Important stations with no toilets

Bovverboy · 17 Feb 2020

Bovverboy said:
I don't know the answer to your question, but a RADAR key alone wouldn't be able to open a toilet cubicle, if it is locked from the inside.

mmh said:
Lots of them will open if they're locked, so you're supposed to knock before using the key.

The idea of the lock is that it locks the door. Many of them don't do, not properly, but that's only if the lock's defective. A red/white disc is intended to indicate whether or not the toilet is occupied, but, there again, I'm aware that they don't always give a correct indication.

They have a disc on the outside which can be turned with a coin to unlock them when they're locked from the inside.

Of that I wasn't aware, but I'd never really thought about it.

Q.E.D. If the lock is activated, and it's working properly, a RADAR key wouldn't effect an entry.

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randyrippley · 17 Feb 2020

Morecambe
not big or important, just ironic in that it used to claim the largest gents station urinal suite in the UK, to cope with all the boozed up daytrippers from Yorkshire on works outings - arriving in non-corridor sets

infobleep · 18 Feb 2020

Bovverboy said:
I don't know the answer to your question, but a RADAR key alone wouldn't be able to open a toilet cubicle, if it is locked from the inside.

Yes it will if the inside toilet does not have a separate lock or catch and uses the most common type of RADAR toilet handle.

I think the idea is that in an emergency the loo can be opened easily from the outside

As an aside, all Wetherspoons accessible loos have a second handle to enable you to lock it so this cannot occur or the only handle is of. Type allowing you to lock.

I've had toilet door opened, whilst I've been inside, by staff and other users of the loos. Not just on railway stations but other places. This includes when I've had the handle up to show the loo is enagaed.

At one location they now have signs to ask people to knock. I once tried this at Wimbledon Station and the person inside had ago at me for being impatient. Had I just opened the door they would have been even more rude.

Not the first time people have had a go at me for using a disabled loo mind you, as I don't look like I need to use one. Fortunately it's very rare.

infobleep · 18 Feb 2020

urbophile said:
The toilet at my local station (Cressington on Merseyrail) is fully accessible to wheelchair users provided they don't also need to use a train. Both platforms are at a lower level only able to be reached by stairs.

yorksrob said:
Now that's a bizarre situation. I would hope they get around to putting in lifts/ramps at some stage.

I'd like to think they put it in for people who need access to an accessibility but can perfectly walk down stairs unaided. People like myself. Not all disabilities affect one's ability to use the stairs.

nimbus21 · 23 Feb 2020

mm333 said:
Shipley station is toilet-free. The nearest ones are in McDonalds (3 minutes walk away) and Asda (10 minutes walk away uphill), both open 24 hours.

3 minutes? It takes at least 3 minutes to cross the main road pelican!

Killingworth · 23 Feb 2020

Djgr said:
The half million Sunderland figure quoted doesn't include Metro users so it's actually much higher

Definition of "important" may be necessary. Sunderland as a city has a population of about 175k. There are over 900 busier stations in the UK, Metro journeys apart.

The Metro don't consider it important to provide their passengers with toilets on trains, even though many journeys will take half an hour or more, plus time waiting on the platform. The station is managed by Northern, with the latest traffic figures showing only 442k in the 2018/19 year.

Both Northern and Grand Central run to Sunderland and provide toilets on their trains. I travelled to Newcastle on a mainline train this week and changed onto the Metro for Sunderland. It was a cold and windy day so on arrival I looked for the toilet sign, up and down the length of two bleak underground platforms. Not a hint. Nothing either on the surface level.

My introduction to Sunderland (my first on foot since trams were withdrawn in 1954) wasn't starting well. I looked back at the building I'd just left. A city centre terminal to be proud of? A warm welcome to a reviving city? Umm. British Railways architecture of 1965 with modest updates. It hardly attracts new users from its visual impact.

It being winter I found some free toilets nearby inside a much more welcoming building with substantial gardens. A positive mark for Sunderland.

Bovverboy · 23 Feb 2020

mm333 said:
Shipley station is toilet-free. The nearest ones are in McDonalds (3 minutes walk away) and Asda (10 minutes walk away uphill), both open 24 hours.

Asda are subject to the same Sunday trading laws as any other supermarket, and the enforced close period is extended into adjacent days. So you should find Asda Shipley closed 2200 Sat to 1000 Sun, and 1600 Sun to 0700 Mon. Whether you would be able to use the facilities during opening hours remains to be determined.
McDonalds Shipley are coming up as being 24-hour only at weekends, closing between midnight and 0500 four days per week. So they aren't 24/7, but they are at least scheduled to be open when trains are running.

Bantamzen · 24 Feb 2020

Bovverboy said:
Asda are subject to the same Sunday trading laws as any other supermarket, and the enforced close period is extended into adjacent days. So you should find Asda Shipley closed 2200 Sat to 1000 Sun, and 1600 Sun to 0700 Mon. Whether you would be able to use the facilities during opening hours remains to be determined.
McDonalds Shipley are coming up as being 24-hour only at weekends, closing between midnight and 0500 four days per week. So they aren't 24/7, but they are at least scheduled to be open when trains are running.

