Station cleaning on Liverpool's Merseyrail

[urbophile]

Merseyrail is inconsistent. My local station of Cressington, which is a splendid (listed) building, just doesn't seem to be kept up to standard. Moss on the glass platform canopies (which has been there for years); peeling paint on the staircases; general grubbiness. While others (South Parkway for example) look pristine. Meanwhile stations with the Merseyrail branding but served by Northern are even worse – who maintains them? Broad Green which I used yesterday looks very run down.

 

[Camden]

I think avoiding discussing the Northern run parts aspect, to keep things simple. Generally speaking, my expectation of Merseyrail is of a higher standard and similar to what I expect from LU.

I wonder, do Merseyrail stations have station managers?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Merseyrail is inconsistent. My local station of Cressington, which is a splendid (listed) building, just doesn't seem to be kept up to standard. Moss on the glass platform canopies (which has been there for years); peeling paint on the staircases; general grubbiness. While others (South Parkway for example) look pristine. Meanwhile stations with the Merseyrail branding but served by Northern are even worse – who maintains them? Broad Green which I used yesterday looks very run down.

Unless it's improved since I was last there I wouldn't call South Parkway pristine, it appeared typical-bus-station-slightly-grubby to me.

 

[Bow Fell]

I think avoiding discussing the Northern run parts aspect, to keep things simple. Generally speaking, my expectation of Merseyrail is of a higher standard and similar to what I expect from LU.

I wonder, do Merseyrail stations have station managers?

Yes, like any other station.

Unless it's improved since I was last there I wouldn't call South Parkway pristine, it appeared typical-bus-station-slightly-grubby to me.

Really?! I wouldn’t describe South Parkway as anything other than immaculate, it’s very well looked after.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Really?! I wouldn’t describe South Parkway as anything other than immaculate, it’s very well looked after.

The Mtogo and the toilets I found particularly unimpressive. It's the kind of grubbiness and mild disorder/disorganisation I'd expect from a suburban bus station in a large Northern city so was no surprise nor was it unacceptable per-se, but it wasn't "immaculate" by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[urbophile]

The Mtogo and the toilets I found particularly unimpressive. It's the kind of grubbiness and mild disorder/disorganisation I'd expect from a suburban bus station in a large Northern city so was no surprise nor was it unacceptable per-se, but it wasn't "immaculate" by any stretch of the imagination.

The toilets are all those automatic self-cleaning ones so they are weird but spotless. Unimpressive I agree, but not because of any lack of cleanliness. For a station of that size and importance there should be properly maintained conventional toilet facilities. The automatic ones freak me out, and I suspect many other people too.

 

[py_megapixel]

The toilets are all those automatic self-cleaning ones so they are weird but spotless. Unimpressive I agree, but not because of any lack of cleanliness. For a station of that size and importance there should be properly maintained conventional toilet facilities. The automatic ones freak me out, and I suspect many other people too.

I always worry slightly that I'll go in and then they will start the self clean cycle and I'll end up in some kind of holding tank

 

[MR-507508]

The Hooton m2go shop is no more, it closed down permanently back in March with the other m2go's to follow.

What is the situation with all other m2go shops-has the one at Maghull station closed?-the shutters always seem to be down but have only passed by the station on train and not seen whether it is actually open on the inside?
If they are closing, surely this means less staffing at those stations-one window serving tickets compared to at least 2 members of staff serving at the counters within the shop (well from what I have seen in the past at the Maghull station shop)?
Any ideas what they plan to do with the space-more indoor waiting areas at those stations?

 

[jamesst]

What is the situation with all other m2go shops-has the one at Maghull station closed?-the shutters always seem to be down but have only passed by the station on train and not seen whether it is actually open on the inside?
If they are closing, surely this means less staffing at those stations-one window serving tickets compared to at least 2 members of staff serving at the counters within the shop (well from what I have seen in the past at the Maghull station shop)?
Any ideas what they plan to do with the space-more indoor waiting areas at those stations?

Hooton and Maghull m2gos have definitely closed, im pretty sure Waterloo has aswell.
As for the others there was a plan for Liverpool Centrals to close and be carved up with half let out to an external company. Where that stands with the Covid situation im not sure.
Basically the m2go experiment is dead in the water so I'd expect to see more closures imminently.
Re the staff, Merseyrail has been hit hard by Covid (no bailout by the government) so where there were extra staff for the shops id expect to see reduced staffing levels.
As for the space id expect for it just to remain empty until a further use for it is found.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It was a great idea but in the end Merseyrail proved themselves incapable of running a particularly good convenience store. I think letting the space out to store operators and installing TVMs with ToD capability would be the best replacement, with the long term view to implementing LU style contactless which will remove the need for most ticket buying anyway.

