Using station as pedestrian through-route

[Strathclyder]

Have seen Singer station being used as a shortcut for the adjecent business park quite a number of times, no doubt mainly by those who work there. No doubt it was also used as a shortcut for those who lived in Clydebank and worked at the sewing machine factory the station took it's name from and was built to serve.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Has anyone mentioned Mortlake? The footbridge you can use to get from one platform to the other (I think there's only a ticket office on one side?) is also accessible to the public - and regularly used by pedestrians when the level crossing gates are closed. And indeed the bridge is probably not used by passengers when the road crossing is open, unless you like climbing stairs for the sake of it!

 

[alxndr]

Halesworth barrow crossing is another used fairly frequently as it's the easiest route from the town to the GP surgery and some houses.
I suspect that is part of the reason why there was such a fuss when they considered closing it and diverting everyone over the road bridge.

 

[ijmad]

Has anyone mentioned Mortlake? The footbridge you can use to get from one platform to the other (I think there's only a ticket office on one side?) is also accessible to the public - and regularly used by pedestrians when the level crossing gates are closed. And indeed the bridge is probably not used by passengers when the road crossing is open, unless you like climbing stairs for the sake of it!

Chiswick's footbridge gets used like this too. Don't know if it's really a public right of way, but there are no ticket gates.

 

[plugwash]

Stockport station, was also historically used as a pedestrian through route, and when the brought in ticket barriers they assured people that this would continue, with "just passing" tickets being issued at the barriers to exit the other barriers. I don't know if they are still sticking to this offer.

You would also have to enter and exit the barriers if you arrived at the Edgeley entrance and needed to use the ticket office.

 

[Dore & Totley]

I use platform 1 of Chapeltown to get from the ASDA car park to the shops below. Saves a lot of walking and gets the hot roast pork sandwich much more quickly.

 

[DC21]

Wishaw using the bridge, between station road and hill street

 

[43055]

I used to cross derby station footbridge quite often to access my work premises, and they would give you a ticket that would just allow you through the gates and across the bridge; but this was only if you actually asked. Quite a lot of people would just flash their ID badge from work and would be let through. Not sure what it's like now though as this was back in 2018/2019...

Still the same for me. I had a gate pass from 2017/8 which stopped working about a month back and the member of staff on the gate just swapped it for a new one.

I've used Derby in this way, if necessary staff allowing me through (to reach a bus the other side rather than football or college).

Is there any reasonable alternative?

There is a footpath which goes under the railway next to the river north of the station which then runs between the collage and the road onto Pride Park. Not sure where you can access it on the Derby side.

 

[pemma]

No, you'll be charged.
Something.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/contactless-conditions-of-use.pdf

Although primarily related to stations with barriers, there are potentially fraudulent uses if it were free to tap in and out again at the same station, and I presume this extends to stations without barriers and more than one entry/exit.

Although, if a train is cancelled you are entitled to a refund on the journey if you decide not to travel on a later service.

 

[Trog]

The public footpath at Leighton Buzzard is currently diverted over the older of the station footbridges during the ongoing maintenance of the public footpath bridge.

 

[Andrew1395]

The subway at Bushey not only gives access to all six platforms, (no gates just validators) but is also used by locals to avoid walking around a less than satisfactory public footpath. until 30 years ago it was split by railings to separate rail and no rail users. There are signs saying it’s not a dedicated right of way, and until a decade ago the station was locked on 25 and 26 December, but they don’t do that now. It’s a true open station and better for it.

 

[Richardr]

Still the same for me. I had a gate pass from 2017/8 which stopped working about a month back and the member of staff on the gate just swapped it for a new one.


There is a footpath which goes under the railway next to the river north of the station which then runs between the collage and the road onto Pride Park. Not sure where you can access it on the Derby side.

Per:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/116124/response/286152/attach/4/R Funding Agreement 2001.pdf

(found via Wikipedia) - the funding agreement includes (section 7) that the public should be allowed across the bridge at Derby station whilst the railway is running whilst not creating a right of way.

