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Namely, the idiots at National Express who thought it'd be a great idea to install barriers at York Station.
I think they're wrong for a whole bunch of reasons, which I have sent to the council via their website for objecting to the whole planning application.
I commute via rail between York and Sheffield every weekday, and have done so for the past 7 years. I travel between my house and York station by bicycle.
I object to barriers being put in place at the station for the following reasons:
1. York station is an historical building, of interest not only to those travelling by rail, but also to people studying architecture, the history of the railways, and so on.
2. Due to its proximity to the National Railway Museum, and due to the summer steam service to the coast, York Station also has a good number of rare, old and unusual trains passing through it, which are of interest to the hundreds of people who gather on the platforms to see such trains pass through.
3. My elderly parents come to visit from Huddersfield, using the train instead of driving. I meet them off the train and I walk them all the way back to their train when they leave, as they find locating the right train a little confusing, and as my mother has a bad heart and needs a little assistance in crossing the footbridge. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has elderly or infirm relatives and friends visiting, and I do not want to be forced to leave them to fend for themselves if these barriers are erected.
I am concerned that the people mentioned above (including myself) will lose access to the station, or will be required to pay to obtain platform tickets, a sum which may be tiny to the railway companies, but is yet another burden on the public - who, let's not forget, still subsidise the railways through our taxes to a very considerable amount.
4. GNER/Railtrack/Network Rail recently spent a considerable sum of money opening up a footbridge to the rear of the station to enable people to have access to the National Rail Museum and the Leeman Road area of the city without having to walk all the way round past the York Royal Hotel and the Royal Mail Sorting Office. Are you now proposing to close up that entrance?
5. What provision is to be made for people in wheelchairs, with mobility problems, large amounts of luggage, pushchairs, bicycles, etc etc? There's usually staff around during the day, but very early and very late in the day, the staffing levels are very low. Not everyone is able to pass through a barrier, so can National Express guarantee to have someone on duty actually at the barrier 24 hours a day, every day of the year? And how much will they be raising ticket prices - yet again - to pay for this?
I am highly concerned that by focussing on what is surely going to be a hugely expensive, disruptive and highly inappropriate barrier system under the pretext of revenue protection, National Express are going to massively restrict access to the station to the detriment of anyone who isn't a fully-mobile train-user, and further, that they will use this as a pretext to raise ticket prices even higher, despite our train tickets being amongst the most expensive in the world.
These barriers will also slow the flow of traffic through the station, leading to long queues and delays at peak times, with a resulting danger of overcrowding on platform 3.
At present, York is an open, friendly and interesting station; one I am very happy to have spent the last 7 years commuting through. I can't help but believe that introducing barriers will make my commute deeply unpleasant, putting stress onto the start and end of my working day, and will destroy that friendly nature which is so special to York Station, and so unique. I have always found barriered stations such as Leeds, the stations on the London Underground, etc, to be deeply hostile and stressful places, because the bottlenecks created at the barriers also have a negative psychological impact on the people who use these stations. I would be very sad indeed to see this happen to York Station.
Go here to have your say on the matter.
I think they're wrong for a whole bunch of reasons, which I have sent to the council via their website for objecting to the whole planning application.
I commute via rail between York and Sheffield every weekday, and have done so for the past 7 years. I travel between my house and York station by bicycle.
I object to barriers being put in place at the station for the following reasons:
1. York station is an historical building, of interest not only to those travelling by rail, but also to people studying architecture, the history of the railways, and so on.
2. Due to its proximity to the National Railway Museum, and due to the summer steam service to the coast, York Station also has a good number of rare, old and unusual trains passing through it, which are of interest to the hundreds of people who gather on the platforms to see such trains pass through.
3. My elderly parents come to visit from Huddersfield, using the train instead of driving. I meet them off the train and I walk them all the way back to their train when they leave, as they find locating the right train a little confusing, and as my mother has a bad heart and needs a little assistance in crossing the footbridge. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has elderly or infirm relatives and friends visiting, and I do not want to be forced to leave them to fend for themselves if these barriers are erected.
I am concerned that the people mentioned above (including myself) will lose access to the station, or will be required to pay to obtain platform tickets, a sum which may be tiny to the railway companies, but is yet another burden on the public - who, let's not forget, still subsidise the railways through our taxes to a very considerable amount.
4. GNER/Railtrack/Network Rail recently spent a considerable sum of money opening up a footbridge to the rear of the station to enable people to have access to the National Rail Museum and the Leeman Road area of the city without having to walk all the way round past the York Royal Hotel and the Royal Mail Sorting Office. Are you now proposing to close up that entrance?
5. What provision is to be made for people in wheelchairs, with mobility problems, large amounts of luggage, pushchairs, bicycles, etc etc? There's usually staff around during the day, but very early and very late in the day, the staffing levels are very low. Not everyone is able to pass through a barrier, so can National Express guarantee to have someone on duty actually at the barrier 24 hours a day, every day of the year? And how much will they be raising ticket prices - yet again - to pay for this?
I am highly concerned that by focussing on what is surely going to be a hugely expensive, disruptive and highly inappropriate barrier system under the pretext of revenue protection, National Express are going to massively restrict access to the station to the detriment of anyone who isn't a fully-mobile train-user, and further, that they will use this as a pretext to raise ticket prices even higher, despite our train tickets being amongst the most expensive in the world.
These barriers will also slow the flow of traffic through the station, leading to long queues and delays at peak times, with a resulting danger of overcrowding on platform 3.
At present, York is an open, friendly and interesting station; one I am very happy to have spent the last 7 years commuting through. I can't help but believe that introducing barriers will make my commute deeply unpleasant, putting stress onto the start and end of my working day, and will destroy that friendly nature which is so special to York Station, and so unique. I have always found barriered stations such as Leeds, the stations on the London Underground, etc, to be deeply hostile and stressful places, because the bottlenecks created at the barriers also have a negative psychological impact on the people who use these stations. I would be very sad indeed to see this happen to York Station.
Go here to have your say on the matter.
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 06:08 pm (UTC)From:it might be worth sending something to Hugh Bailey too.
Ook
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 11:55 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 06:42 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 07:17 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 08:09 pm (UTC)From:I wholeheartedly object to the application. York is primarily a tourist destination, and the beautiful historic railway station is not just a transport hub - it's a tourist destination in itself, with its gorgeous architecture and over 130 years of history. Building automatic ticket gates and glazed barriers is nothing less than vandalism - akin to selling advertising space on the side of the Minster!
National Express have only recently won the East Coast Line service. If the volume of trains is lower or equal to that which they anticipated, then current staffing levels should prove sufficient. If the volume is higher, then additional income should be enough for additional staff, if needed - certainly no compelling reason to install cold, stainless steel barriers into the warmth of this outstanding piece of architecture.
Also, the East Coast Line (and York station) is operated under time-limited license, and not freehold. Why should National Express be permitted to ruin this tourist draw for future operators, for the people of York, and for the tens of thousands of tourists, for whom the station provides a genuinely warm welcome to our city?