Trivia: Stations with barriers between National Rail platforms

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Nothing irritates me more than the need to pass through barriers when changing trains, especially when the interchange time is tight. I mean at stations like Welwyn Garden City and Earlsfield, where to get from the northbound to southbound platform, you must pass through the barriers and then through another set in between!

Stevenage is an example of this if changing from Platform 5 to any of the other platforms.
So is Victoria if going between Southeastern and GTR. So is Liverpool Street if going between Platforms 1-10 and 11-17, and what's exceptionally annoying there is the barriers remember your ticket as having just been seen and therefore reject it when you enter the other platforms. Euston if going between 1-3 and the other platforms. Glasgow Central High Level another culprit. Edinburgh Waverley might be the worst of all.

If only more of the termini in this category were like London Charing Cross. It's not feasible to walk to all platforms at the buffer end, but the bridge allows you to change between platforms without the need to go twice through the barriers.

Where else do you need to pass through barriers to get to other platforms? It really infuriates me. Have barriers for exiting and entering the station, and then allow access to everywhere when inside, for god's sake. It's especially annoying on little two platform stations where you can't even get between up line and down line.

King's Cross, by the way, technically doesn't count, as Platforms 0-9 and 10-11 are linked due to Platforms 9 and 10 being connected, even if going this way it would be a silly long winded way of getting from TL to LNER.


EXCLUDES stations where you need to go from National Rail to Underground, or between two modes. This is referring to National Rail - National Rail only, and within the same station. Waterloo and Waterloo East are not the same station, neither are Hackney Downs & Hackney Central, etc.

I'm not really interested in examples where it's understandable because the platforms are absolutely miles away from each other, like between high and low levels at Paddington, Glasgow Ctrl, Liverpool Lime St, although even at Glasgow Queen St they manage to have a system to get you from High to Low level without two lots of barriers in between. And St Pancras International, where this situation sort of has to happen... you couldn't really get from EMR to SE without two sets of barriers.

 

[NSE]

I mean it’s really a first world problem isn’t it. In all honesty, it’s probably just legacy. I know Earlsfield station well (not there is much to get your head around there, a pretty simple station) and I would imagine very, very few people go between the platforms. I’ve done it, but only when I’d just left Clapham Junction and an invite for a pint at Clapham Junction just arrived in my inbox. So a quick change at Earlsfield. This was a Saturday around five pm, so key time for people being out and about. I was the only one to do it. Sure people do it, but worth paying the money to reorganise the gateline? I doubt it very much. I’ve also arrived into Liverpool Street from the GE side and headed straight back out the WA side and the same at Victoria (SE to SN etc) and have never had an issue with a paper ticket rejecting it as it’s just come through a different barrier. Earlsfield I did, but I expected that. I had a season ticket so wasn’t a problem.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Nothing irritates me more than the need to pass through barriers when changing trains, especially when the interchange time is tight. I mean at stations like Welwyn Garden City and Earlsfield, where to get from the northbound to southbound platform, you must pass through the barriers and then through another set in between!

Stevenage is an example of this if changing from Platform 5 to any of the other platforms.
So is Victoria if going between Southeastern and GTR. So is Liverpool Street if going between Platforms 1-10 and 11-17, and what's exceptionally annoying there is the barriers remember your ticket as having just been seen and therefore reject it when you enter the other platforms. Euston if going between 1-3 and the other platforms. Glasgow Central High Level another culprit. Edinburgh Waverley might be the worst of all.

If only more of the termini in this category were like Charing Cross. It's not feasible to walk to all platforms at the buffer end, but the bridge allows you to change between platforms without the need to go twice through the barriers.

Where else do you need to pass through barriers to get to other platforms? It really infuriates me. Have barriers for exiting and entering the station, and then allow access to everywhere when inside, for god's sake. It's especially annoying on little two platform stations where you can't even get between up line and down line.

