Nottingham Station: Platform Access from Footbridge

[LTJ87]

East Midlands Railway is once again introducing restrictions to access to platforms from the centre footbridge from Monday 18th August.

There will be no access to platforms from the footbridge from 7pm to 6am daily, extending the current restrictions from 11pm to 5am:

Nottingham station's centre footbridge: Hours of platform access to be amended to combat fare evasion and improve safety | East Midlands Railway News

From Monday 18 August, access to platforms via the footbridge will be restricted between 7pm and 6am each day Changes will reduce fare evasion, improve safety, and deter vandalism EMR has improved station signage, wayfinding, and guidance for access to nearby taxis and services Footbridge's...

news.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk

East Midlands Railway (EMR) is extending restrictions to platforms from the centre footbridge at Nottingham station in a further effort to reduce fare evasion, improve safety, and deter vandalism.

From Monday 18 August, access to platforms via the footbridge will be restricted between 7pm and 6am each day, replacing the current 11pm to 5am window.

During these hours, all rail users must access platforms through the main station concourse and ticket gates.

Despite these changes, the footbridge will continue to serve as a public right of way 24/7, maintaining access between Station Street and Queen’s Road, including connections to the tram network.

EMR will also retain the ability to open the gates during major events, times of crowding, or in response to emergencies, ensuring operational flexibility.

This move builds on the findings of a previous pilot scheme aimed at tackling fare evasion, where individuals had used the footbridge to bypass ticket checks.

 

[County School]

This seems bizarre. I have never seen any evidence of ASB by townies using the ROW diverting off the footbridge to cause a disturbance on the station.

If ASB is being caused by intending rail passengers, as I think it is, how will changing the entrance they use, stop it? A drunk is a drunk on Carrington Street as much as he is one on Station Street or the Tram Bridge.

The gateline on the main concourse is usually open on an evening. How will closing the centre bridge but having an open gateline improve revenue receipt?

I would be surprised if significant fare evasion happens in the late evening because most passengers are making return journeys on less congested trains. They would have needed to have succesfully evaded the fare on their outward journey and evaded the guard on their return one.

 

[bananas]

This also means access between the tram platform and train platforms will be much more circuitous, which is quite annoying.

Given the right of way goes via platform 7, what's to stop you then using the other footbridge from platform 7 to access the other platforms (other than the fact that it's probably then the slowest route from Station Road)

 

[PupCuff]

I think what's cheesed me off most this time round has been the comms - gaslighting people by saying that it's okay because it's just an extension of the existing closed hours overnight. Those closed hours overnight would be... When there are no trains people might want to access or change between!

I can absolutely understand why from a revenue point of view EMR want it closed - the revenue difference in the trial last year speaks for itself - but unless you are local it's difficult to understand the real impact it has on station users and local businesses. It adds a substantial time penalty both when accessing the station from the London Road end and when changing between platforms, worse still for those who have reduced mobility.

Other stations manage to fit ticket gates in more restrictive spaces than are available at Nottingham - but who needs to spend money doing that, when for free you can just annoy your customers instead?

 

[LowLevel]

An unpopular view but personally as someone with "skin in the game" regarding Nottingham station I'd demolish the whole thing at platform level and start again as they did with Derby.

It's a dingy mess, the roof, canopies and drainage are in a poor state.

OK, it's old, and it's a good example of it's time of a large station - but it's not really fit for purpose.

That would allow sensible planning to resolve this issue along with many others.

Instead, because it's listed, it'll just keep being patched up forever.

 

[duffield]

An unpopular view but personally as someone with "skin in the game" regarding Nottingham station I'd demolish the whole thing at platform level and start again as they did with Derby.

It's a dingy mess, the roof, canopies and drainage are in a poor state.

OK, it's old, and it's a good example of it's time of a large station - but it's not really fit for purpose.

That would allow sensible planning to resolve this issue along with many others.

Instead, because it's listed, it'll just keep being patched up forever.

Or maybe, at a fraction of the price of a rebuild, the roof, canopies and drainage could be fixed, a new accessible footbridge built at the east end, and we could keep our heritage.

Anyhow, no money will be found for either of our schemes, so it's all moot!

 

[kevjs]

Or maybe, at a fraction of the price of a rebuild, the roof, canopies and drainage could be fixed, a new accessible footbridge built at the east end, and we could keep our heritage.

Anyhow, no money will be found for either of our schemes, so it's all moot!

And we are only in this mess in the first place as instead of replacing the former PROW bridge when it was life expired the decision was made to reroute the the PROW over the station access bridge. The Barnum has now been built there it used to land on the south side making it more difficult to add that in, just as a pedestrian crossing is added to Queens Drive near the Platform 7 entrance, making that PROW desire line even stronger.

You'd still need barriers on the existing bridge but theres plenty of space to add at street level (e.g. in the old Milk Dock), leaving the tram to train interchange as the only other place you'd need to squeeze barriers in.

Penny wise and Pound foolish springs to mind.