Relief line (Toilet charges to be scrapped at NR-managed stations next year)

[theageofthetra]

In other news Network Rail have announced that all toilet charges are to be scrapped at their managed stations from 2019

Expect them to be full of homeless washing as the ones at Victoria are now.

 

[bb21]

Are they making a mess at Victoria at the moment or being a general nuisance?

 

[SteveOfTheStow]

A token 10p charge just to ensure appropriate use would be understandable; it's when the price goes up considerably (along with the complexity of coins required) for what should be an accessible convenience that it starts to grate.

 

[theageofthetra]

Are they making a mess at Victoria at the moment or being a general nuisance?

Based on last night- both. Needs something sorting.

 

[pt_mad]

In other news Network Rail have announced that all toilet charges are to be scrapped at their managed stations from 2019

Expect them to be full of homeless washing as the ones at Victoria are now.

Time the state did something about people being left homeless then rather than just banning them from popular locations.

 

[driver_m]

Seems crazy to charge at somewhere like Lime St anyway, when the Wetherspoons toilets that are next door are free .Plus train toilets also available to use mostly now that they are CET tanked .

 

[trainophile]

I haven't noticed any problems since Birmingham New Street toilets became free, and it saves a lot of hassle making sure you have change before starting your journey. At Lime Street sometimes the change machine is out of order, so people have to go to Boots and buy something - unless they know about the Wetherspoons alternative! Even a token 10p is frustrating if you don't happen to have any small change. I would rather they put 5p on the cost of every ticket and ensured provision of free toilets at all railway stations, although I know hell will freeze over before some rural ones achieve such a luxury!

I believe Glasgow Central charge 50p, which seems excessive. Hope Scottish stations are included and not just English facilities.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I haven't noticed any problems since Birmingham New Street toilets became free

New St's bogs are inside the barrier line - that has the same effect as charging in ensuring no non-passenger use. If you're outside the barrier line there are some upstairs in John Lewis.

 

[pt_mad]

I haven't noticed any problems since Birmingham New Street toilets became free, and it saves a lot of hassle making sure you have change before starting your journey. At Lime Street sometimes the change machine is out of order, so people have to go to Boots and buy something - unless they know about the Wetherspoons alternative! Even a token 10p is frustrating if you don't happen to have any small change. I would rather they put 5p on the cost of every ticket and ensured provision of free toilets at all railway stations, although I know hell will freeze over before some rural ones achieve such a luxury!

I believe Glasgow Central charge 50p, which seems excessive. Hope Scottish stations are included and not just English facilities.

I believe the loos are Birmingham New St are within the ticket barriered area.

 

[trainophile]

Ah, I overlooked that detail, thanks for clarifying. Okay then, the toilets at Chester are open to all and sundry, and although not very salubrious they are generally not unusable or full of undesirables!

 

[pt_mad]

Ah, I overlooked that detail, thanks for clarifying. Okay then, the toilets at Chester are open to all and sundry, and although not very salubrious they are generally not unusable or full of undesirables!

Just depends on how well monitored they are imo. If there is an attendant or regular cleaner and staff presence and loiterers or anti social persons are asked to leave then the place should adopt a safe atmosphere and people displaying such behaviour tend to stay away.

 

[Highlandspring]

I believe Glasgow Central charge 50p, which seems excessive. Hope Scottish stations are included and not just English facilities.

40p at the Central but that doesn’t stop the junkies from going in there to shoot up.

 

[Silver Cobra]

The one station I'm more than happy to pay to use the toilets in is King's Cross (which are 30p). Compared to the toilets over at nearby St Pancras, where they are free, they are a lot cleaner as a whole. I grimace at the idea of using the toilets at St Pancras after seeing how they get not long into the day.

 

[jon0844]

I was all for free toilets but the ones at Victoria are horrid now.

St Pancras seems okay, but is that down to better security?

King's Cross, as mentioned above, are very nice.

 

[pt_mad]

I was all for free toilets but the ones at Victoria are horrid now.

St Pancras seems okay, but is that down to better security?

King's Cross, as mentioned above, are very nice.

Probably have a permanent attendant.

As at many nightclubs, if there is a member of staff in there the likelihood of bad behaviour is significantly reduced.

 

[theageofthetra]

Don't know why they don't put toi

I was all for free toilets but the ones at Victoria are horrid now.

St Pancras seems okay, but is that down to better security?

King's Cross, as mentioned above, are very nice.

The free ones at Cannon St are getting equally bad including a nice bit of 'cottage industry' at lunchtimes.

 

[pemma]

A token 10p charge just to ensure appropriate use would be understandable; it's when the price goes up considerably (along with the complexity of coins required) for what should be an accessible convenience that it starts to grate.

'Appropriate use' is rail passengers being able to use them. Given you can pay for most things by card nowadays (including train tickets) there's no guarantee that passengers will have change on them when they are at the station.

They could always put a ticket barrier there which accepts any tickets valid for use on that particular day and a separate barrier which accepts change for those not travelling.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Probably have a permanent attendant.

