Trivia - Stations that are underengineered for their current usage

[MrCub]

Luton. A disaster of a station which is falling down and in a very poor state of repair. They keep trying to paper over the cracks but it's no good. There were plans a few years ago for a rebuild but that was ditched. They are building a couple of useless platform shelters but these are not enough; the main building is damp, rotten, and open to the elements and needs replacing. It's also pretty poor that a station which such high useage has no lifts to the platforms.

When the Thameslink service works, it's very good but the station does not meet the needs of such an intensive timetable.

 

[6Gman]

On a ratio of passenger numbers to square footage of platform it'd be hard to go beyond Oxford and Liverpool Central (Northern Line).

No easy answer in either case.

 

[Clansman]

Doncaster needs a complete refurbishment. Very tight and cramped, way past it's sell by date.

 

[Parallel]

Someone mentioned Frome earlier - I actually think Westbury needs the fourth platform again too. It might be worse this Easter as Bath is closed so more people are changing there to go to London and Devon/Cornwall than other routes, but with the amount of passengers boarding and leaving the HSTs at this station, I think more HSTs should stop here.

But to do that, you would really need a fourth platform as there is a high volume of local services that pass through/terminate at the station. It is very common to be held outside the station to allow for a delayed train to clear the platform.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

What Waterloo East seems mostly to be lacking is an eastern entrance/exit, where the space where one could go* could be a contender for the sister thread as the area where the Waterloo East and Southwark ticket barriers face off towards each other seems quite large!

(* I assume that when Southwark station was built, the reason this area is like this is because there was supposed to be a station exit here but for some reason the door was never built...)

I think there was an intention to put an entrance around there, but as far as I can make out, it looks like it would've been very unlikely to get planning permission.

I think the underlying problem is that the entrance to Southwark underground station is quite a distance from the Waterloo East platforms, and any proposed entrance that's much closer to the platforms would inevitably emerge onto what are supposed to be quiet residential streets (if anything can really be described as 'quiet' in that part of London) - that would not be welcomed by residents given the high numbers of commuters who would use it.

In any case, even if you did build an entrance there, I'd probably still argue that Waterloo East was under-engineered, because the overwhelming majority of people who use it are heading for the entrance/exit to Waterloo Main station - so that entrance definitely needs to be more than a corridor.

 

[30907]

5 and 6 have long gone but the subway connection to them still exists and is used as a store room. The reinstatement of these platforms is what I was hinting at.

Yes, but there's no point without trains to use them and routes for them to use.

 

[Tracked]

Doncaster needs a complete refurbishment. Very tight and cramped, way past it's sell by date.

Platform 0 was a useful addition to clear platform 1 for southbound services, but as someone who's sat at Hexthorpe loads of times on the way back from Sheffield it could do with more through platforms on the Northbound side

Chesterfield, not in terms of Number of Platforms, but the subway is terrible - probably not the busiest of stations, but it's barely wider than two people and has this awkward little turn on P1 side which doesn't help people keep left.

 

[xotGD]

Yes, but there's no point without trains to use them and routes for them to use.

We need all of the pieces of the jigsaw to come together - platforms, tracks, services - oh, and passengers!

 

[222ben]

I agree. It's a disgrace.

It should be demolished completely and rebuilt with at least 3 or 4 platforms, no matter the cost, because it's only going to get busier.

Also, trains having to permissive work into the terminal platforms.

 

[johnnychips]

Platform 0 was a useful addition to clear platform 1 for southbound services, but as someone who's sat at Hexthorpe loads of times on the way back from Sheffield it could do with more through platforms on the Northbound side

Referring to Doncaster, I completely agree with this statement. There seems to be room for it towards the Plant. Unlike Platform 0, which just takes Hull and Scunthorpe locals, I suppose it would have to be long enough for inter-city services. However, it probably would not need such a convoluted access as Platform 0 has.

 

[BurtonM]

Marylebone is hellish in disruption.

Whitechapel Overground, as well as quite a few of the ex-ELL stations south of it in the peak. Wapping is anything but!
Notting Hill Gate Circle Line.
I agree with Salford Crescent being oddly small.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Stoke-on-Trent as the line is too congested for what its currently used for and it needs more platforms.

It would be "easy" to extend platform 3 to a through platform, and even a new platform 4 (trim a bit off the car park, and there's still plenty of unused land to replace the car park)

Southbound trains often have to come to a halt outside SOT for a platform, but it wouldn't really achieve anything much. What you'd need to do is four track it all the way to Kidsgrove. Although that would be a great help, it could never be justified on cost!

 

[stut]

Biggleswade. A rapidly expanding town, with usage that will easily exceed 1 million.

And yet the platforms are only accessible via relatively narrow, steep steps. There are significant queues coming off rush-hour trains, and disabled passengers are sent by taxi to Arlesey or Sandy.

There are two tickets machines and an unpredictable, part-time office to serve all this. Again, huge queues.

They did do a good job of renovating the old platform building when they expanded the platforms to 12-car. And it's good that there's some platform staff around at times.

Due to the bridge being a right of way, there are no barriers here either.

Some serious work is needed here. The lack of accessibility for a station that busy is a disgrace, for starters.