Sandbach Station

[rm88]

I think this station needs urgent attention.
It has no disables access to platform 2 and 3.
It also has no ticket machine or departure boards to notify passengers of next train or if they are delayed.
I know there are probably loads of stations in this similar situation but this is my nearest.

 

[Moonshot]

Maybe you should start a " friends of Sandbach Station " community group ?

 

[Gathursty]

Is there not a help point phone there?

 

[rm88]

No, but there is a ticket office open most mornings. The guy there is friendly and tells me wen the next train is due, but the rest of the time its a guessing game.
is it difficult to install departure screens at platforms.
i hope sandbach is 1 of the 100 stations having them installed by northern rail.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Sandbach railway station is something of a mis-nomer as it is situated in Elworth, which does have quite a sizable industrial estate (including the company who built and installed our large garden store). It is a good mile distant from the centre of Sandbach.

 

[fowler9]

I think this station needs urgent attention.
It has no disables access to platform 2 and 3.
It also has no ticket machine or departure boards to notify passengers of next train or if they are delayed.
I know there are probably loads of stations in this similar situation but this is my nearest.

West Allerton has no disabled access to platforms 1, 2, 3 or 4. It has no ticket machine or departure boards either. My local station wins. Ha ha.

 

[snowball]

Sandbach railway station is something of a mis-nomer as it is situated in Elworth, which does have quite a sizable industrial estate (including the company who built and installed our large garden store). It is a good mile distant from the centre of Sandbach.

It used to have Fodens too.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

West Allerton has no disabled access to platforms 1, 2, 3 or 4. It has no ticket machine or departure boards either. My local station wins. Ha ha.

Just typical..you open a railway station at West Allerton in 1939 and then the Second World War breaks out...:cry:

 

[fowler9]

Just typical..you open a railway station at West Allerton in 1939 and then the Second World War breaks out...:cry:

Ha ha, very true, it is woefully under advertised though. All of the Twirlies are waiting for the Twerly bus on Brodie Avenue at about 9:25, they could surely get the 9:39 from West Allerton and get to town at about the same time without getting knocked around by students ruck sacks! During the day there is rarely a time when it is quicker getting the 80 bus to town than waiting for the next train, and a return on the train is cheaper than an Arriva Day ticket by almost £1.50 and is still a fair bit cheaper than a Saveway. Back on subject, there is still the problem with platform access and information boards.

 

[Welshman]

Ha ha, very true, it is woefully under advertised though. All of the Twirlies are waiting for the Twerly bus on Brodie Avenue at about 9:25, they could surely get the 9:39 from West Allerton and get to town at about the same time without getting knocked around by students ruck sacks! During the day there is rarely a time when it is quicker getting the 80 bus to town than waiting for the next train, and a return on the train is cheaper than an Arriva Day ticket by almost £1.50 and is still a fair bit cheaper than a Saveway. Back on subject, there is still the problem with platform access and information boards.

But presumably those "Senior Citizens" wouldn't be buying an Arriva Day Ticket in any case - they'd be travelling free of charge on the No. 80 bus with their ENCTs cards.

 

[rm88]

Where is the list of those 100 stations that are getting the new departure boards?

 

[fowler9]

But presumably those "Senior Citizens" wouldn't be buying an Arriva Day Ticket in any case - they'd be travelling free of charge on the No. 80 bus with their ENCTs cards.

I was talking about the fare from our area in general and that the Twerlies could also get a train which would get them to town quicker and not be twerly.

 

[DazDude]

I've always wondered the same thing about Sandbach, especially the disabled access, which is no use if you want to go to Manchester as you've either got to drive to Crewe or Holmes Chapel to gain some sort of access onto a Manchester bound train. Why a simple lift wasn't instated when they built the new footbridge a year or two ago is beyond me..

 

[pemma]

The situation described is typical of Cheshire stations with similar levels of patronage.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The situation described is typical of Cheshire stations with similar levels of patronage.

Would other Cheshire (East) stations be as inconveniently situated as Sandbach for the settlement they purport to represent ?

Historically, Sandbach was also once served by the branch line to Northwich, via Middlewich, and the North Staffordshire Railway branch line to Harecastle.

 

[pemma]

Would other Cheshire (East) stations be as inconveniently situated as Sandbach for the settlement they purport to represent ?

Historically, Sandbach was also once served by the branch line to Northwich, via Middlewich, and the North Staffordshire Railway branch line to Harecastle.

I mean the situation described in the original post opposed to the situation you described later on.

Northwich is similar but with a ticket machine. Although passenger numbers are around 33% higher than at Sandbach which probably explains the ticket machine.

 

[rm88]

And yet Sugar Loaf is getting a new departure screen installed. :l

 

[scrapy]

No, but there is a ticket office open most mornings. The guy there is friendly and tells me wen the next train is due, but the rest of the time its a guessing game.
is it difficult to install departure screens at platforms.
i hope sandbach is 1 of the 100 stations having them installed by northern rail.

Any idea who is funding these 100 screens? Where have you heard that they would be installed? I am not aware of any recent announcements by Northern about departure screens. In fact in response to a question on Twitter Northern said there were no plans for additional screens under the current franchise.

 

[Signal Head]

I've always wondered the same thing about Sandbach, especially the disabled access, which is no use if you want to go to Manchester as you've either got to drive to Crewe or Holmes Chapel to gain some sort of access onto a Manchester bound train.

