Blackpool North platform staff

[1D54]

EMR services at Norwich are always locked off when everyone has disembarked from arrival and people are only allowed to get on just before departure. Could be a crew thing as I'm not sure if I've ever seen cleaners at work.

 

[LowLevel]

EMR services at Norwich are always locked off when everyone has disembarked from arrival and people are only allowed to get on just before departure. Could be a crew thing as I'm not sure if I've ever seen cleaners at work.

All EMR trains at Norwich are given a thorough clean and service hence being locked up, they get another litter pick between Nottingham and Chesterfield by a mobile cleaner and a lighter clean at Liverpool.

If the crew are booked a break or a crew change the set won't be opened back up again until the crew arrive back. If the Sheringham leaving at xx45 is booked to be on top platform sharing in addition many crews will leave the train locked up until that has gone to avoid people boarding the wrong train.

 

[dk1]

EMR services at Norwich are always locked off when everyone has disembarked from arrival and people are only allowed to get on just before departure. Could be a crew thing as I'm not sure if I've ever seen cleaners at work.

That is very much a cleaner/crew thing and also because they tend to share a platform with a Sheringham departure that leaves 10-12 minutes beforehand.

Those cleaners do a really good job too often turning the unit around & placing seat reservations in 20 minutes.

 

[Llandudno]

That is very much a cleaner/crew thing and also because they tend to share a platform with a Sheringham departure that leaves 10-12 minutes beforehand.

Those cleaners do a really good job too often turning the unit around & placing seat reservations in 20 minutes.

Not sure there are seat reservations on EMR Norwich-Liverpool trains?

It’s normally a free for all at Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly!

 

[dk1]

Not sure there are seat reservations on EMR Norwich-Liverpool trains?

It’s normally a free for all at Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly!

There very much are seat reservations on the two coaches that start/continue east of Nottingham. Whether anyone conforms to them is a very different matter. Remember those trains are often reformed at Nottingham in both directions during any disruption.

 

[LowLevel]

There very much are seat reservations on the two coaches that start/continue east of Nottingham. Whether anyone conforms to them is a very different matter. Remember those trains are often reformed at Nottingham in both directions during any disruption.

Not anymore there aren't, they were withdrawn as a trial measure just before COVID happened and never returned. Been 4 years now!

 

[dk1]

Not anymore there aren't, they were withdrawn as a trial measure just before COVID happened and never returned. Been 4 years now!

Are you sure? EMR are the only ones I see with reservations at Norwich. Us at GA however suspended them at that time during the rolling stock transformation and never resurrected them.

 

[bramling]

Yes I have experienced this; see previous threads on the subject.

It's a cultural problem that Northern rail are either unwilling or unable to address.

It seems to be filed the same way as some of the Euston / West Coast staffing issues. Namely in the “too difficult to sort” box.

I've never experienced any supermarket staff to behave in a manner comparable to how staff at BPN have been known to behave. I would be shocked if I did and I would expect the matter to be dealt with

My local council is about as unpleasant to interact with.

Some of the staff at BPN are not suitable for public facing roles; the training is inadequate and insufficient safeguards are on place by Northern to detect and deal with inappropriate behaviour by staff

I think Northern are fully aware of what goes on there. But rocking the boat would likely be seen as creating more problems than it would solve.

What is unfortunate is they didn’t take the opportunity during electrification to sort out some of the issues in terms of how the station is operated.

It will never change , at least not in the current climate and with current management.

Reluctantly agreed. For Northern it is a tiny issue, essentially out of sight and out of mind. Been going on for many years. For those who find the station unpleasant to use, there’s always Blackpool South.

 

[LowLevel]

Are you sure? EMR are the only ones I see with reservations at Norwich. Us at GA however suspended them at that time during the rolling stock transformation and never resurrected them.

Yes, I'm the guard on them frequently and have been for years They went in Feb 2020.

It used to be our job to put them on for Nottingham starters and I don't miss it!

 

[dk1]

Yes, I'm the guard on them frequently and have been for years They went in Feb 2020.

It used to be our job to put them on for Nottingham starters and I don't miss it!

Cheers for that. I could’ve sworn I’ve got on at Norwich noticing cards on seats and gone into the other carriage within the last four years. Time must fly. Would be a headache now the 158/170 mix is back again after a 17 year break.