 

[MR-507508]

Hooton and Maghull m2gos have definitely closed, im pretty sure Waterloo has aswell.
As for the others there was a plan for Liverpool Centrals to close and be carved up with half let out to an external company. Where that stands with the Covid situation im not sure.
Basically the m2go experiment is dead in the water so I'd expect to see more closures imminently.
Re the staff, Merseyrail has been hit hard by Covid (no bailout by the government) so where there were extra staff for the shops id expect to see reduced staffing levels.
As for the space id expect for it just to remain empty until a further use for it is found.

It appears the M2Go station shop at Maghull station has sprung back to life in recent weeks.
There are now signs up on the entrance to the station building highlighting that the shop is open and seems to be restocked again, with the shutters up from what I have seen when passing on train.
Any idea why this is, I thought it had closed down?

 

[philthetube]

[/QUOTE]

For every immaculate London Underground platform there is another tatty, chicken wire strewn one. Pics lie by what they're not showing, not what they are.

In my experience most deep level stations are well kept, sub surface lines are a different story

Agree with this. I've always found Merseyrail much cleaner than the London Underground, and I've often seen cleaners onboard the trains, clearing up any rubbish which has been scattered around - something I've never seen on the Underground.

This is because trains are litter picked at termini and not when on the move. If you get on one which has been missed you certainly know about it.

 

[KevinTurvey]

Not forgetting the underground station refurbishments were started in 2012, some time ago. The floor tiling has stood up quite well (in as much as there are few, if any broken or loose tiles) but has stained and is in need of grinding and re-sealing to make it look anything like clean. It is probably worth not spending the money to do this. The sort of ground in dirt in heavy traffic areas will never be removed by mopping.

It is however much cleaner than the black rubber platform surfaces previously.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It appears the M2Go station shop at Maghull station has sprung back to life in recent weeks.
There are now signs up on the entrance to the station building highlighting that the shop is open and seems to be restocked again, with the shutters up from what I have seen when passing on train.
Any idea why this is, I thought it had closed down?

Interesting. I could see that one making money, though, as it's in a residential area with very little retail[1]. (Maghull town centre is a long way from either station - it's near enough on the other point of an equilateral triangle whose base is the railway line between there and North).

[1] Edit: or not, there's a parade of shops a short way along the road I didn't know existed, which includes a small convenience store.

 

[Camden]

Not forgetting the underground station refurbishments were started in 2012, some time ago. The floor tiling has stood up quite well (in as much as there are few, if any broken or loose tiles) but has stained and is in need of grinding and re-sealing to make it look anything like clean. It is probably worth not spending the money to do this. The sort of ground in dirt in heavy traffic areas will never be removed by mopping.

It is however much cleaner than the black rubber platform surfaces previously.

Noting the difference between the LU platforms and the Merseyrail ones, is this a result of different types of tiles used then?

 

[MR-507508]

Interesting. I could see that one making money, though, as it's in a residential area with very little retail[1]. (Maghull town centre is a long way from either station - it's near enough on the other point of an equilateral triangle whose base is the railway line between there and North).

[1] Edit: or not, there's a parade of shops a short way along the road I didn't know existed, which includes a small convenience store.

I saw on the merseyrail twitter feed that the Maghull station M2Go shop will be closing down next Month.
Not sure what date or whether it means just at the end of the year. Also not sure what the situation is with the other M2Go's-whether these will also close down next month.

 

[jamesst]

I saw on the merseyrail twitter feed that the Maghull station M2Go shop will be closing down next Month.
Not sure what date or whether it means just at the end of the year. Also not sure what the situation is with the other M2Go's-whether these will also close down next month.

The whole m2go thing is pretty much finished as a concept.

 

[frodshamfella]

I have to say I have always found Merseyrails trains and stations pretty good.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I have to say I have always found Merseyrails trains and stations pretty good.

Superficially, yes, but they don't bother about ground-in muck and the toilets are a disgrace.

 

[frodshamfella]

The idea that Merseyrail stations are generally in worse condition than those in London is nonsense in my experience. In fact, I find Merseyrail's stations to be amongst the best kept of any operator.