As at many nightclubs, if there is a member of staff in there the likelihood of bad behaviour is significantly reduced.

Much as I find those grate a bit, could an attendant make money from selling servings of freshening-up type products in there like they do in clubs?

 

[Bletchleyite]

'Appropriate use' is rail passengers being able to use them. Given you can pay for most things by card nowadays (including train tickets) there's no guarantee that passengers will have change on them when they are at the station.

They could always put a ticket barrier there which accepts any tickets valid for use on that particular day and a separate barrier which accepts change for those not travelling.

I've paid for a slash by contactless in Germany, no reason that couldn't be done here.

 

[theageofthetra]

Much as I find those grate a bit, could an attendant make money from selling servings of freshening-up type products in there like they do in clubs?

Or employ a homeless person to do it and kill two birds with one stone.

 

[pt_mad]

Don't know why they don't put toi


The free ones at Cannon St are getting equally bad including including a nice bit of 'cottage industry' at lunchtimes.

And the train operators get the blame. They clean the toilets at night and they are pristine clean when they open. Shortly after some are trashed and people think it's the station operators fault. It's the users of the loos who trash them the staff would rather they remain in the standard they clean them to.

You only need one untidy person and there could be paper all over the cubicle, undoing all the hard work which came before.

 

[route101]

40p at the Central but that doesn’t stop the junkies from going in there to shoot up.

Yet Edinburgh Waverley is 30p !
McDonalds in Glasgow had jakies in having a wash

 

[trainophile]

Seems it's often the passengers who don't show any respect for toilet facilities, if the state of some on trains is anything to go by (haha no pun intended). Paper all over the floor, loo left unflushed, yuk.

I still think that for a basic human function the provision of facilities should not be seen as a money making enterprise.

 

[pt_mad]

This is the trouble with toilets. On one hand it's unfair to charge for people to go to the loo which is a necessary bodily function.
At the same time the fair consensus seems to be to put the toilets inside the ticket barrier, if there is one. Where there isn't one, it can be a problem. They need to be well monitored and attended to, and at some stations they are not. There may only be a cleaner employed in the morning for example. And where it's busy on the railway station staff are hardly going to be able to clean toilets every hour.

One station I know of was audited by the routine auditor and toilets at this station were checked by station staff, not cleaners (none after 12pm), every hour and they signed a sheet. The auditor marked the cleanliness of the toilets unsatisfactory as there was orange peel all over the floor in one of the cubicles.
How would this even be the fault of the staff. That could happen five minutes after the loos were checked . Many stations lock the toilets at 8 or 9pm but then get criticism from members of the public for not providing toilets.

 

[aelius]

Perhaps they could introduce litter bins next.

 

[A Challenge]

Despite being a small station, West Wickham has ticketed access (you need a rail ticket, and I didn't so didn't go), use that model

 

[AlterEgo]

New St's bogs are inside the barrier line - that has the same effect as charging in ensuring no non-passenger use. If you're outside the barrier line there are some upstairs in John Lewis.

There are also some good and clean ones in Grand Central arcade just past Carluccio’s.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Perhaps they could introduce litter bins next.

Most stations have litter bins, typically the clear bin bags in a hoop or clear plastic bins. That modus operandi for terrorism is near enough done.

 

[theageofthetra]

This is the trouble with toilets. On one hand it's unfair to charge for people to go to the loo which is a necessary bodily function.
At the same time the fair consensus seems to be to put the toilets inside the ticket barrier, if there is one. Where there isn't one, it can be a problem. They need to be well monitored and attended to, and at some stations they are not. There may only be a cleaner employed in the morning for example. And where it's busy on the railway station staff are hardly going to be able to clean toilets every hour.

One station I know of was audited by the routine auditor and toilets at this station were checked by station staff, not cleaners (none after 12pm), every hour and they signed a sheet. The auditor marked the cleanliness of the toilets unsatisfactory as there was orange peel all over the floor in one of the cubicles.
How would this even be the fault of the staff. That could happen five minutes after the loos were checked . Many stations lock the toilets at 8 or 9pm but then get criticism from members of the public for not providing toilets.

I had the joyous task of 'mystery shopping' every toilet at all the NR managed London terminals a few years ago. Your eyes would water at some of the behaviour going on.

Biggest issue by far were broken seats caused by those who feel the need to stand on them.

I have nothing but sympathy for the staff who clean them , and work damn hard against great odds.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I had the joyous task of 'mystery shopping' every toilet at all the NR managed London terminals a few years ago. Your eyes would water at some of the behaviour going on.

Biggest issue by far were broken seats caused by those who feel the need to stand on them.

That is probably more people squatting on them, either because they are obsessive about cleanliness or because their culture squats rather than sits to use the toilet.

This would probably be addressed simply by installing a couple of squat toilets in each station so people who prefer that can use them, or one of the issues could be addressed by providing a roll of paper seat covers as you see in some places. Though no doubt the Daily Mail would have a massive rant about it.