 

[bramling]

These threads pop up every so often. I’m tempted to visit to see for myself whether the staff really are rude, or whether it’s just something people on here complain about!

Trust me, it is a genuine issue. Or at least it was when I last used the station, and there seems to be little hint that things have changed.

The culture is essentially one of deep suspicion, hence everyone is treated with a degree of hostility.

The arrangement of not letting people onto the platform until just before departure doesn’t sound ideal, and is an obvious source of conflict. It’s hard to imagine what the reason for that might be when other much busier stations don’t do it.

I think it’s partly a case of “this is how we’ve always done things here”, and for all we know the staff may well think that their local arrangement for working the station *is* normal. The difficulty is that anyone used to the rest of the railway system can turn up there and go about their business just as they would at any other station, and very soon find themselves being admonished.

There may be a couple of places in Scotland that work this way, but otherwise the only obvious comparisons are Skegness and (at one time at least?) Exmouth. And to some extent perhaps Euston nowadays. Skegness is a pocket-sized version of Blackpool North but seemingly with less of the unpleasantness.

 

[furnessvale]

Reluctantly agreed. For Northern it is a tiny issue, essentially out of sight and out of mind. Been going on for many years. For those who find the station unpleasant to use, there’s always Blackpool South.

Didn't they sort out Blackpool South good and proper this weekend by cancelling ALL trains, just in case any of those pesky passengers tried to miss the fun at North.

 

[dk1]

Didn't they sort out Blackpool South good and proper this weekend by cancelling ALL trains, just in case any of those pesky passengers tried to miss the fun at North.

I think it’s only an hourly shuttle at best.

 

[LowLevel]

Trust me, it is a genuine issue. Or at least it was when I last used the station, and there seems to be little hint that things have changed.

The culture is essentially one of deep suspicion, hence everyone is treated with a degree of hostility.



I think it’s partly a case of “this is how we’ve always done things here”, and for all we know the staff may well think that their local arrangement for working the station *is* normal. The difficulty is that anyone used to the rest of the railway system can turn up there and go about their business just as they would at any other station, and very soon find themselves being admonished.

There may be a couple of places in Scotland that work this way, but otherwise the only obvious comparisons are Skegness and (at one time at least?) Exmouth. And to some extent perhaps Euston nowadays. Skegness is a pocket-sized version of Blackpool North but seemingly with less of the unpleasantness.

Skegness works generally very well and the station staff there are extremely well regarded, which seems to be the opposite to the Blackpool North of the last 50 years

The train arrives, the inbound passengers get off with their piles of stuff, it gets cleaned, and then the guard checks tickets on the gate picking up issues as they arise and the platform staff deal with passenger assistance, help keep the flow of luggage moving to a manageable level and even out the loadings on what are generally insufficiently long trains with plenty of difficult passengers.

It is rather like how the railways in the UK regularly operated at many locations before the BR open stations concept got rid of most station staff and is far more civilised than the St Pancras and Euston scrum - the main difference is that it's a manual ticket check because Skegvegas is most unlikely to ever acquire a gateline

I honestly cannot see any comparison between Skegness loading an hourly under resourced leisure travellers train making a 2 plus hour journey whilst also cleaning it and checking tickets in a relatively orderly fashion with largely friendly and helpful if somewhat frazzled staff and the Blackpool North experience and I'm not sure why they're ever compared as such.

Someone deciding a train is ready for boarding half way through a 5 hour round trip whilst it is unloaded or cleaned isn't exactly unusual in the UK or elsewhere.

If you're suggesting the better alternative is to remove the gates, let the train arrive with the platforms already full and then have a massive free for all on changeover day between 4-500 arriving and departing passengers, all with luggage, "GET A TABLE", 2 wheelchairs on and off, other passenger assists and the cleaners fighting their way through as well and giving up any attempt at protecting revenue if the train is full and standing 3 car 170 then I'm afraid bitter experience tells me that you are most definitely wrong!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is Blackpool North railway station a training ground for the military in dealing with events where they are charged with keeping "the locals" under control in overseas combat situations?

