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One way systems at stations

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johntea

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Having recently returned from Kings Cross...

My train departed from Platform 0 yet the staff guarding the more direct entrance towards those platforms weren’t budging on the fact I had to loop all the way round to the main concourse entrance opposite St Pancras

It seems bonkers, maybe logical at the absolute peak times (9am / 5pm area) but this was 8pm on a Monday evening and the station was literally a ghost town, I would have passed maybe a whole one person, instead I had to pass by about 50 via the one way diversion so that worked really well!

How many years do they intend to carry on this nonsense, I'm glad it maybe gives some people a job but it can't be the most satisfying job in the world just guarding a door all day telling passengers tough luck follow the signs!
 
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timothyw9

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Don't get me started. Without these one-way systems there would be probably be less congestion(people) moving through the same area (which I thought was the point?) - these H&S/Risk Assessment people seem to have completely ignored how people act and how passenger flows work.

Manchester Piccadilly has introduced one-way systems and quite frankly they fail miserably.
  • The entrance to the station involves walking round Sainsburys/Pret underneath the Food Court and out on to the concourse near the toilets and P13/14 walkway doors. This would be the narrow end of the concourse - people just seem to gather round the area though so it makes no sense. (Also if you were going to Platform 1/2/3 you have to walk all the way across the concourse)
  • One way system on Platform 13. Does not work, as trains arriving on this Platform have come from Liverpool,Blackpool and Leeds there are a large amount of people getting off trains as opposed to getting on. To leave the platform you use the left side of the stairs(which is an escalator) - If 100 people get off a Blackpool-Hazel Grove service, it just gridlocks and social distancing goes out the window.
  • One way system on Platform 14. This sort of makes sense on Platform 14, but largely due to the wide staircase, also the flow of people is a bit more even.
 

Jamiescott1

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Despite the fact I don't really agree with one way systems,Marylebones is actually ok, although its a small station.
 

squizzler

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You would think with all the technology the industry has at its disposal that they could computer model the passenger traffic through the station and see how many close contacts are made in different configurations of the circulation areas. Rather than apparently get the station manager or whoever to make up their own scheme with little knowledge of outcomes.
 

westv

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Having recently returned from Kings Cross...

My train departed from Platform 0 yet the staff guarding the more direct entrance towards those platforms weren’t budging on the fact I had to loop all the way round to the main concourse entrance opposite St Pancras
If you are talking about the "entrance" directly in front of the platforms then, technically, this has been "exit only" for a long time but I've never taken any notice of that.
 

duncanp

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Birmingham New Street is just as bad.

The entrance from the Smallbrook Queensway side has two sets of doors, so one could be used for entry and one for exit.

But no, they make everyone enter via the Stephenson Street entrance by the tram stop.

Except rail staff that is.

They are allowed by their mates guarding the "exit only" doors to use those doors to enter the station. Apparently it is "safe" for them to do that.

Us plague ridden plebs passengers have to follow the rules, which seem to change from day to day.

And then of course there is the ridiculous system of only being allowed to access the platforms from the "B" end at the North of the station, and exit the platforms at the "A" end to the South.

The fact that there are still comparatively few passengers, and the station is large enough to accommodate everyone safely without all these silly restrictions seems to be lost on the station management, who seem to think "We must do something, this is something, so let's do it"
 

birchesgreen

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I've been avoided Birmingham New Street because of this nonsense, transferring at other stations even if it means taking extra trains.
 

AdamWW

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I've been avoided Birmingham New Street because of this nonsense, transferring at other stations even if it means taking extra trains.

Which was actually quite a good plan even before all of this.

I seem to recall signs on Cross Country trains advocating just that...
 

carlberry

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Except rail staff that is.

They are allowed by their mates guarding the "exit only" doors to use those doors to enter the station. Apparently it is "safe" for them to do that.

Us plague ridden plebs passengers have to follow the rules, which seem to change from day to day.
Apparently wearing a uniform is a very cheap and easy way of combating the virus (the same idea works in supermarkets for example). All the world governments are aware of this but don't want to release this information in case it causes a run on hi vis vests. :lol::lol:
 

talldave

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Apparently wearing a uniform is a very cheap and easy way of combating the virus (the same idea works in supermarkets for example). All the world governments are aware of this but don't want to release this information in case it causes a run on hi vis vests. :lol::lol:
...or Sainsbury's jumpers.

It's not just stations, it's taken until August for our Sainsbury's to realise that if they swapped the entry and exit doors, you remove the 100% crossover between the two streams of people. I could have told them that for free in March.

I know my school days were way back in the last century, but when was common sense removed from the syllabus??
 

yorkie

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Let's stick to stations in this thread; we have other threads for the other crazy stuff that's going on ;)
.... I would have passed maybe a whole one person, instead I had to pass by about 50 via the one way diversion so that worked really well!...
I can assure you it works as intended

It's not intended to reduce infections.

It's intended to:
- deter rail travel
- tick boxes
- be seen to be doing something
- justify some people's jobs

Network rail are absolutely happy with this arrangement and will not be changing their minds any time soon.

Don't make the mistake of thinking common sense or pragmaticism are welcome in the rail industry! This is totally incorrect and inconsistent with the ethos of Network Rail and DfT.