King's Cross, by the way, technically doesn't count, as Platforms 0-9 and 10-11 are linked due to Platforms 9 and 10 being connected, even if going this way it would be a silly long winded way of getting from TL to LNER.


EXCLUDES stations where you need to go from National Rail to Underground, or between two modes. This is referring to National Rail - National Rail only, and within the same station. Waterloo and Waterloo East are not the same station, neither are Hackney Downs & Hackney Central, etc.

I'm not really interested in examples where it's understandable because the platforms are absolutely miles away from each other, like between high and low levels at Paddington, Glasgow Ctrl, Liverpool Lime St, although even at Glasgow Queen St they manage to have a system to get you from High to Low level without two lots of barriers in between. And St Pancras International, where this situation sort of has to happen... you couldn't really get from EMR to SE without two sets of barriers.

Why would you need to change trains at Earlsfield? It’s not as if you can make a connection there as you are by default ending one journey and starting a return in the opposite direction!

Welwyn GC I can appreciate has more potential to need to pass though the barrier line if changing from an up Cambridge stopper to an up Moorgate but in reality this can be done as a same platform interchange at Hatfield, I think these days anything which stops at Welwyn GC also calls at Hatfield. Down direction it would be same island platform interchange at Welwyn GC.

 

[AlbertBeale]

If only more of the termini in this category were like Charing Cross. It's not feasible to walk to all platforms at the buffer end, but the bridge allows you to change between platforms without the need to go twice through the barriers.

Do you mean London Charing Cross? Which bridge?

 

[DanNCL]

I seem to recall this being the case at Pontypridd, to change platforms you had to go through a set of barriers, cross the footbridge then through another set of barriers. Anyone travelling between somewhere on the Treherbert line and somewhere on the Aberdare/Merthyr lines would need to do this to make the connection, unless it’s changed in the 3 years since I’ve been there.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Why would you need to change trains at Earlsfield? It’s not as if you can make a connection there as you are by default ending one journey and starting a return in the opposite direction!

Welwyn GC I can appreciate has more potential to need to pass though the barrier line if changing from an up Cambridge stopper to an up Moorgate but in reality this can be done as a same platform interchange at Hatfield, I think these days anything which stops at Welwyn GC also calls at Hatfield. Down direction it would be same island platform interchange at Welwyn GC.

Why I might need to is irrelevant. It particularly annoyed me when ticking off 455s for haulage to be quite honest, which I appreciate might not be a great reason to get frustrated, but genuine changes apply at other stations like this.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Nov 2022 ==

Do you mean London Charing Cross? Which bridge?

Sorry yes I do. There is a bridge with access between all six platforms. I’ll edit the post so people don’t think I mean Charing Cross (Glasgow)

 

[AlbertBeale]

Sorry yes I do. There is a bridge with access between all six platforms. I’ll edit the post so people don’t think I mean Charing Cross (Glasgow)

Well well - I've never noticed the bridge (but I only use the station very very rarely) ... I must go and have a look. Though under want circumstances anyone would need or want to change trains at London CX I can't imagine...

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Well well - I've never noticed the bridge (but I only use the station very very rarely) ... I must go and have a look. Though under want circumstances anyone would need or want to change trains at London CX I can't imagine...

Platform alterations, or heading to a platform early based on Journey Planner data or something only to find it was wrong.

 

[VideozVideoz]

Pontypridd

 

[busestrains]

The following stations have separate gatelines for separate platforms and no way to get between them inside the gateline as the footbridges or subways or level crossings or concourse are outside of the gateline:

• Coulsdon South
• Imperial Wharf
• Lancing
• London Victoria
• Merstham
• Oxted
• Reigate
• Shoreham By Sea

Ideally at these stations they should put footbridges or subways or something inside the gatelines to allow people to swap platforms easily but i guess it is not worth it due to the small amount of passengers that change trains at these stations.

There are probably lots of stations like this throughout the country.

