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Blackpool North: The most unfriendly station in the country?
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Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
It's a service level agreement, possibly defined as part of their franchise agreement.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll await their reply before deciding what to do next.
It just smacks of gross negligence that a small number of Northern staff think it’s okay to make derogatory comments about passengers.
DJ_K666
Member
You should have it printed out onto A1 size paper and then email it to the station manager with a CC to the CEO and the Sun newspaper saying that if the staff attitude does not improve by the end of the week it will be snuck into the advertisement frames (tell them you have a key, you might not but they don't need to know that) Tell them you've sent copies to twenty other people so it'll keep appearing as fast as they can remove it. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in his office when he opens that email lol
I would certainly be interesting the reply you might get... In fact i might try the same with Southern...
trainophile
Established Member
Credit where it’s due, very friendly gate staff this morning, even made a quip about me going to St Anne’s when I messed up putting my ticket through the slot. Lady at ticket desk really nice too. Must be the sunshine!
ABB125
Established Member
Similarly, I had no problems yesterday. I arrived, quickly walked to the platform end to get some pictures of my train and the others at the station, then walked to the concourse and left. No issues from any staff.
On my return, I arrived maybe 40 minutes before my train was due (having run out of things to do in Blackpool) and sat on a bench in the concourse. I noted the extra barriers, but they let us on to the platform 20 minutes before departure, so again no issues. I walked to the end of the platform, took some pictures, and got on the train at the front.
However, I'll have to visit again in "normal" times to see what, if anything, has changed.
On my return, I arrived maybe 40 minutes before my train was due (having run out of things to do in Blackpool) and sat on a bench in the concourse. I noted the extra barriers, but they let us on to the platform 20 minutes before departure, so again no issues. I walked to the end of the platform, took some pictures, and got on the train at the front.
However, I'll have to visit again in "normal" times to see what, if anything, has changed.
philthetube
Established Member
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you certainly won't have issues with station staff at Blackpool South.
trainophile
Established Member
Meaning there aren’t any?
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
py_megapixel
Established Member
If you know about this in advance, and print your tickets beforehand, is there a side entrance that one can take to bypass the "holding area" and get straight onto the platforms?
I know this is the case at some stations, such as Manchester Oxford Road.
I know this is the case at some stations, such as Manchester Oxford Road.
There is not and even if there were you'd be fetched by a member of staff before to long and sent back to the holding area.
LOL The Irony
On Moderation
It does exist, it's just hardly used (I have used it before, I just can't remember when, sometime during or after the electrification).
In that case I stand corrected on the first part of my post but I remain fairly confident on the second! Such a miscreant would soon be rounded up and sent back to the holding area.
bramling
Veteran Member
It is a fair walk though, and the bit around the station isn’t the nicest of areas. Personally I’d only go that way if I was actually aiming for the area around South. I wouldn’t do it just to avoid North.
trainophile
Established Member
Having used North with no bother I’m glad I did, not least because the train from Lime Street was one of the new class 195s, clean, comfortable and super-deluxe by Northern’s standards and would be a credit to any operator.
However changing at Kirkham & Wesham yesterday (now there’s a strange little place) onto the Blackpool South line, it was back to ‘the old normal’, i.e. a crowded 2-coach rickety old 150 which appeared to be in need of a deep clean. Social distancing was not even remotely possible and it’s a long wait for the next one (hourly service) so we had to take our chance.
However changing at Kirkham & Wesham yesterday (now there’s a strange little place) onto the Blackpool South line, it was back to ‘the old normal’, i.e. a crowded 2-coach rickety old 150 which appeared to be in need of a deep clean. Social distancing was not even remotely possible and it’s a long wait for the next one (hourly service) so we had to take our chance.
Mitchell Hurd
On Moderation
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- 28 Oct 2017
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Has Northern really put that poster up with those uninvited comments? Not exactly very professional of them if it was. If it was some sort of joke and that it may have been funny but not very good to publicly put that.
Sorry, I don't mean to dampen the mood on here but I'm very surprised!
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py_megapixel
Established Member
Where abouts is it? I might try to use it, given that I hate to be stuck indoors, and see what happens.
If you are thinking about the gate on p4 it’s not for public use and is usually locked.
The other public entrance was up some steps to p1, but that went about 40 years ago.
Doesn't that apply for the whole of Blackpool other than the sea front?
d9009alycidon
Member
I would argue that the closer you get to the sea front the worse it gets, the warren of streets and lanes just behind the promenade are horrible, but the further inland you get it has a much nicer feel to it.
trainophile
Established Member
It’s been very busy the last couple of days, queues outside most of the shops, and a long one for the Tower at 10:00 this morning.
BPN not so wonderful today, no departure boards working in the arrival hall and they only cranked up the platform ones eventually.
They finally let us through for the 12:03 at 12:02:40! Needless to say we departed 2 minutes late.
BPN not so wonderful today, no departure boards working in the arrival hall and they only cranked up the platform ones eventually.
They finally let us through for the 12:03 at 12:02:40! Needless to say we departed 2 minutes late.
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
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A Northern train service possibly incurring delay minutes due to Northern platform / dispatch staff has a certain irony, doesn't it?
py_megapixel
Established Member
I bet if the staff in question were made to pay the Network Rail penalty for delay minutes they'd soon start dispatching in good time...
LOL The Irony
On Moderation
Yeah, it's kept closed most of the time IIRC, but the one & only time I used it. The strange part was nobody checked our tickets.
In between the main entrance and the cycle storage. It's usually shuttered.
No, it's still on P1. Here's a picture of it from streetview
I'm fairly confident that it's a work of sarcasm developed by somebody who doesn't represent Northern. The poster you quoted is suggesting that they should be surreptitiously displayed in the station in an attempt to make it look like an official communication.
DJ_K666
Member
No it's a joke poster someone of this parish made up. Having a few printed up and sneaking them into the advert frames at 2am would be funny as hell though. They have those allen keys with the spigot in them if anyone is tempted... [sarcasm]Not that I can condone trashing the TOCs obviously [/sarcasm]
DJ_K666
Member
Absolutely. It would probably make the papers when someone spotted it and it would definitely make me fall out of my chair laughing along with anyone else who has had their ears chewed by the staff there.
DJ_K666
Member
Don't forget the legendary Blackpool guest house landlady...
py_megapixel
Established Member
This thread has been going now for almost five and a half years.
You'd think they'd have had at least some staff turnover; some new people who might be able to improve morale a bit...but no.
You'd think they'd have had at least some staff turnover; some new people who might be able to improve morale a bit...but no.
ForTheLoveOf
Established Member
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5 years is nothing in rail industry terms. Sheffield station has been well renowned for having poor customer service going back at least as far as the 80s, and I can hardly imagine that there are many staff left who are still working at the same station 40 years later.
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