Network Rail failing to stop 'unacceptable' overcrowding at Euston train station, says rail regulator
London's Euston saw hundreds of passengers stranded over the weekend after a points failure stopped all trains, following three 'incidents of concern' over the summer
Wednesday 18 October 2023 17:17, UK
London's Euston station is seeing "unacceptable" overcrowding and safety risks, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regulator has said.
The regulator said Network Rail is failing to prevent potential safety issues and had no "risk-assessed plan" for two major crowd crush areas.
Passengers waiting on the station's concourse often surge forwards when the platform their train is departing from is announced.
The ORR made a visit to the station in September after reviewing CCTV footage of three "incidents of concern" in the summer.
In the footage, which showed "crowding reaching unacceptable levels and a lack of crowd control", there were "reports of minor injuries" and "the potential for more serious consequences".
The ORR found that Network Rail, which manages the station, had "no recorded, risk-assessed plan" for two pinch points where "crowding is most concentrated".
Some control measures that did exist were found to be "inadequate", while signage and layout to assist passenger flows was "not of an acceptable standard".
The ORR has now issued an improvement notice to Network Rail in relation to the station.
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Ticket restrictions on Britain's railways sometimes mean peak services in the mornings and early evenings can be more expensive and less used than off-peak services, which can result in overcrowding for later trains.
Simon Bennett, Network Rail's West Coast South route head of stations and passenger experience said that managing "a popular and busy station like Euston is a daily challenge".
He added: "Our team, along with the ORR, want to do more, which is why we have cleared the concourse of shops to make more room for our passengers.
"We've fitted new state-of-the-art information boards, both inside and outside the station.
"We're also now trialling earlier boarding of services with our train operating colleagues to help reduce crowding at peak times."
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'Hundreds of people were kettled'
Euston was the UK's seventh busiest railway station in the year to the end of March 2022, with 23.1 million entries and exits.
At 10.40am, on Sunday 15 October, a points failure at Euston station caused all lines to shut.
Network Rail said at the time: "We're sorry for the disruption to services in and out of London Euston earlier today while our engineers repaired a fault with the signalling system in the area."
In January, passengers called on the Southeastern rail operator to "do something" as reduced timetables led to hundreds of commuters being diverted to London Bridge - the third busiest station in the UK.
Former Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe said at a council meeting at the time: "Hundreds of people were kettled onto platforms.
"Things got so bad there was violence, and the police were called to the station."
London Bridge saw 33.3 million entries and exists in the year to March 2022, behind Waterloo's 41.4 million and Victoria's 36.7 million.
Euston was due to be the terminus for the HS2 line to Birmingham, but Sky News understands the line will not reach the station without private sector funding.