 

[LampPete]

Stockport platform 0 is accessed by leaving the main platform subway through the barriers and up a flight of new stairs.

 

[plugwash]

Similarly at Cardiff central platform 0 is outside the gate line and at newcastle platform 12 is outside.

 

[zwk500]

St Pancras has 4 separate gatelines (EMR 1-4, ES 5-10, SEHS 11-13, TL A/B), with no way of avoiding going through twice.

Does Paddington have a separate gateline for the Crossrail platforms.?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Dewsbury.

There's only a limited number of journeys where you'd need to change platforms, but it isn't completely outlandish that you might take a semi-fast from Huddersfield and change at Dewsbury for stations up the Calder Valley if the timings work out. Each platform is barriered separately, so switching requires passing through two gatelines (unless you use the lift from P1, in which case you only pass through the gateline for P2).

 

[Falcon1200]

I'm not really interested in examples where it's understandable because the platforms are absolutely miles away from each other, like between high and low levels at Paddington, Glasgow Ctrl,

Most changes between routes at Glasgow Central High Level require passing through barriers twice. Difficult to see how it could be changed, but as I experienced yesterday, having individual barriers at, for example Platforms 7 and 8, considerably lengthens the journey of anyone at the rear of a peak time arrival!

 

[NSE]

The following stations have separate gatelines for separate platforms and no way to get between them inside the gateline as the footbridges or subways or level crossings or concourse are outside of the gateline:

• Coulsdon South
• Imperial Wharf
• Lancing
• London Victoria
• Merstham
• Oxted
• Reigate
• Shoreham By Sea

Ideally at these stations they should put footbridges or subways or something inside the gatelines to allow people to swap platforms easily but i guess it is not worth it due to the small amount of passengers that change trains at these stations.

There are probably lots of stations like this throughout the country.

You’ve hit the nail on the head. People don’t really ‘change’ in the conventional sense on the majority of those. Victoria being an exception. Sure, if it was a simple change then maybe it’s worth it, but I highly doubt it. In the case of Oxted the subway is a public subway (Sanderstead is the same, albeit a bridge not a tunnel) so I imagine it’s the only way to do it and I would imagine many examples round the country are because of this sort of situation. Even if you added a country end footbridge to Victoria, I still think the majority or SE/SN changes would also head to the main concourse to check the main displays/get refreshments etc.

 

[Parallel]

I think Finsbury Park is another. I remember barriers being at the top of the stairs on Platforms 7/8 so would imagine they are also fitted to 1/2.

 

[JonathanH]

Coulsdon South

The new footbridge at the north end of the platforms enables interchange within the barriers

 

[swt_passenger]

St Pancras has 4 separate gatelines (EMR 1-4, ES 5-10, SEHS 11-13, TL A/B), with no way of avoiding going through twice.

Does Paddington have a separate gateline for the Crossrail platforms.?

Low level Crossrail is separate, but in the main shed Crossrail and GWR share a gateline, but there are separate gatelines for HEx services. Victoria also has a separate gateline for GatEx. Common feature is the dedicated gateline is used to differentiate the fares charged for contactless or Oyster.

 

[NSE]

I think Finsbury Park is another. I remember barriers being at the top of the stairs on Platforms 7/8 so would imagine they are also fitted to 1/2.

I want to say they’ve been removed. Again, following previous examples, the subway there is tiny so physical limitations put them at the top of the stairs.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Liverpool South Parkway involves a fair old walk and passing through two ticket barriers to interchange between services on the Manchester Oxford Road to Liverpool Lime Street (via Warrington Central) line and the Merseyrail line from Hunts Cross to Southport (via Liverpool Central).

(Probably takes less time to interchange between Wigan North Western and Wigan Wallgate which are, of course, two nearby but separate stations).

 

[plugwash]

I think Finsbury Park is another. I remember barriers being at the top of the stairs on Platforms 7/8 so would imagine they are also fitted to 1/2.