In these cases wouldn't the TOC accept passengers travelling in the opposite direction and doubling back? In this instance getting on a Crewe-bound train then turning back on what may often be the same train, which sits in Platform 1 for a while.

Why a simple lift wasn't instated when they built the new footbridge a year or two ago is beyond me.

Why? The answer is simple - £
As there is a relatively simple alternative (see above), this probably puts the station low on the priority list for funding.

 

[pemma]

In these cases wouldn't the TOC accept passengers travelling in the opposite direction and doubling back? In this instance getting on a Crewe-bound train then turning back on what may often be the same train, which sits in Platform 1 for a while.

If it's like at Northwich there's a notice saying disabled passengers who can't use the steps to reach the Chester platform should get assistance during staffing hours (which end at 13:30 on weekdays) to use the barrow crossing or double back.

 

[8A Rail]

Back on subject, there is still the problem with platform access and information boards.

Although there are a reasonable number of people using that station, I doubt it justifies expenditure in putting in lift's etc againist other more deserving stations in the Merseyside area. Bottom line there is limited funds so must be used wisely. As for info screens, yes you could put them in but if TOC's use there brains, they would advertise Real Train Times facility to the passengers and that would save on cost!!

 

[edwin_m]

The Access for All programme is gradually upgrading stations but clearly they can't do all of them at once. The criteria for allocating funding include cost of doing the work (Sandbach: Expensive. Would need a footbridge with lifts), number of passengers using the station (few?), and, given that many disabled people would have to use a car to get to the station, whether other nearby stations already have better access (Crewe and Holmes Chapel have been mentioned).

 

[pemma]

As for info screens, yes you could put them in but if TOC's use there brains, they would advertise Real Train Times facility to the passengers and that would save on cost!!

Not everyone has a mobile Internet enabled device and even those that do may find they don't get a signal on all railway platforms. Northern do have posters which say to scan a QR code or go to their mobile site for the latest train running information at this station but that's only accessible to some passengers. It's almost the equivalent of the guard whispering to a few passengers on board a service that a train will be terminating early due to a train fault and hoping the rest will find out from them.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The Access for All programme is gradually upgrading stations but clearly they can't do all of them at once. The criteria for allocating funding include cost of doing the work (Sandbach: Expensive. Would need a footbridge with lifts), number of passengers using the station (few?), and, given that many disabled people would have to use a car to get to the station, whether other nearby stations already have better access (Crewe and Holmes Chapel have been mentioned).

Both Sandbach and Northwich (that I mentioned as being in a similar position) would benefit from a passenger service being reintroduced on the Middlewich branch line, then they would act as interchange stations and significantly improve the business case for station improvements.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Would other Cheshire (East) stations be as inconveniently situated as Sandbach for the settlement they purport to represent ?

Congleton is way out of town too, and Northwich isn't great (sorry, wrong half of the once-great county of Cheshire ).
Some would say Crewe is in the wrong place too.

 

[pemma]

Congleton is way out of town too, and Northwich isn't great (sorry, wrong half of the once-great county of Cheshire ).
Some would say Crewe is in the wrong place too.

From a commuter purpose you could actually say Knutsford despite the station being in the town centre.

Knutsford Business Park, Parkgate Industrial Estate, Longridge Trading Estate and Booths Hall Park are all about 1.5 miles from the station while Radbrook Hall is 2.7 miles from the station. One additional station between Knutsford and Mobberley could put the first 3 all within 0.5 miles of a station and it would also be nearer to the Longridge estate where car ownership is much lower than in other parts of Knutsford.

 

[HowardGWR]

In the same area, I just looked at Goostrey and the sign said 'British Rail Goostrey'. I don't know if they have changed it yet. How many years is that?

 

[rm88]

Its one of those lines that have been left for dead, sandbach is a well used station actually, always a lot of passengers geting on and off the train there.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

From a commuter purpose you could actually say Knutsford despite the station being in the town centre. Knutsford Business Park, Parkgate Industrial Estate, Longridge Trading Estate and Booths Hall Park are all about 1.5 miles from the station while Radbrook Hall is 2.7 miles from the station.

It is not unusual to find the industrial estates and business parks located exterior to the core area of any town. I am sure that rail access is not considered to the same extent as car travel access by the bodies responsible for the location and construction of these areas.

 

[Kettledrum]

Its one of those lines that have been left for dead, sandbach is a well used station actually, always a lot of passengers geting on and off the train there.

Yes - my experience of Sandbach was that it is a well used station, with people travelling from Sandbach to work and shop, and opposed to travelling to Sandbach as a sought after destination.

The station facilities are basic, and the "buildings" lack any architectural merit. Has it always been so? I assume for what was a junction station with its three platforms, it must have had a better station building at one point in the past.

As for the lack of disabled access to the island platform, I wondered whether it would be possible to have a ramp from the main Middlewich road bridge. It's a while since I've been to Sandbach station, so perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me, but the land between the bridge and the station must have belonged to the railways at some stage.

 

[HowardGWR]

It is not unusual to find the industrial estates and business parks located exterior to the core area of any town. I am sure that rail access is not considered to the same extent as car travel access by the bodies responsible for the location and construction of these areas.

If we are talking about any development since 1980, i would be amazed if it was considered at all, anywhere, never mind 'to an extent'. Only now are they talking about light rail to OOT malls like Brierley Hill. In my neck of the woods they are now planning two stations near industrial venues on the outskirts of Exeter as well as a station outside where a 'new town' (just another suburb) is planned at Cranbrook.