WARNING - Major Rant follows...
Woking Station Toilets. What is the deal with these?
For the 20 years I have used this station the main toilets on the Island Platform (2/3/4) have regularly been out of service for 'Drainage Issues'. Some years it seems like they have been out of use for most of the year.
I heard that the reason is that the drains beneath the track have not been updated since the station was originally built. I can well believe this as I know that the towns drains haven't been upgraded since Victorian times, despite the increase in usage due to the shift to high-rise development. I know this because the basement of my flats got flooded with sewage as a result.
The other Gents on Platform 5 are tiny. They were reduced in size to make way for the Disabled facilities. So we have a major interchange station where the only functioning gents provide one urinal and one cubical. The space is so cramped that you can't enter or leave the cubical whilst someone is using the urinal or open the main door whilst someone is using the hand basin. And the urinal leaks.
This is, I remind you, a major station served by the Heathrow Rail Link Bus. Its the first experience of Britian and its railways many foriengers will get.
There have been many changes to the station over the years and nothing has been done about the situation. Yes the Island Platform toilets have been upgraded - but that is pointless if you can't use them. Could nothing have been done when the new retail outlets were put in on Platform 5 (I suspect the answer is yes, but profit prevails).
Now I find that, to add insult to injury, a Vending Machine has been put on the wall in the Platform 5 toilets. So now you can't even stand 'square on' to use the urinal and its even less easy to get into the cubical.
Short of reliving myself on the Platform, how and to whom should I complain in order to get some action? Its not uncommon to find what s effectively a queue, all be it a one or two person one, outside these toilets. The situation is ridiculous, one could almost say 'taking the P', especially with the number of trains using this station that have on-board toilets out of use, and has been going on for decades.
Are there any other large stations with this sort of situation? Are there any rules governing provision of facilities? I believe that there are regarding places that sell food and drink for consumption on the premises. Are they relevant to stations with food outlets like Woking?
Woking Station Toilets. What is the deal with these?
For the 20 years I have used this station the main toilets on the Island Platform (2/3/4) have regularly been out of service for 'Drainage Issues'. Some years it seems like they have been out of use for most of the year.
I heard that the reason is that the drains beneath the track have not been updated since the station was originally built. I can well believe this as I know that the towns drains haven't been upgraded since Victorian times, despite the increase in usage due to the shift to high-rise development. I know this because the basement of my flats got flooded with sewage as a result.
The other Gents on Platform 5 are tiny. They were reduced in size to make way for the Disabled facilities. So we have a major interchange station where the only functioning gents provide one urinal and one cubical. The space is so cramped that you can't enter or leave the cubical whilst someone is using the urinal or open the main door whilst someone is using the hand basin. And the urinal leaks.
This is, I remind you, a major station served by the Heathrow Rail Link Bus. Its the first experience of Britian and its railways many foriengers will get.
There have been many changes to the station over the years and nothing has been done about the situation. Yes the Island Platform toilets have been upgraded - but that is pointless if you can't use them. Could nothing have been done when the new retail outlets were put in on Platform 5 (I suspect the answer is yes, but profit prevails).
Now I find that, to add insult to injury, a Vending Machine has been put on the wall in the Platform 5 toilets. So now you can't even stand 'square on' to use the urinal and its even less easy to get into the cubical.
Short of reliving myself on the Platform, how and to whom should I complain in order to get some action? Its not uncommon to find what s effectively a queue, all be it a one or two person one, outside these toilets. The situation is ridiculous, one could almost say 'taking the P', especially with the number of trains using this station that have on-board toilets out of use, and has been going on for decades.
Are there any other large stations with this sort of situation? Are there any rules governing provision of facilities? I believe that there are regarding places that sell food and drink for consumption on the premises. Are they relevant to stations with food outlets like Woking?