 

[bramling]

Skegness works generally very well and the station staff there are extremely well regarded, which seems to be the opposite to the Blackpool North of the last 50 years

The train arrives, the inbound passengers get off with their piles of stuff, it gets cleaned, and then the guard checks tickets on the gate picking up issues as they arise and the platform staff deal with passenger assistance, help keep the flow of luggage moving to a manageable level and even out the loadings on what are generally insufficiently long trains with plenty of difficult passengers.

It is rather like how the railways in the UK regularly operated at many locations before the BR open stations concept got rid of most station staff and is far more civilised than the St Pancras and Euston scrum - the main difference is that it's a manual ticket check because Skegvegas is most unlikely to ever acquire a gateline

I honestly cannot see any comparison between Skegness loading an hourly under resourced leisure travellers train making a 2 plus hour journey whilst also cleaning it and checking tickets in a relatively orderly fashion with largely friendly and helpful if somewhat frazzled staff and the Blackpool North experience and I'm not sure why they're ever compared as such.

Someone deciding a train is ready for boarding half way through a 5 hour round trip whilst it is unloaded or cleaned isn't exactly unusual in the UK or elsewhere.

If you're suggesting the better alternative is to remove the gates, let the train arrive with the platforms already full and then have a massive free for all on changeover day between 4-500 arriving and departing passengers, all with luggage, "GET A TABLE", 2 wheelchairs on and off, other passenger assists and the cleaners fighting their way through as well and giving up any attempt at protecting revenue if the train is full and standing 3 car 170 then I'm afraid bitter experience tells me that you are most definitely wrong!

I have to say I have had a negative experience at Skegness, albeit some years ago (probably far enough back that it was in CT days). Winter, and got off the lightly loaded 170, started unfolding and sorting out my Brompton, and after a couple of minutes was rather rudely barked at for being on the platform. So can’t claim to be particularly impressed, and not entirely dissimilar from what one typically experiences at Blackpool North.

However this was a while ago and for all I know may have been an isolated experience, as I haven’t been to a Skegness by train since. But equally, shades of Blackpool North nonetheless.

I guess the other comparison is that Skegness, like Blackpool, is something of a dump.

 

[railfan99]

Common sense seems lacking replaced by risk liability in every walk of life.

You've hit upon a major problem in Western majority English-speaking nations: Australia, Canada, UK. Probably USA beats all with its litigiousness but have not been there for eight years.

If I visit UK again, it'll be on my list to 'do'. I went to Blackpool c.30 years ago: I must have used Bl. Nth. but lack memory.

 

[dk1]

You've hit upon a major problem in Western majority English-speaking nations: Australia, Canada, UK. Probably USA beats all with its litigiousness but have not been there for eight years.

If I visit UK again, it'll be on my list to 'do'. I went to Blackpool c.30 years ago: I must have used Bl. Nth. but lack memory.

You’ll notice a bit of difference outside North Station (if indeed it was the one you used) when you arrive next time.

 

[Vespa]

The only way to defeat the staff at Blackpool North and Skegness is a mass boycott, the only thing entering the station concourse should be tumbleweeds, since Blackpool and Skegness has turned into a dump, that would be a lot easier.

 

[dk1]

The only way to defeat the staff at Blackpool North and Skegness is a mass boycott, the only thing entering the station concourse should be tumbleweeds, since Blackpool and Skegness has turned into a dump, that would be a lot easier.

How does a mass boycott work? If you need to go to Blackpool or Skegness and train is your choice of travel then it is what it is. Apart from a few enthusiasts I don’t think the general public knows or cares what the staff are like at any particular station.

 

[Trackman]

So very odd if that is the official line. Where does falling onto the tracks ever come into any consideration? If London & the SE can function as well as other metropolis, what’s so special about Blackpool North?

If you find the original thread as posted, someone asked about it, think it was overcrowding/drunks.

 

[LowLevel]

I have to say I have had a negative experience at Skegness, albeit some years ago (probably far enough back that it was in CT days). Winter, and got off the lightly loaded 170, started unfolding and sorting out my Brompton, and after a couple of minutes was rather rudely barked at for being on the platform. So can’t claim to be particularly impressed, and not entirely dissimilar from what one typically experiences at Blackpool North.

However this was a while ago and for all I know may have been an isolated experience, as I haven’t been to a Skegness by train since. But equally, shades of Blackpool North nonetheless.