IIRC Finsbury Park has been rejigged so everything (including the underground) is now behind the same gateline.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Nov 2022 ==

Does Paddington have a separate gateline for the Crossrail platforms.?

From what I understand at paddington.

The circle/h&c platforms have their own independent gated area.

The crossrail, bakerloo and circle/district platforms are in the same gated area.

The high level platforms i'm not so sure about, my reading the map of the map on NRE is that the high level station has three seperately gated areas plus some ungated platforms but I recall on another thread discussion of plans to change the gating arrangements. In any case my reading of the map currently un NRE the gating arrangements for the high level platform are.

Platform 1: ungated
Platforms 2-5: gated area.
Platform 6/7: gated area for the London end of the platforms, but with gates part way down the platform leaving the "country" end of the platforms ungated!
Platforms 8/9: ungated.
Platforms 10-14: gated area.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Birmingham New Street follows OP’s Kings Cross example where you don’t have to pass through barriers to change platforms (the entrance station is connected at the ‘B’ or West end) but it’s so busy and has so many people changing there who aren’t familiar enough with the layout to know that sometimes it pays to walk past the first two or three exits from a platform you see in order to avoid the double barrier trap.

Spirit of the law rather than letter of the law but I totally feel it warrants a mention.

 

[plugwash]

Birmingham New Street follows OP’s Kings Cross example where you don’t have to pass through barriers to change platforms (the entrance station is connected at the ‘B’ or West end) but it’s so busy and has so many people changing there who aren’t familiar enough with the layout to know that sometimes it pays to walk past the first two or three exits from a platform you see in order to avoid the double barrier trap.

Similar at Manchester Picadilly. Most passengers getting off trains head towards the main concourse. At the main concourse end there are automatic barriers for 1-7 and generally manual ticket barriers for 8-11 and the travelators for platforms 13/14. The rarely used platform 12 often has no ticket checking at all. If changing from 1-7 to 8-11 at the concourse end you have to pass through both the automatic barriers and the manual checks.

OTOH if you use the overbridge you can change between any platforms, normally without meeting any ticket checks.

 

[Kite159]

Several stations on the C2C network (Tilbury loop) & at least one of the stations between Southend & Shoeburyness.

New Barnet
Walton on Thames

Although the number of people changing platforms will be minimal

 

[cactustwirly]

St Pancras has 4 separate gatelines (EMR 1-4, ES 5-10, SEHS 11-13, TL A/B), with no way of avoiding going through twice.

Does Paddington have a separate gateline for the Crossrail platforms.?

Platforms 2-8 and 11-14 have separate gatelines, as well as A and B for Crossrail as that's a separate building

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Liverpool Street.

No way of getting between the two halves of the station except by going through the barriers onto the concourse, and both lots of barrier lines are programmed as one - meaning you get a passback if you are connecting between the high numbered and the low numbered platforms.

 

[Kite159]

Liverpool Street.

No way of getting between the two halves of the station except by going through the barriers onto the concourse, and both lots of barrier lines are programmed as one - meaning you get a passback if you are connecting between the high numbered and the low numbered platforms.

Which can be a right pain if the station is busy and the gateline operator is dealing with other passengers.

Especially as for some flows it is logical to change at Liverpool Street (Stratford -> Seven Sisters etc)

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Which can be a right pain if the station is busy and the gateline operator is dealing with other passengers.

Especially as for some flows it is logical to change at Liverpool Street (Stratford -> Seven Sisters etc)

Exactly.

It would be a ridiculously easy fix as well - just set each gateline as if it was a different station, call them Liverpool Street A and Liverpool Street B or something.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Liverpool Street.

No way of getting between the two halves of the station except by going through the barriers onto the concourse, and both lots of barrier lines are programmed as one - meaning you get a passback if you are connecting between the high numbered and the low numbered platforms.

It's a nightmare, especially when back and forthing on a Travelcard because the staff get fed up of having to let the same person in and out multiple times, valid as I am in doing so.