The former Southern Region stations in London are particularly grim in general.

I dont know what they are like now, but New Cross, Lewisham, were horrible

Superficially, yes, but they don't bother about ground-in muck and the toilets are a disgrace.

Of course I don't travel everywhere on the system, but I've use Liverpool South Parkway a lot, and Central, they are fine . Seaforth is a bit grim using the at tunnel to get up to the Platform, but I quite like the big wide platform there. Stations on the Wirral seem pretty good.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Of course I don't travel everywhere on the system, but I've use Liverpool South Parkway a lot, and Central, they are fine . Seaforth is a bit grim using the at tunnel to get up to the Platform, but I quite like the big wide platform there. Stations on the Wirral seem pretty good.

Central they're not fine, they were done out really nicely but on the cheap, and so bits are falling off (e.g. loose taps) and there's ground in muck wherever it can get.

 

[frodshamfella]

Central they're not fine, they were done out really nicely but on the cheap, and so bits are falling off (e.g. loose taps) and there's ground in muck wherever it can get.

Well I've never used the loos so don't know, but as I say I've not noticed anything to offend me, but I'm never waiting around long.

 

[Llandudno]

Well I've never used the loos so don't know, but as I say I've not noticed anything to offend me, but I'm never waiting around long.

That’s the beauty of Merseyrail, turn up and go frequencies and no need to wait around for long.

Liverpool’s City Centre stations are surrounded by an abundance of decent pubs, restaurants and fast food takeaways

 

[6Gman]

The whole m2go thing is pretty much finished as a concept.

So how will tickets be sold?

 

[jamesst]

So how will tickets be sold?

The outstations with m2go shops always had a separate ticket office window for when the shop was shut anyway.
The underground stations will just be turned back into purely ticket selling spaces.

 

[L401CJF]

Have to say I have noticed on Merseyrail lately the underground platforms have been quite filthy, particularly notable is the white line on the edge of the platform being so covered in filth its not actually visible. There were a few white parts where peoples feet have scrubbed the dirt off boarding and alighting trains. I put 2 and 2 together and realised its not that they're being cleaned any less than normal, but rather there's a lot less footfall at the moment to scrub the edges for them! I assume its brake dust thats been building up on the platform edges.

 

[Spandau]

Given Merseyrail’s zero tolerance of ‘feet on seats’ it is surprising they do not do something about chewing gum.

The platforms at Sandhills, nicely refurbished a few years ago, are barely visible thanks to deposits of “chewy”. Used gum frequently gets stuck to the seat frames of the 507/508s too. Ugh!

Maybe a Singapore-style approach is needed!

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Given Merseyrail’s zero tolerance of ‘feet on seats’ it is surprising they do not do something about chewing gum.

The platforms at Sandhills, nicely refurbished a few years ago, are barely visible thanks to deposits of “chewy”. Used gum frequently gets stuck to the seat frames of the 507/508s too. Ugh!

Maybe a Singapore-style approach is needed!

If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times - don’t exaggerate.

The most recently dated photo that I can find of Sandhills is Friday 3 May - presumably 2019 as that’s the last Friday 3 May we’ve had. It’s about halfway down this page: https://downtowninbusiness.com/mers...pete-waterman-onto-network-for-regional-tour/

While I can believe that things may have got worse in the last 18 months, the platform then is clearly visible. It’s not invisible beneath a layer of gum, and I don’t believe that it will be barely visible today.

For clarity, it’s not good having any gum stuck to the platform. But neither is it good to exaggerate the extent of the problem.

 

[Vespa]

Clearly you haven't travelled on the Bakerloo line, stations like Lambeth North feel very neglected

I've been on the Bakerloo line several times, it does feel like you're back in 1985, 70s tube stock and peeling paint.n general feel of neglect, a few others lines are in a similar state, other lines are super shiny with new trains to match.

I have found Liverpool underground station to be clean and bright and the trains are similar with comfortable seats.
The refurbishment has improved them considerably compared to what it was like before with brown plastic moulded seats and black platform flooring, it was dull and grim.

I especially hate feets on seats, the shoes will be picking up dog crap, spit and chewing gims etc and transferring to the seat, offenders should be fined heavily

 

[ScotRail158725]

offenders should be fined heavily

I don’t think so. Such a pedantic thing being annoyed by feet on seats