Trivia: Stations with Station Mobility Vehicles

[thenorthern]

Prior to 2005 at Derby there were a fleet of battery electric station mobility vehicles which brought disabled passengers or passengers with large amounts of luggage to their platform and they used a dedicated subway for crossing the tracks which was off limit to the public. When the footbridge was being re-built the subway was temporarily refurbished so that passengers could use it and although the refurbishment has now been complete the fleet of Station Mobility Vehicles have not been brought back intro service.

It made me think though what stations still have station mobility vehicles? I have seen them at London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, and Glasgow Central. Do any more have them? New street may have had them before the refurbishment but I am not sure.

I have noticed though as the stations that do have them their use seems to be in decline, partly I reckon due to ticket barriers. Is this correct?

 

[Ash Bridge]

Prior to 2005 at Derby there were a fleet of battery electric station mobility vehicles which brought disabled passengers or passengers with large amounts of luggage to their platform and they used a dedicated subway for crossing the tracks which was off limit to the public. When the footbridge was being re-built the subway was temporarily refurbished so that passengers could use it and although the refurbishment has now been complete the fleet of Station Mobility Vehicles have not been brought back intro service.

It made me think though what stations still have station mobility vehicles? I have seen them at London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, and Glasgow Central. Do any more have them? New street may have had them before the refurbishment but I am not sure.

I have noticed though as the stations that do have them their use seems to be in decline, partly I reckon due to ticket barriers. Is this correct?

Think I saw one on Carlisle Station this week.

 

[grumblingalong]

Norwich and Liverpool St.

 

[tsr]

London Victoria has dedicated vehicles. Marylebone has, IIRC, an adapted golf buggy complete with a (quite probably fake) TOPS number.

 

[swt_passenger]

London Victoria has dedicated vehicles. Marylebone has, IIRC, an adapted golf buggy complete with a (quite probably fake) TOPS number.

Bournemouth had one, although I haven't been there for about 6 months.

 

[thenorthern]

At Derby I often found the platforms were too narrow to fit passengers and the Vehicles and I would not want to have to drive one of those Vehicles.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I've seen one at Leeds, but not for a while...

 

[edwin_m]

The Derby ones looked like modified golf carts as well.

I presume they are no longer required because the station now has proper step-free access via the lifts to the footbridge. If the assistance person is unable to carry the assistee's luggage they can just use a trolley.

 

[Kite159]

Waterloo & Euston has little mobility vehicles

 

[asylumxl]

Are you sure they're actually for mobility? I always got the impression they were used for stress relief for railway staff, as they attempt to mow down members of the public.

Also, I don't know if St Pancras has them for passengers, but it certainly has for bins.

 

[ag51ruk]

The Derby ones looked like modified golf carts as well.

I presume they are no longer required because the station now has proper step-free access via the lifts to the footbridge. If the assistance person is unable to carry the assistee's luggage they can just use a trolley.

You're right, they were removed once the lifts opened to every platform - but there are no luggage trolleys at Derby

 

[thenorthern]

The Derby ones looked like modified golf carts as well.

I presume they are no longer required because the station now has proper step-free access via the lifts to the footbridge. If the assistance person is unable to carry the assistee's luggage they can just use a trolley.

You're right, they were removed once the lifts opened to every platform - but there are no luggage trolleys at Derby

I always felt that the location of the pillars for the new canopies after the rebuild at Derby didn't allow for space on the platforms for them to run.

I know that they are there to assist people but I always felt that they were rather dangerous to be honest to passengers on the platforms.

 

[Railsigns]

Are you sure they're actually for mobility? I always got the impression they were used for stress relief for railway staff, as they attempt to mow down members of the public.

The alarms on those things are a pain in the neck, especially when they keep on sounding while they're stationary.

 

[BurtonM]

I haven't seen Manchester Piccadilly's Bradshaw cart thing in a while. It's pretty much useless on the concourse I suppose - and with the station being all clogged up with useless RPI-lites and such, that might render it useless.
I agree that the alarms and such are annoying as sin, but when it's an electric vehicle it has to make itself known somehow - I'm fairly certain they have a horn too. A car horn, that the Network Rail bods use to move people out of the way. It's not very pleasant to have it sounded at you, when you're just minding your own business. I think they border on overkill, really.

 

[Aictos]

Peterborough still has its Bradshaw even though there are now lifts to all platforms.

 

[bramling]

Prior to 2005 at Derby there were a fleet of battery electric station mobility vehicles which brought disabled passengers or passengers with large amounts of luggage to their platform and they used a dedicated subway for crossing the tracks which was off limit to the public. When the footbridge was being re-built the subway was temporarily refurbished so that passengers could use it and although the refurbishment has now been complete the fleet of Station Mobility Vehicles have not been brought back intro service.

It made me think though what stations still have station mobility vehicles? I have seen them at London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, and Glasgow Central. Do any more have them? New street may have had them before the refurbishment but I am not sure.

I have noticed though as the stations that do have them their use seems to be in decline, partly I reckon due to ticket barriers. Is this correct?

Carlisle uses one.

Saw it in use only a couple of weeks ago; being used to ferry to her train a paralytic (drunk) old woman with beer can, who was screaming abuse ("f*ing get out of my f*ing way I'm f*ing royalty") at everyone she passed. The worrying thing was no one seemed to bat an eyelid, as though this behaviour is somehow normal/acceptable there.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Don't know if Bournemouth has them, it has a subway anyway I think might have been used years ago by the TPO trains and currently for the trolley service from the train to wherever the trolleys get taken to

 

[thenorthern]

I never felt that they had a place on most stations given that many stations have a large amount of people in a small area. The drivers of them are good but there is always a risk.

I find the same with some of the larger mobility scooters as well, many of them I find are far too large and powerful to be used on stations and many of them take up the whole of the vestibule areas on when they are loaded onto trains.

 

[BurtonM]

I never felt that they had a place on most stations given that many stations have a large amount of people in a small area.

Always confused me how the Euston one managed to move at all...