People like us would never cut the mustard working for them.
 

jtuk

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Which was actually quite a good plan even before all of this.

I seem to recall signs on Cross Country trains advocating just that...

I also remember those, usually suggesting Wolverhampton or Cheltenham, can't say I ever tried it but I'd consider it now given New Street is even more confusing to navigate back when I used it fairly regularly 15-20 years ago
 

duncanp

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Birmingham New Street must be one of the few large stations where the toilets are on the "paid" side of the ticket barriers.

One each in the "Red Lounge", "Blue Lounge" and "Yellow Lounge".

Of course if your train arrives in one of the platforms that exits into the "Blue Lounge" and you want to use the toilet, but the toilets are closed, you are stuck. Unless you go through the barriers into the "Red Lounge", use the toilets there, and then follow the one way system round again and exit via the "Blue Lounge" or "Yellow Lounge".

It's going to be fun during the Commonwealth Games, and after the tram is extended to Edgbaston, which is of course nowhere near the cricket ground of the same name.
 

Hadders

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If you are talking about the "entrance" directly in front of the platforms then, technically, this has been "exit only" for a long time but I've never taken any notice of that.

It's worse than that. The large doors between the Great Northern Hotel and the rear of the Underground exit immediately under the front canopy is now exit only meaning that to enter Kings Cross you now have to walk all the way round to the entrance adjacent opposite the St Pancras Eurostar doors. There are staff on every exit door making sure everyone complies.

Then most of the Underground entrances at Kings Cross are also closed. The most convenient one, to the right under the front canopy as you exit the station is closed meaning you have to use the entrance at the corner of Kings Cross Square. It wouldn't be so bad if it was one set of steps in and another set out, but no. Entry and exit from the Underground is allowed via these steps, one side down with the other side up. Most people I saw were walking on the wrong side...

And don't get me started on Finsbury Park....
 

yorkie

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If it's raining when you arrive into King's Cross, and you want to get the tube, you can't avoid getting rained on.

Interchanges at places like King's Cross now involve a lot of walking; this is because Network Rail's box tickers claim that it is "safer" for people to encounter many more people going in the same direction as you than to encounter a smaller number of people going the opposite direction.

As usual, the ludicrous measures imposed on rail passengers do not apply to pedestrians in streets. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if Network Rail were in charge of pavements!
 

BJames

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It's worse than that. The large doors between the Great Northern Hotel and the rear of the Underground exit immediately under the front canopy is now exit only meaning that to enter Kings Cross you now have to walk all the way round to the entrance adjacent opposite the St Pancras Eurostar doors. There are staff on every exit door making sure everyone complies.

Then most of the Underground entrances at Kings Cross are also closed. The most convenient one, to the right under the front canopy as you exit the station is closed meaning you have to use the entrance at the corner of Kings Cross Square. It wouldn't be so bad if it was one set of steps in and another set out, but no. Entry and exit from the Underground is allowed via these steps, one side down with the other side up. Most people I saw were walking on the wrong side...

And don't get me started on Finsbury Park....
Both incredibly infuriating. I use both stations regularly but I am avoiding the ridiculous walk at Finsbury Park and going elsewhere. Had to allow a silly amount of extra time to use Kings Cross the other day. Seven Sisters thank goodness is allowing interchange to the Overground without having to parade down the Seven Sisters Road.

Experienced New Street too and that was incredibly frustrating although I've always thought that station is too confusing.
If it's raining when you arrive into King's Cross, and you want to get the tube, you can't avoid getting rained on.

Interchanges at places like King's Cross now involve a lot of walking; this is because Network Rail's box tickers claim that it is "safer" for people to encounter many more people going in the same direction as you than to encounter a smaller number of people going the opposite direction.
I just can't understand their way of thinking here, it makes no sense to anyone - surely just briefly passing someone is much much less of a risk than following someone around for hundreds of metres, with people passing you anyway as everyone's walking at different speeds and not just in one line!
 

josla1

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10 Apr 2020
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Warrington
Don't get me started. Without these one-way systems there would be probably be less congestion(people) moving through the same area (which I thought was the point?) - these H&S/Risk Assessment people seem to have completely ignored how people act and how passenger flows work.

Manchester Piccadilly has introduced one-way systems and quite frankly they fail miserably.
  • The entrance to the station involves walking round Sainsburys/Pret underneath the Food Court and out on to the concourse near the toilets and P13/14 walkway doors. This would be the narrow end of the concourse - people just seem to gather round the area though so it makes no sense. (Also if you were going to Platform 1/2/3 you have to walk all the way across the concourse)
  • One way system on Platform 13. Does not work, as trains arriving on this Platform have come from Liverpool,Blackpool and Leeds there are a large amount of people getting off trains as opposed to getting on. To leave the platform you use the left side of the stairs(which is an escalator) - If 100 people get off a Blackpool-Hazel Grove service, it just gridlocks and social distancing goes out the window.
  • One way system on Platform 14. This sort of makes sense on Platform 14, but largely due to the wide staircase, also the flow of people is a bit more even.
I largely disagree with the points about the concourse, you can’t stop people from gathering. 13 yes I agree this is exactly why face coverings are required for when social distancing isn’t possible. It will never be 100% achievable and anyone who thinks it is, is living in dreamworld.
 
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