The toilets at Asda are located alongside the tobacco / lottery stand and are easily accessible from the main entrance, so they would useable for anyone wandering past. However its a damn long walk for a loo stop, it'll talk a good five minutes if you get lucky with the traffic on Otley Road. And you'd end up passing the Wetherspoons on the way, so from 8am onwards that would be as good an option as Asda. My choice for a pit stop however is The Fox pub just behind P1, a great little pub with some very fine beers, some brewed on site. However for all day coverage, McDonalds would serve all trains as there are no trains before 5am and none after just gone 23:30 through Shipley.

Of course none of these options means that Shipley shouldn't have toilets, there has been a campaign for them going for as long as I can remember.

IamTrainsYT · 24 Feb 2020

The toilets at Manchester Victoria have been shut at least since The summer. Along with the lifts

AY1975 · 24 Feb 2020

IamTrainsYT said:
The toilets at Manchester Victoria have been shut at least since The summer.

I'm fairly sure that they were open when I was there last November.

IamTrainsYT · 24 Feb 2020

AY1975 said:
I'm fairly sure that they were open when I was there last November.

then your lucky, every time i have been they are shut. and i see plenty of complaints on twitter

Dibuzz · 24 Feb 2020

Earlestown doesn't have toilets, lifts or disabled access

Altfish · 24 Feb 2020

IamTrainsYT said:
then your lucky, every time i have been they are shut. and i see plenty of complaints on twitter

The ones in the bar are always open; at least I've never found them shut.

vlad · 24 Feb 2020

IamTrainsYT said:
The toilets at Manchester Victoria have been shut at least since The summer. Along with the lifts

I use Victoria every couple of months at the most frequent and I've never known the toilets to be out-of-use, even in January when none of the sink taps were working.

urbophile · 25 Feb 2020

infobleep said:
I'd like to think they put it in for people who need access to an accessibility but can perfectly walk down stairs unaided. People like myself. Not all disabilities affect one's ability to use the stairs.

Of course not. But in this case the toilet was built with extra wide door and (though I've never been inside, I presume) space for a wheelchair to manoeuvre. While at the same time the step into the station from the street was replaced by a ramp.

infobleep · 25 Feb 2020

urbophile said:
Of course not. But in this case the toilet was built with extra wide door and (though I've never been inside, I presume) space for a wheelchair to manoeuvre. While at the same time the step into the station from the street was replaced by a ramp.

Perhaps the local authority asked them to me put in.

yorksrob · 25 Feb 2020

randyrippley said:
Morecambe
not big or important, just ironic in that it used to claim the largest gents station urinal suite in the UK, to cope with all the boozed up daytrippers from Yorkshire on works outings - arriving in non-corridor sets

That is a claim to fame ! Does it still exist in the repurposed station building ?

randyrippley · 25 Feb 2020

yorksrob said:
That is a claim to fame ! Does it still exist in the repurposed station building ?

Unfortunately no, as best I can make out the urinals are now the pub bar area

yorksrob · 25 Feb 2020

randyrippley said:
Unfortunately no, as best I can make out the urinals are now the pub bar area

One would have thought they'd be quite handy for such an establishment !

AY1975 · 27 Feb 2020

Altfish said:
The ones in the bar are always open; at least I've never found them shut.

That's fine if you can get away with sneaking in and using theirs. Otherwise the nearest ones are at Shudehill Interchange (which I think are 20p), one stop on the tram going towards Piccadilly.

If the main ones at Victoria are often closed because of vandalism and/or anti-social behaviour, then surely the solution is to go back to charging for them (as they did when they were first refurbished), especially as Victoria is managed by Northern rather than by Network Rail itself.

Bovverboy · 27 Feb 2020

IamTrainsYT said:
The toilets at Manchester Victoria have been shut at least since The summer. Along with the lifts

vlad said:
I use Victoria every couple of months at the most frequent and I've never known the toilets to be out-of-use, even in January when none of the sink taps were working.

The lifts at Victoria have been out of use for a while, that is true. The toilets have now closed for refurbishment (as of 24/2/20, I think) but temporary ones have been set up on the opposite side of Victoria Station Approach.

Bovverboy · 27 Feb 2020

Altfish said:
The ones in the bar are always open; at least I've never found them shut.

AY1975 said:
That's fine if you can get away with sneaking in and using theirs. Otherwise the nearest ones are at Shudehill Interchange (which I think are 20p), one stop on the tram going towards Piccadilly.

For most of the day you've also got the Arndale Centre, there are 2/3 sets of toilets, one of which, IIRC, is close to the Exchange Square entrance.

boyaloud · 28 Feb 2020

Bovverboy said:
For most of the day you've also got the Arndale Centre, there are 2/3 sets of toilets, one of which, IIRC, is close to the Exchange Square entrance.

You also have the new Hotel Indigo, right outside the M+S exit of the station, very nice toilets in basement only a few steps down from ground level.

Vinnym · 28 Feb 2020

Vinnym said:
The toilets at St Helens Central have been closed since before Christmas. A sign on the barrier blocking access says closed for reconstruction refurbishment. Spoke to staff a few weeks ago who stated they had no idea when the work would start.
I emailed Northern who manage the station asking them to at least put a communication on the Station Updates section of their website, after four weeks got a reply thanking me for my communication but still done nothing about it.
Pretty poor really.

Pleased to report now operational again.

Important stations with no toilets

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