Waiting in the cold at Euston

[HarleyDavidson]

Indeed. Airlines seem to manage to have "go to gate" and "boarding", no reason I can see why Euston should not have the same.

Neil

Because of one thing. It's far too sensible. :roll:

 

[Tetchytyke]

And if you want respect, then try showing some to those of us who work all hours & times of day to keep you office [censored] in transportation & work.

You don't run the London Midland twitter feed do you?

 

[Yew]

I can tell you there most likely wasn't a fault ... how? because they do it all the time! The amount of times I go down to the platform at Euston and you are left standing there waiting whilst the crowd gets bigger, and then when the doors do finally open (usually about a minute or two before departure time) there is a mad rush to grab a seat and any food you've brought with you to eat on the train has gone stone cold.

Irritating isn't the word

Its getting almost as bad as in some of the big american railway terminals to be honest, beign left standing on a concourse with insufficient seating, whilst you wait for your train to arrive be announced as the one you saw pull into the platform half an hour ago

 

[HarleyDavidson]

You don't run the London Midland twitter feed do you?

Ooh, you are awful ... but I like you!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Its getting almost as bad as in some of the big american railway terminals to be honest, beign left standing on a concourse with insufficient seating, whilst you wait for your train to arrive be announced as the one you saw pull into the platform half an hour ago

If it bothers you that much (as it does me at times) a combination of realtimetrains.co.uk and the arrivals board should allow you to go and stand on what will almost certainly be the right platform (but listen out for last minute changes)...

Neil

 

[PeterY]

Just an addition question.
When London Midland trains terminate at Tring or Milton Keynes, awaiting the return trip back to Euston, are the doors left locked until departure?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Just an addition question.
When London Midland trains terminate at Tring or Milton Keynes, awaiting the return trip back to Euston, are the doors left locked until departure?

No, but it isn't a comparable situation as the traincrew do not leave the train.

Neil

 

[Aictos]

I disagree. Have you seen the Euston scrum?

Neil

I have and it's like a battleground in the peak, good practise if you happen to be a rugby player though....

I was on the platform once at Euston comparing notes on dispatch with the LM dispatchers there and as they had two trains in the platform; the front 4 for Crewe and the back 4 for Birmingham via Northampton, the back 4 was locked out of use as passengers including myself travelling to Milton Keynes, Rugby and onwards were advised to get the front 4 as it be quicker then boarding the back 4.

Once the Crewe train had departed, the guard released the doors on the Birmingham via Northampton train, I guess this was done so passengers travelling to Milton Keynes and onwards couldn't complain they weren't told about the faster service.

End of day, trains shouldn't be advertised until they're ready to be boarded as you've got to give the turnaround cleaners time to prep the train for it's next working especially at a busy London terminus, once the train is ready then and only then should it be advertised for boarding.

Especially considering the condition that some passengers leave the trains in :roll:

 

[Minilad]

In the morning at New St it is common for two Voyagers to come in from Central Rivers and split only to depart in different directions at close intervals. It isn't uncommon for the later departure to have to doors kept locked until the first departure has gone to avoid having people get on the wrong train. Despite announcements on train at least one passenger invariably ends up on the wrong train otherwise

 

[sarahj]

Just to add to the mix, down here in Southern land, with 377's and 442's, its the drivers that open the doors. We as guards/ conductors whatever, have to stand and wait like the rest. units are normally only locked out of use if. It's been berthed on the platform for a while, or another unit has come on top, then left or Its been split/ attached after arriving at a terminal station.

And yes, at Victoria etc...we do get asked where is the front of the train.

 

[Taunton]

And yes, at Victoria etc...we do get asked where is the front of the train.

This issue was addressed long ago in BR days, when confusion about signage for "front" and "rear", which in railway terms referred to the train as it departed, but to some passengers it referred to how they had seen it arrive, was overcome by changing the signage to "4 coaches nearest to barrier" and "8 coaches further from barrier". Did we really have to go back to "front" and "rear".

 

[Aictos]

This issue was addressed long ago in BR days, when confusion about signage for "front" and "rear", which in railway terms referred to the train as it departed, but to some passengers it referred to how they had seen it arrive, was overcome by changing the signage to "4 coaches nearest to barrier" and "8 coaches further from barrier". Did we really have to go back to "front" and "rear".

Yes because some people are so dependant on rail apps that even if the user misreads the information from the app or if the app itself is a fault these same people need to be puppy walked from station of origin to destination.

Because in their eyes, everything/everyone else is wrong and they're always right hence why stuff that seems petty to you and I is drastically needed for these people!

 

[plastictaffy]

It's not the driver's job to open the doors. Some do, some don't. If the guard is late on an inbound service (but not late enough to delay the outgoing service), the doors won't be opened til he or she gets there. Some of our jobs are booked for an incredibly tight turnaround at Euston - some of them are arrive, dispose of incoming train on say, platform 14, then get round to, say, platform 8 within 10-12 minutes.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I have and it's like a battleground in the peak, good practise if you happen to be a rugby player though....

I was on the platform once at Euston comparing notes on dispatch with the LM dispatchers there and as they had two trains in the platform; the front 4 for Crewe and the back 4 for Birmingham via Northampton, the back 4 was locked out of use as passengers including myself travelling to Milton Keynes, Rugby and onwards were advised to get the front 4 as it be quicker then boarding the back 4.

Once the Crewe train had departed, the guard released the doors on the Birmingham via Northampton train, I guess this was done so passengers travelling to Milton Keynes and onwards couldn't complain they weren't told about the faster service.

End of day, trains shouldn't be advertised until they're ready to be boarded as you've got to give the turnaround cleaners time to prep the train for it's next working especially at a busy London terminus, once the train is ready then and only then should it be advertised for boarding.

Especially considering the condition that some passengers leave the trains in :roll:

There is (or certainly was) one that would come into Euston (Platform 16, I think) as a 12 car in the morning peak and split three ways, for xx46, xx49 and either the xx54 or 13, I can never remember which. Was a Bletchley job. That would give rise to three seperate services, each with a Guard and driver on, all going to three different places. The boards upstairs would have to have all three on the same platform, due to it being so tight between the three departures. Soon as the xx46 gets the nod and the doors are closed, we release the doors on the 49, and the same on the xx54.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Just an addition question.
When London Midland trains terminate at Tring or Milton Keynes, awaiting the return trip back to Euston, are the doors left locked until departure?

Sometimes we are booked to close the doors, if the unit has been coupled to something else and requires a cab prep. There's only a couple though, one certainly at The Keynes, and one at Northampton.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Probably better if the platform number isn't displayed until it's ready for boarding. Do both Virgin and LM have enough train crews so that when one train arrives at Euston, they go for a break and another crew take the train out then the original crew take a train out say an hour later?

That would allow plenty of time for the train crew to do their checks, so the driver and guard could be around once the checks have been done to allow the train to be opened up early to allow people to board (and avoid a mad rush which would risk the train being delayed)

Nothing to do with how many traincrews they have, and everything to do with the ridiculously tight diagrams we are expected to follow. Often, the driver and Guard come in on seperate services. I could work in on an express from Northampton, but the driver could be working in on a Tring Terminator. We have one of those stupidly tight diagrams in the morning where we arrive, lock up a 12 car on platform 8 or so, then we are meant to catch a Virgin service to Milton Keynes for another service back to London that usually goes off 14ish. The turnaround is about 14 minutes, and since the timetable change, it's missed as often as it's made.