PaxVobiscum
Established Member
You may find my experiences at St Pancras a few years ago are relevant.
I took the precaution of emailing them first:
So far, so good.
But a different story at St Pancras on the day.
At first permission to film or photograph in the Station was flatly refused at the Station Manager's office but I persisted, showing the duty manager the correspondence. After much phoning and consulting, he reluctantly agreed, but insisted that I do a "Safety Course" there and then. This took about 1/2 hour and taught me nothing I didn't know already. At the end, I had to sign lots of paperwork wear a badge and vest and leave my monopod with them.
Good luck at St. Pancras.
I took the precaution of emailing them first:
----- Original Message -----
From: (me)
To: (Network Rail contact for filming and photography)
Sent: (Jan 2011)
Subject: Non-commercial filming and photography at St Pancras
Dear R******,
I shall be visiting London with my son in early April and he has asked to Visit St. Pancras Station while we are there, probably on the afternoon or evening of the xx April 2011.
While I have found information on Commercial and News filming and photography applications, I have not been able to find specific information on non-commercial filming and photography at St Pancras other than the general Network Rail advice to rail enthusiasts at <http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/guidelines_for_rail_enthusiasts.html> .
I am familiar with these guidelines and have been allowed by relevant duty managers to use my camera at stations in many parts of the UK.
Since I am aware of the greater security issues which apply in the London area, would you please confirm that the use of a small handheld camcorder for purely family purposes would be permitted subject to the restrictions noted in the link above?
Thanks in anticipation,
(My name)
----- REPLY ------
Hi (name),
Thanks for your e-mail.
We welcome all photography as long as you sign in at station reception and respect all the standard rules i.e. use of flash etc, Not using it when trains are approaching etc.
Enjoy your day.
Thanks,
(different person, this one based at St.Pancras)
So far, so good.
But a different story at St Pancras on the day.
At first permission to film or photograph in the Station was flatly refused at the Station Manager's office but I persisted, showing the duty manager the correspondence. After much phoning and consulting, he reluctantly agreed, but insisted that I do a "Safety Course" there and then. This took about 1/2 hour and taught me nothing I didn't know already. At the end, I had to sign lots of paperwork wear a badge and vest and leave my monopod with them.
Good luck at St. Pancras.