 

[matt_world2004]

Moor park has the subway divided in half to allow people to walk through to the estate

Harrow on the hill part of the station concourse links two parts of Harrow together

Harrow and wealdstone has a note on the footbridge saying it's not a public right of way and if you tap in and out you will be charged

Bank and monument are connected together by platforms and walkways that are behind the gateline.

A few crossrail stations will have platforms that connect to two distinct areas like moorgate/Liverpool Street farringdon/Barbican. Although you would need s ticket or tap in and out at both stayoobs

You can walk across the DLR trains at Canary wharf to connect to two different parts of the shopping centre although only really possible with a ticket that doesn't need to be tapped in or out

 

[faltskog36abba]

Man Victoria station - Was a good cut through if you parked your car near Holt's brewery. But since the barriers went in this is a No No.

 

[High Dyke]

East Finchley on the Underground has a very convenient passageway under the platforms, that is divided in half to allow non passengers to use it as well as people inside the ticket barriers, as it's a convenient way to get from one side to the other!

Used it myself earlier today. Though I do have a one day travelcard to operate the barriers if needed.

South Kenton also has a footpath through the station area, but I didn't see any barriers to restrict non-rail passengers.

 

[geoffk]

Stockport station, was also historically used as a pedestrian through route, and when the brought in ticket barriers they assured people that this would continue, with "just passing" tickets being issued at the barriers to exit the other barriers. I don't know if they are still sticking to this offer.

You would also have to enter and exit the barriers if you arrived at the Edgeley entrance and needed to use the ticket office.

When I was living in the area the barriers at Stockport were usually left open but I did read that special tickets would be issued to anyone needing access through the subway.

I suppose this practice is common at many unstaffed stations where the alternative involves a long walk round and no-one is likely to stop you. The subway at Sowerby Bridge is another, if you're just visiting the Jubilee Refreshment Rooms and want to walk into town as the nearest alternative route involves a narrow road bridge with no footway and a bend in it under the railway, not a very safe route.

 

[Ambient Sheep]

Harrow and wealdstone has a note on the footbridge saying it's not a public right of way and if you tap in and out you will be charged

I was going to mention that one. I used to live quite near the SW entrance to the station, and found it immensely frustrating that I couldn't use the footbridge to go over to the NE side, instead having to climb up to the A409 road bridge with all the smoky road traffic, a ¼-mile steep detour.

Back then they didn't have the sign you mentioned though; luckily I had the sense to google it first and found the answer either on here or on MikeWh's old site.

 

[Mikey C]

Used it myself earlier today. Though I do have a one day travelcard to operate the barriers if needed.

South Kenton also has a footpath through the station area, but I didn't see any barriers to restrict non-rail passengers.

South Kenton has no barriers full stop! If anything I'd class the underpass as a public footpath, with the rail passageway to the platforms branching off it, though legally that might not be accurate

 

[High Dyke]

South Kenton has no barriers full stop! If anything I'd class the underpass as a public footpath, with the rail passageway to the platforms branching off it, though legally that might not be accurate

Ah, good point. I never ventured up the platforms.

 

[vlad]

Alvechurch station has a public footpath that comes out on platform 1, which suggests that the station footbridge is part of the public footpath as otherwise the only way to access it is by rail from Redditch.

 

[davews]

The route of the Capital Ring goes straight through the subway at South Kenton which since TFL support the Capital Ring is near enough saying it is a public right of way!

 

[EbbwJunction1]

There's been a number of different bridges across Newport South Wales station, and there's another one under construction at the moment.

At one stage, the internal bridge between the platforms also had an entrance / exit onto the road at the back of the station. This wasn't always staffed (there were no gates then), so I'm sure that people used to use it as an access to the station and take their chances if travelling. The other end, through the old station building, was mostly staffed, so if you tried to get out into the town, you'd probably be stopped - but what they would do about it, I don't know.

