Taxis inside stations

[Daz28]

Watching an old 1960s film yesterday, I noticed a London terminal where black taxis were allowed to drive in to the station and pick up fares alongside the platform.

I seem to recall there were several stations in the past that allowed traffic inside the station, can anyone recall them? Are there any left?

 

[stut]

Edinburgh Waverley and Liverpool Street spring to mind.

 

[Oracle]

Paddington had a 'carriage road' I seem to recall. There were several London terminii that had the arrangement left over from horse-drawn days.

The taxis waited in queues inside the stations by driving in from a taxi-only (and also GPO/BR vans) roadway. These days Southampton has a NT-owned forecouty on the south side, and I think only taxis, not hire cars, are allowed to wait, for which they have to pay money for the right to so so.

 

[Waddon]

Paddington, also Waterloo used to have a vehicle access across the centre of the concourse up until quite recently. Vehicles still can go onto the wide platform at Brighton, but not taxis, which stop a bit further back

 

[Welshman]

Wasn't it Paddington that had a taxi road between the platforms?

I remember there also used to be one at Llandudno.

 

[gordonthemoron]

St Pancras used to have the taxi rank (inside building) behind ticket office before E* redevelopment

 

[Mojo]

Marylebone used to have parking on the platforms and the old Birmingham NS used to have a road through the middle of the station. Also Darlington which always has vehicles parked in the middle.

 

[driver9000]

The old Blackpool North had a road vehicle access inside the station. I think it was mainly for loading/unloading vans rather than for taxis.

 

[electra27000]

Paddington's used to be in the space between platforms 8 & 9.

 

[DarloRich]

Marylebone used to have parking on the platforms and the old Birmingham NS used to have a road through the middle of the station. Also Darlington which always has vehicles parked in the middle.

But Darlo isnt quite the same. Those cars are park alongside the access ramp from Parkgate. It is the vehicluar access point to the station. The parking outside of the station is (i think) for executive permit holders now whilst that under the roof is for drop off/blue badge parking and the taxi rank. There si also an overspill executive car park on wha usd to be the old north facing bay.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=ut...a=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=3&ved=0CA0Q_AUoAg

The Victoria Road access takes you into another short stay car park which has pedestrian access to the station via a subway - soagain you dont drive "onto" the station

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=ut...a=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=3&ved=0CA0Q_AUoAg


You dont really drive onto the station as you did at, say, Paddington

 

[electra27000]

Glasgow Central, before the extra platforms were built.

 

[507 001]

Liverpool Lime street also, in between what is now P7 and P8

 

[the sniper]

The old Snow Hill station had a short stay car park on the concourse prior to it closing: http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrbsh1125.htm

I don't know whether Taxis could use it though.

 

[marks87]

Perth has a car park that's more-or-less on platform 7 and you see the occasional NR vehicle use it to access to the platform.

Although of course, Perth is a former Motorail station...presumably all such places will qualify as answers to the original question?

 

[90019]

Kyle of Lochalsh.

The short stay car park at Waverley is pretty much in the middle of the station.

 

[Holly]

Liverpool Lime street also, in between what is now P7 and P8

Taxi road platforms used back in the 1950s for trains connecting to ships and that, for whatever reason chose not to use Riverside station. Oddly though it was not on the long platforms but the mid-length ones if memory serves.

There was always a huge display advertising setup for Canadian Pacific with ship models in glass cases there then too. People took a steam train to Liverpool, steamship to Quebec and then steam train to Vancouver. Two weeks, those were the days. These days a totally unenjoyable 11 hour flight. Someone must have photos.

Taxi road was definitely a throwback to horse-drawn hackneys.

 

[142094]

I suppose you could include both York and Newcastle as the taxis drive into a portico which is part of the station.

 

[matchmaker]

For many years Glasgow Central had a dedicated taxi entrance/exit.

