Sutton station allegedly locked before the last train

[Mojo]

From "The Metro" - http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/22/passe...ff-lock-up-before-last-train-arrives-5768736/

Passengers were forced to break out of a [railway] station after staff locked up for the night before the last train had arrived.

A group of people heaved up the heavy metal shutters at the exit to the station after finding themselves trapped inside in the early hours of Sunday morning.

An estimated 100 passengers were on board the train from London Victoria when it terminated at Sutton station, south London at about 1.30am on Sunday.

One passenger recorded a video that showed four men struggling to hold up the shutters to the station’s main entrance as passengers crawled out.

The passenger, who did not wish to be named, shot the video on his way home to Banstead, Surrey. He said: ‘I was on the last train back to Sutton and got off along with perhaps 100 other people.

‘The ticket barriers were open but the shutters were shut.’ The passenger, who had been drinking in Balham after watching the six nations rugby, said people started heading towards the second exit but he noticed they were turning away from that too.

He said: ‘There was kind of an air of panic as we realised we were trapped in the station. A few of us took the initiative to force out of the shutters and break out.

‘It took about five or six of us to get our hands underneath and force it upwards.’

The group managed to force the shutters up about a metre so people could crawl out while they held it up for them.

He said: ‘There were absolutely no staff. We were looking around for staff but there was no one at all.

‘I had an idea that they had probably clocked off without realising not all the trains had got back. This was the last one but I don’t think it was running late at all.’

Southern Railways, which manages Sutton Station, said a member of staff had been at the station checking that all passengers had got off the train.

A spokesperson added the train was not usually scheduled to call at the station, meaning staff had not expected it and had closed the shutters before it arrived.

He said: ‘Unbeknownst to passengers, a member of staff was on duty at the time, ensuring that the train they came in on was empty of passengers in order to return to the depot.

‘The shutters had been closed at the end of the normal day’s service, but the later train was an unexpected arrival so a staff member went to attend to the train as soon as it arrived.

‘It’s not a case of there being nobody around and the staff had gone home and left people shut in there.’

He added that the shutters had not been damaged and locked again by staff after passengers had left.

Don't quite understand this story; if the train was not scheduled to call then how come there were apparently so many "an estimated 100 [customers]?"

 

[Southern]

http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/22/passe...ff-lock-up-before-last-train-arrives-5768736/

An estimated 100 passengers were on board the train from London Victoria when it terminated at Sutton station, south London at about 1.30am on Sunday.

A spokesperson added the train was not usually scheduled to call at the station, meaning staff had not expected it and had closed the shutters before it arrived.

To begin with, there doesn't appear to be a 1.30am arrival at Sutton - the last train arrives just gone a quarter to one. And it is scheduled to call. Frequently.

 

[MrB]

Seems to be some quite large discrepancies here, I get the idea we're not being given the whole picture.

 

[Clip]

Just bizzare but it seems it was terminated there so maybe the word didnt get through.

 

[tsr]

I've not heard of this happening at Sutton before, and only at a couple of other stations on the Southern network. I think the most regular incidents occur at Tulse Hill, though I'm not really sure why that station in particular, and I can still only recall a couple of instances at that one.

If the member of staff (and actually probably at the very least only one) on the station knew they had a terminating service coming in they would also have been expecting passengers; station staff generally also have a pretty decent idea of when the last train will be on any given evening, and waiting until it arrives is very much part of the overall Southern station staff culture for those stations where it's necessary, even short-notice arrivals of which staff were not initially aware when they booked on. It feels highly likely to me that the shutters were closed to prevent intending passengers entering the station if no further departures were available and the staff member was then informed of a further arrival. Either the member of staff then forgot to open them for the departing passengers, or tried to tell them to wait in the booking hall but couldn't get them to understand. I can't say for certain, but that's my gut instinct, plus I sign Sutton and that would be a logical procedure there.

The pictures on the Metro website appear to show the door being prised open from the outside. It is all too easy to imagine patrons of one of the nearby pubs to decide that fellow revellers, probably crashing around a fair bit in the station entrance, needed some help and tried to open the door to let them leave. In reality the member of staff was probably evicting the last few people from the last train and was about to work out what all the noise was about upstairs.

If there was any danger, Sutton is not only staffed but also has a number of help points of various descriptions. These link to Southern Control, who would have the on-call manager's number, and this would be used to ensure the station was reopened.

 

[CyrusWuff]

I've never used the station in question, but the station plan on the NRE site shows there are two entrances. Is it possible the main entrance (right in front of you when coming up the stairs from the Platform 2 & 3 island) was shuttered but the "side" entrance (off to the left at the opposite end of the bridge) was open?

 

[Kite159]

I'm guessing this is the train they came off:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/W65140/2016/03/20/advanced

(2R46 0034 London Victoria to Sutton)

Funny how it appears in one form of another every Sunday morning (bar a couple RRBs)

 

[Southern]

Seems to be some quite large discrepancies here, I get the idea we're not being given the whole picture.

Indeed, it seemed a little odd as I was reading it...I wonder who the alleged "spokesperson" was.

 

[sheff1]

To begin with, there doesn't appear to be a 1.30am arrival at Sutton - the last train arrives just gone a quarter to one.

There is a scheduled arrival at 0116 which seems close enough, especially by the time the passengers have staggered across to the exit

 

[Southern]

There is a scheduled arrival at 0116 which seems close enough, especially by the time the passengers have staggered across to the exit

Just realised I've put quarter to one instead of quarter past one. It's been one of those days...