creating a disastrously-slippery route. I cannot imagine how the construction passed any building and safety standards!

It seems like every subway replacement I've ever seen has made the relevant station experience worse, with Leeds and Reading setting the standard with half-mile hikes into the sky some distance down the platform from where you need them. East Croydon is a new low though. In addition to having been needlessly exposed to the elements, the bridge is far higher than the subway was low, and has steps pointing away from most of the train (or all of it on most slow line departures), meaning that you have to navigate a narrow (and slippy) bit of platform to get to it, often while walking against the flow of passengers. It's like they decided that the lengthy recommended changing times at the station were a good thing, and should be reinforced by the architecture.