Extended journeys

Two things have been winding me up about the operation at Euston - queueing to get off platforms 8-11 in the morning (Platform planning) and trains dropping off the VDU displays a couple of minutes before departure (Euston announcements).

Some 'light digging' has revealed some interesting info about the above two subjects.  Working in reverse order, so starting with the journey home...  Network Rail/Virgin Trains/London Midland have apparently decided that to deter people from running across the concourse and down the ramps, they will deliberately drop the VDU information for a train two minutes before it's scheduled departure time. 

Now to the morning...  Before the remodelling work on the automatic barriers and the surrounding structures on platforms 8-11, there were set time slots when the gates were open.  What this meant was that at busy times, the flow of passengers coming into Euston was significantly eased.

The remodelling work did improve things in terms of more gates across a wider front and a slightly wider approach from platforms 10-11 thanks to the moving back of some railings, BUT London Midland have negated those benefits by deciding to keep the gates working on automatic throughout.  That wouldn't be so bad, but the loss of the manual gate means that we are all slowed down when people have to seek assistance when their tickets fail to work the automatic barriers.

The 'Magic E'.  The mark on
the 3rd pillar which platform
staff are using as the measure
for when to open the
automatic barriers

I've queried the above and been told that the automatic gates will normally now only be opened if the queue will take 5 minutes or more to clear.  'Health & Safety' have been down and given the platform staff marks on the platforms for when that point is reached.  These marks are the signs on the third pillars from the gates (see picture right).

London Midland reckon that they can clear the passengers from two 12 coach trains off the platforms in 3 minutes.  Sorry, but I don't believe it.  The 8-car 0700 ex-Bletchley can arrive at Euston platform 11 within a minute or two of an 8-car train on platform 8 and a 4-car on platform 10.  From the end carriage in those circumstances it will easily take 5 minutes plus to reach the ramp.  Maybe London Midland haven't taken into account people coming the other way to board trains, passengers with bicycles/luggage, and non-working tickets...

Even if 5 minutes is correct, what London Midland is effectively saying is that they are happy to extend our journey times by that amount.  On the way home they expect us to be on the platforms at least 2 minutes before departure too.  I'm sorry, but I think this is ridiculous.

What do you reckon?  Are you happy to be held up on your way into London by the queue for the gates?  Are you willing to miss a train because when you arrive at the station at the last minute you don't know what platform it is leaving from?  I'd love to know your view...


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Mission possible

Anyone following this blog or the accompanying Twitter feeds will know that I've got a been in my bonnet about the lack of Bletchley calls on the fast services during the PM peak.  During the day and from mid evening we have trains that do Euston-Leighton Buzzard-Bletchley but not between 4-7pm.  The reason for this isn't clear, but it is specifically sanctioned in the West Midlands Franchise Agreement between the Department for Transport and London Midland ("Peak departures from London Euston may omit to call at Bletchley" page 79 section 5.5).

Well it took a dispute between London Midland and ASLEF (train drivers' union) to make it happen, but on two days in the past week Bletchley was back on the timetable for a couple of fast peak services home!

The dispute appears to have started over driver training in the Birmingham area, but the result is that the drivers are working only their basic contractual hours.  This has been rumbling on for weeks, but only recently has its impact extended to commuter services in/out of Euston.



17:46 timetable Monday 21/02/2011


On Monday, with no overtime being worked, from Euston London Midland had to cancel the semi-fast 17:24 and stop the fast 17:46 at Leighton Buzzard.  A conversation started on Twitter with @londonmidland about where the 17:46 was actually going to terminate.  It turned out that the train was going to have to run through to the platforms at Bletchley to drop off the guard so London Midland agreed to make that an official stop.  

On Friday London Midland had to cancel the 17:51.  Further conversations took place on Twitter and that morning @londonmidland confirmed that the 17:46 and 18:13 would have additional stops at Bletchley).

There are many positives that have come out of this.  Bletchley passengers have been helped enormously by the additional stops (Friday's 17:46 must have had 50+ who got off on platform 1).  Passengers bound for other destinations on other services have benefited by the correspondening reduction in passengers on their trains.

Twitter has proved its worth and @londonmidland has rightly earned a lot of praise for the willingness to take this things up.  After years of showing inflexibility when there are problems, London Midland and Network Rail have done well to take action and adapt their normal timetables.



17:46 timetable Friday 25/02/2011


Some people on Twitter on Friday night made the very valid point that we shouldn't have to ask for these timetable changes.  Hopefully though, London Midland have got the message and now they realise that thiese kind of changes can be made without the entire line grinding to a halt, we'll see them doing this pro-actively.