I guess the other comparison is that Skegness, like Blackpool, is something of a dump.

The staff from those times are long - the current lot are more along the ethical lines of driving people home in their own cars if rail replacement doesn't turn up

The only thing that occasionally provokes a response is enthusiasts deciding to wander off up to the signalbox without saying anything, largely because NR management kicked off that several cranks had taken it upon themselves to just walk into the box and starting taking pictures without so much as a by your leave.

 

[dk1]

If you find the original thread as posted, someone asked about it, think it was overcrowding/drunks.

Both go with the territory in Blackpool.

 

[Chrius56000]

My experience of Blackpool North's surly and extremely customer unfriendly staff is nothing to write home about either – I have gout/arthritis that restricts my mobility to the extent that I cannot walk quickly or get off a train quickly and I got screamed at three years ago because I couldn't walk off the platform from an arriving train straight away because of gout pain in my knee joints – one of them even accused me of being drunk and threatened to call the police!

(I had a Seven Day Lancashire Day Rover as well as a valid digital Senior Railcard on my phone!)

If there is any station that wants all the facilities closing and the station reducing to a non–signalled unstaffed halt like Blackpool South, Morecambe or Sheringham it has to be this one!

At the moment, the number of staffed seaside terminal stations that remain open to passenger traffic isn't large – there's Blackpool North, Bognor Regis, Clacton, Cleethorpes, Eastbourne, Great Yarmouth, Llandudno, Littlehampton, Lowestoft, Lymington, Penzance, Scarborough, Skegness and Weymouth – apart from Skegness (which is also a semaphore–signalled terminus along with Bognor and Littlehampton!) and which also has a reputation for being unfriendly to customers, are any of the other stations I mentioned anything like Blackpool North?

Chris Williams

 

[wilbers]

How does a mass boycott work? If you need to go to Blackpool or Skegness and train is your choice of travel then it is what it is. Apart from a few enthusiasts I don’t think the general public knows or cares what the staff are like at any particular station.

Unlike almost everywhere else its theoretically possible to boycott the station but still go to Blackpool by train. In most cases more inconvenient, but it is possible by using Blackpool South (or Pleasure Beach).

 

[dk1]

Unlike almost everywhere else its theoretically possible to boycott the station but still go to Blackpool by train. In most cases more inconvenient, but it is possible by using Blackpool South (or Pleasure Beach).

I don’t think anyone will bother doing that

 

[Howardh]

I've just got on a train from Blackpool North and the staff were just fine, nice and cheery!
As an aside the new tram terminus adjacent looks rather uninspiring, doesn't look like there's much in the way of shelter so maybe the station itself could have a "tram due" sign so we can wait there?

 

[Chrius56000]

. . .My experience was three years ago admittedly!

Chris Williams

 

[pokemonsuper9]

the number of staffed seaside terminal stations that remain open to passenger traffic isn't large – there's Blackpool North, Bognor Regis, Clacton, Cleethorpes, Eastbourne, Great Yarmouth, Llandudno, Littlehampton, Lowestoft, Lymington, Penzance, Scarborough, Skegness and Weymouth

Southend Victoria is staffed, not sure about Southend Central or Shoeburyness, but would imagine they are.

Southend Victoria staff don't let you on the platform if a train is due to divide or join, which is annoying (I'd love to get a video) but understandable.

 

[Howardh]

Southend Victoria is staffed, not sure about Southend Central or Shoeburyness, but would imagine they are.

Southend Victoria staff don't let you on the platform if a train is due to divide or join, which is annoying (I'd love to get a video) but understandable.

Blackpool is like an airport, they let you through the ticket gate but then there's (often) a queue waiting for the platform doors to open, even when the train's there ready for you. That being said, they let us board a good 10 mins before setting off today, plenty of time! Another seaside terminus, Brighton, I'm not sure if they will let you through the ticket gate if your train isn't ready to board - never tried it, anyone? But there the ticket gate IS the boarding gate unlike Blackpool.

But back to Blackpool, there's no way to get to the inner cafe if you want a brew if you aren't catching a train (ie ticketless) and I doubt the gate staff will allow you through just to use the cafe, even if you are "seeing off" a friend who has a ticket. Has anyone managed that? Note, there is the cafe outside the gate, but often a queue and sometimes full with no seating.