The bridge access to the rear entrance was later closed and removed; it was replaced with a ramp and a very manky tunnel underneath the station which surfaced outwith the station. It's this tunnel which is now being replaced by a new bridge which starts and ends outside the station and will not have any access to it, so there'll be no way of getting access to the station.

The main internal bridge via the new station building has a gate line at both ends, although at certain times it's not staffed, so can theoretically be used for access to the town, but you're running the risk of one end being staffed even if the other one isn't!

 

[InOban]

It is easier to use Waverley Bridge.

 

[reb0118]

Edinburgh Waverley is another, the high level walkway across the centre of the station from Market Street, on the south side, over to the foot of the substantial steps up to Princes Street. That used to get a lot of use.

There was a former right of way that the railway obliterated further down from what is now Calton Road to Jeffrey Street. The railway had to construct a walkway across the station to compensate. However this has now been recently removed (the actual walkway has been closed for years but only finally disappeared when the station roof was replaced)

The vestiges of that remain, however. As you enter the station from Calton Road look to the bricked up wall before the right angle. This was the original destination of the walkway. Follow that line to the roof and you will see a slightly raised section to accommodate the said walkway. It further ran across what is now the carpark & signalling centre. There are even "abutments" hidden within the railings on East Market Street showing were it crossed on its way to Jeffrey Street.

 

[Wtloild]

There are stations where it is possible to cross the railway without buying a ticket or tapping in. If there are barriers, the footbridge is divided into public and rail-side halves, as at Teddington and Surbiton. (There are also stations like Kew Gardens which have separate entrances on each side so you can't change platforms without tapping out and in again.

The subway under Blackburn station is the main route from the town centre to the cinema complex. There are barriers separating rail passengers from through pedestrians.

 

[318259]

Hyndland station in the west end of Glasgow is an interesting one. It serves as a useful shortcut with a big residential area on one side of the station, and a hospital and main road on the other.

Hyndland has an island platform, and there’s a modern accessible footbridge with lifts and stairs at both sides and the middle. You can pass from one side to the other without going near the platform.

Before the new bridge was built, there was an old concrete overpass connecting the residential area to the platform, and an underpass connecting the hospital side to the platform. You had to go all the way up the stairs, cross the westbound line, come back down the stairs, walk along the platform, go down more stairs into the underpass, cross the eastbound line, then come back up the stairs at the other side. It was ridiculously inaccessible for a hospital station. There were no lifts.

A few years before the bridge was rebuilt, they replaced the two stairs in front of the ticket office with a disabled ramp and installed an automatic door with a disabled push pad. It looked quite silly in a station that could only be accessed by big staircases.

 

[Timmyd]

Tulse Hill is a pain for locals. From a decent part of the area to the shops and bus stops the easiest way was always through the subway but now there are gates at both ends its reasonable detour to get there. During Covid they put a one way system in through the subway (ie enter one side exit the other) which you could never tell in advance whether it was being enforced, adding 10 minutes to my walk to the train in the morning otherwise I risked missing it.

 

[philthetube]

The route of the Capital Ring goes straight through the subway at South Kenton which since TFL support the Capital Ring is near enough saying it is a public right of way!

It also goer through East Finchley, that is not a public footpath either.

 

[plugwash]

Salford Crescent used to be accessed from a footbridge that also forms part of the Salford university campus. I have no idea what the legal status of said bridge was/is, the bridge is still there but the ramp connecting it to the station platform was removed when the station was redeveloped in 2012.

The station is now accessed via a new ticket office and footbridge. The new ticket office is located above a road that runs next to the railway and opens out onto the bridge that carries the A6 across the railway.

 

[Kite159]

I would imagine some of the stations on the Cathcart circle which have multiple entrances can get used by non rail users as a shortcut (Mount Florida, Queens Park etc)