And who knows, is there maybe someone in London Midland's planning team who is now starting to think that Bletchley can reappear on the timetables for the fast services in the PM peak?  It would be nice to think so, because I for one greatly miss the old 17:40 that went non-stop to Bletchley...



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Service improved? 7

London Midland have a page on their website titled Improving our services where they describe the steps they are taking to address a number of problem areas.

This is the seventh in a series of blog postings which covers an aspect of the service that London Midland say they are working on.

Better Stations

London Midland say they are "investing over £11 million in making our stations better, safer and easier to use. We are working with our partners to deliver a further £9.5 million worth of improvements at over 40 smaller stations across our network" (I'm unsure what the difference is between "stations" and "smaller stations"!)

Under this heading London Midland claim to have a programme to improve the signage at 147 stations and have 51 stations accredited under the national secure stations scheme. 

Some of the items that might be considered to fall under "better stations" have been covered under different headings (e.g. information and ticket offices), but there's a lot missing here.  What about toilets, shelters, or steps/lifts?  Where's the commitment to improve car parking or disabled access across their network?  How about putting staff back onto the platforms?

Putting aside what's said on the London Midland website, what has London Midland achieved in practice over the last year or so?  I can only write about Bletchley and Euston, but here goes...

At Bletchley the parking is significantly better than it was 3-4 years ago (it's also cheaper following last year's price reductions!)   VDU information screens (covered under Service improvements? 4) are miles better than they were.  Unfortunately, nothing else has changed.

The toilets at Bletchley (or at least the gents!) haven't been refurbished for as long as I can remember.  That said, they are OK but they are open only when the station is manned.  There are platform shelters only for southbound, 4 & 5.  They have heaters but frequently stink of cigarette smoke.  The shelter at the north end has no VDU information boards within line of sight.

Compared with other stations (e.g. Leighton Buzzard), Bletchley seems to be well kitted out with lifts and generally OK for disabled access.  On the latter though, London Midland let themselves down a bit with the doors into and out of the main station building.  For as long as I can remember, the staff have been bolting one half of the double doors (presumably to stop draughts).  This is a pain when there's a queue of people going through, and must be very difficult for anyone using a wheelchair or walking with crutches.

The biggest complaint about Bletchley has to be the absence of station staff on the platforms.  At 7am on a wet/dark morning when there's a problem with the southbound services from platforms 4 & 5, the nearest member of staff is far away, over a bridge and in the main station building. 

Is Bletchley a secure station?  I wouldn't like to find myself waiting for a train around midnight, alone on the platform (with the station unmanned by mid-evening) apart from a bunch of youths who have had a few alcopops too many...

So what about Euston?  Well it has facilities and staff by abundance.  The automatic gates for platforms 8-11 are a pain (see Platform planning) and are still a problem after the recent remodelling, but there can be no complaints about signage, access, or shelter.  Access to the toilets has to be paid for, but the facilities are good.

Until a couple of weeks ago I'd have complained here about the year on year increase in shops on the concourse (crowding people going to, from and waiting for trains into a smaller area), but having recently travelled through Kings Cross I know there's at least one other London terminus which is a lot worse.

So what's the overall rating?  Do I think that there's real evidence of London Midland improving their stations?  I started this by saying that I could only talk about Bletchley and Euston and for those two stations I think I have to say that yes, things have got better.  There's a lot of work still to do, but things have improved.

What do you think?  Has your station been changed for the better since London Midland took over the franchise?

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Celebrity etiquette?

What would you do if you found yourself sat on a train next to someone you are 99.9% certain is him (or her) off the telly?  Would you try to engage them in conversation, or would you treat them the same as any other passenger (which usually means avoiding eye contact and only speaking if there is absolutely no alternative)?

I found myself in this position on a packed 18:05 from Euston last Thursday.  A man I recognised as a TV comedian and panel game participant got on the train at Euston. 

The celebrity didn't look very happy, but then no one does when they are stuck between two other adult men on a bench of three seats.  No room to move, no room to sit back.  He stayed, rigidly sat upright until we got to Watford where he got off.

This has happened to me twice before.  On an overground train out of Liverpool Street I found myself sat opposite the recent winner of one of the BBC Apprentice series (presumably off to Lord Sugar's HQ in north east London) and then there was an occasion when I found myself walking along an almost empty London Underground platform past the (then) England cricket captain.

I reckon that the first two were probably grateful that no one acknowledged who they were (on the Thursday's 18:05 there was no room for autographs) but the cricketer did look like he was hoping someone would speak (if he was then he was disappointed!)

Has this happened to you to, and if so what did you do?  If you spoke to them then how did they react?  Did they seem pleased to get the attention, or were they annoyed?



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