Trivia: Railway stations with thoroughfare

[Old Yard Dog]

Little Sutton station has small signs saying "No public right of way". But its a moot point how this could ever be enforced as the station has been unstaffed since 1992. The footbridge is a useful short cut from a lot of housing to the south and bus stops, a couple of shops, a vets and a pub to the north.

 

[Kingston Dan]

Surbiton station has a double footbridge (in 1930s Southern Railway concrete), one side is for crossing the line, other the access to the platforms

And the underpass at Norbiton is also publicly accessible.

 

[Belperpete]

There used to be a right of way along the down platform at Deganwy between the Beach Road and Deganwy Dock (where there is now a big housing development). There used to be a gate next to the signalbox that led you onto the platform, you walked the length of the platform, and then on a rough path fenced-off next to the railway line (along what I assume used to be the Dock sidings headshunt) along to the Dock. Been decades since I used it, so not sure if it is still there.

Looking at Google maps, it looks like they have built a new path behind the platform.

 

[GlitterUnicorn]

Little Sutton station has small signs saying "No public right of way". But its a moot point how this could ever be enforced as the station has been unstaffed since 1992. The footbridge is a useful short cut from a lot of housing to the south and bus stops, a couple of shops, a vets and a pub to the north.

I think that may be less to do with preventing walkers from using the route and more to do with preventing the establishment of a right of way by presumption of dedication due to unchallenged use. Otherwise if a right of way existed, the station's owner would then be obliged to maintain a route.

 

[geoffk]

Surely many small unstaffed stations would come into this category, in that the footbridge or subway links two residential areas or public roads. Walsden just up the road from me is one such example. No-one (I think) has mentioned Aberdeen, where the footbridge is outside the gated area so that you can pass though freely. But this means that changing platforms can sometimes require the use of two gates, one out, one in.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Teddington has a footbridge which can be used by the general public to cross the line as well as to access the platforms.

There's dividing fence on the footbridge which makes me wonder if in the days of manned ticket barriers the outer side of the stairs and span were for non-railway pedestrians, and the inner side of the stairs and span were for passengers, with the ticket barrier on each side being placed by the fence at the foot of the stairs. This would make sense, as Teddington is a junction station for the Shepperton branch, and passengers going there from Twickenham, etc, have to cross the line to change trains.

I have a feeling that the footbridge at both Mortlake and Strawberry Hill serves both non-railway pedestrians and passengers; there's a level crossing at both stations and the footbridge is useful for passengers and pedestrians alike when the barriers are down, which they can be for quite some at Mortlake.

I also think that the subway at both Kew Gardens and Norbiton is outside of the ticket barriers so it can be used by non-railway pedestrians. Kew Gardens also has a footbridge that can be used by non-railway pedestrians, the steps are outside the station, thereby avoiding a 10-minute walk in either direction to the next crossing point. The subway at Norbiton cuts off a couple of hundred yards for people wishing to cross the railway to get the hospital.

 

[Dr_Paul]

There's a substantial pedestrian flow through London Charing Cross station from the footbridge on the downstream side of Hungerford Bridge, through the concourse and out into Trafalgar Square.

That's true; I'll often go that way when I'm walking from Charing Cross Road or thereabouts to Waterloo.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Vauxhall has a non-ticketed side of the subway.

I think this is only applies during the rush hours. When I've been to Vauxhall during off-peak times, the eastern doors are shut and if one wants to go that way (towards Kennington) one has to exit via the western doors (by the entrance to the Underground) and then go back through the other subway that runs parallel to it.

 

[Poolie]

The platforms at South Kenton station are accessed off a rather unprepossessing public subway underneath the WCML railway line...an unusual station, one of the few Underground stations with no ticket barriers

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I remember the subway being built replacing the footbridge that was a mecca for spotters in the late 50's early 60's

 

[JackTheLad]

Eden Park and St Mary Cray in SE London