 

[EM2]

St Pancras used to have the taxi rank (inside building) behind ticket office before E* redevelopment

The original rank was between two of the platforms (6 & 7, I think). Taxis accessed it via the slope in front of the Hotel and through the 'Chinese Arch', next to where the big statue is now. It was also used for mail vehicles.
The later rank was behind the Ticket Office, on the Western side. If you're on Midland Road, looking towards Euston Road, you'll see a light blue portico on the upper level and that was the rank. Now, it's part of the hotel lobby.
A local photographer put together an excellent book showing the layout before the rebuild but for now, I cannot remember the title or the author!

EDIT - Found it! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Railway-Lands-Catching-Pancras-Kings/dp/1906221405

 

[tsr]

I believe that during the recent incident where a train caught fire at Brighton, the fire appliances drove onto the platform, but I am not 100% sure of this.

 

[John Webb]

St Pancras used to have taxi access to the old platforms 5 & 6 for arrivaing trains, but that stopped some considerable time ago. (By the time they filmed the opening shots for 'Porridge' where the prison van comes into the station.) The rank near the ticket office was rather more the area for those coming to the station.

Euston opened a cab rank road between platforms 1 and 2 in 1873, accessed from what is now Eversholt Street, but I am uncertain when it went.

Liverpool Street used to have a cab road between platforms 10 and 11.

London Bridge terminus between Platforms 16/17 and 18.

Cannon Street between Platforms 3 and 5, and after 1926 platforms 5 and 6, but it had gone before 1966.

Waterloo's cab road was between 11 & 12.

Charing Cross had a very short cab road between platforms 5 & 6.

Victoria, effectively two stations in one, had a cab road in each half until at least 1960.

Paddington actually had two cab roads, one between platforms 8 and 9, the other between 10 and 11.

Marylebone's cab road was between platforms 1 & 2 (which were on the East side of the station.)

Most of these cab roads were originally on platforms designated as the 'Arrival' platforms for the particular station. But as trains became multiple units or 'push-pull' the distinction between arrival and departure platforms was lost, and it seems that is when the cab roads went out of use.

 

[Waddon]

A clip from the film "The Fourth Protocol" showing the vehicle access to St. Pancras (and some highly inappropriate rolling stock too!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CekGsb3kf-A&feature=related

 

[Tin Rocket]

funnily enough i was watching an episode of "The Professionals" this week and in the episode named "Rogue" one of Cowley's protoges who also trained bodie+doyle at CI5 was waiting in a black cab on the taxi road at paddington (i think),in pulls the sleeper train (think it must have been the riviera) with a 47 (i think) anyway this chap alights and walks down the platform towards said taxi but is shot by the rogue agent who was impersonating a taxi driver,then the taxi starts up and trundles off,can anyone remember this or has seen it lately?he chucks cowley down the stairs later on.

 

[dvboy]

Nottingham's taxi rank is under the outside station roof.

Though by that reckoning you could argue Birmingham New Street's is too.

 

[lookingforit35]

For many years Glasgow Central had a dedicated taxi entrance/exit.

Not sure if it's the same access, but I recall being able to drive up a reasonably steep slope to the platforms and access a free (yes, free!) short stay car park. Really useful when meeting friends off the London train.

Walked by recently on a visit to Glasgow and the access is still there at street level but the gates are now permanently closed.

 

[NLC1072]

Liverpool Street used to have a cab road between platforms 10 and 11.

Still does!... the rail replacement buses use it when they are running to Liverpool St. it's great to see four or five double deckers all inside the station! Not sure whether cabs still run onto it though.

 

[jopsuk]

From what I've heard, the front of Cambridge station- incorporating what is now M&S, half the ticket/entrance hall and the travel centre/car hire office was built as a covered carriage way- notice that the windows on the front are only full height in the entrance/ticket hall; above the shop and office is an open space.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Both the Waterloo and Victoria cab roads were converted into an additional pair of platforms roughly 20 years ago weren't they? I remember the work taking place - I'm sure I've got a blurry photo somewhere of the work in progress at Victoria.

 

[Cletus]

The Ipcress File is currently showing on BBC2 now. That has a scene inside a London station which I think is St Pancras?

 

[EM2]

The Ipcress File is currently showing on BBC2 now. That has a scene inside a London station which I think is St Pancras?

In the opening scene? That's Marylebone.