THE NORTH WESTs WEAKEST LINK RAIL STATIONS · 3.2 The infrastructure of station buildings was the lowest priority at the time British Rail was privatised and disaggregated in 1996

TravelWatch NORTHWEST

Oxford St Manchester: Tel 0161 238 7071

Email: [email protected] Website: www.travelwatch-northwest.org.ukCorrespondence address �– 11 Harvelin Park, Todmorden, OL14 6HX

promoting quality public transport..........

THE NORTH WEST�’s

�‘WEAKEST LINK�’RAIL STATIONS

Building on the government�’s stations�’ champions report: TravelWatch NorthWest�’s investigations & recommendations

Editor: LILLIAN BURNS February 2010

North West Public Transport Users�’ Forum Community Interest Company trading as TravelWatch NorthWest Company No. 6181713

Registered Office: 2 Park House Drive, Heversham, Cumbria LA7 7EG

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.travelwatch-northwest.org.uk/

The North West�’s �‘Weakest Link�’ major rail stations: TW NW�’s investigations & recommendations

TRAVELWATCH NORTHWEST MISSION STATEMENT AND AIMS TravelWatch NorthWest�’s mission statement is as follows:

Facilitating an integrated and seamless quality public transport network for North West England

The vision of TravelWatch NorthWest (TW NW) is to champion the interests of public transport users in the North West so that the network can become:

Accessible to everyone Affordable and socially inclusive Available where and when it is needed Acceptable to all Attractive to users

Key objectives are:

1 To give users a platform to express their concerns and needs 2 To contribute to the development of regional transport strategies 3 To produce influential best practice reports based on evidence

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CONTENTS Page Paras Foreword 4 - 5 1.0 - 1.4 Extract/ key recommendations from �‘Better Stations�’ report 6 2.0 - 2.5 Introduction 7 3.0 - 3.4

Recommendations of TravelWatch NorthWest 8 4.0 - 4.6 Individual assessments of the �‘Weakest Link�’ stations: The Station Champions�’ priorities for investment in the N.W. Manchester Victoria 9 - 11 5.0 - 5.14 Crewe 12 - 14 5.15 - 5.31 Warrington Bank Quay 15 - 17 5.32 - 5.43 Preston 18 - 20 5.44 - 5.61 Wigan North Western 21 - 22 5.62 - 5.72 Liverpool Central 23 - 25 5.73 - 5.90 Stockport 25 - 27 5.91 - 5.99 Carlisle 28 - 31 5.101 - 5.110 Chester 32 - 34 5.120 - 5.133 TravelWatch North West�’s additional candidates: Manchester Oxford Road 35 5.134 - 5.139 Bolton 36 - 37 5.140 - 5.149 Blackpool North 37 - 38 5.150 - 5.157 Conclusions 39 6.0 - 6.5 Contributors 40 Annex 1: Detailed recommendations from �‘Better Stations�’ report 41 - 43

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1. FOREWORD

1.1 No less than seven of the 10 worst major railway stations in England and Wales are in the North West of England according to a government-commissioned report, �‘Better Rail Stations�’ 1. Published by the Department for Transport (DfT), the report was drawn up by two �‘Station Champions�’ who were appointed by Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport, ie. Sir Peter Hall, Professor of Planning at University College London and President of the Town & Country Planning Association and Chris Green, non-executive director of Network Rail, former Chief Executive of Virgin Trains and former chairman of the Railway Forum. Lord Adonis accepted their report and has committed a new £50 m. fund to improving the 10 worst stations, which he wants to see supplemented by contributions from commercial and third parties and train operating companies. TravelWatch NorthWest (TW NW) has produced this report in support of these aspirations (aided by �‘mystery shoppers�’ - which also was the modus operandi used by the �‘Station Champions�’). TW NW is also pressing for the prioritisation of some other worthy candidate stations.

1.2 The �‘Stations Champions�’ worked with a number of key stakeholders including Cycling England and Passenger Focus. Their report highlighted the category of station which Network Rail class as Regional Hub �‘B�’ as being most in need of urgent attention due to their high footfall. Their list of 30 worst-scoring stations in this category in terms of the physical fabric of the buildings and their environments included nine in total in the

North West England. Manchester Victoria was classed as the worst of all, validating a critical report that TW NW produced on Manchester Stations earlier last year 2 .

The �‘Manchester Stations�’ report by TW NW, which features the Oxford Road station frontage on the cover (left) and also reports on Victoria, Piccadilly, Deansgate, Salford Central & Salford Crescent stations is downloadable from the �‘study reports�’ part of the TW NW website at: www. travelwatch-northwest.org. uk or go to: http://users/cooptel.net/ ianwatson/nwptuf/ Manstns_209.pdf

1 �‘Better Rail Stations�’, an independent review presented to Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport, by Chris Green MA Oxon, FCIT and Prof. Sir Peter Hall FBA Hon MRTPI, Nov 2009 2 �‘Passengers�’ Perceptions of Manchester�’s Stations�’ by David Butterworth for TW NW Feb 2009

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http://users/cooptel.net


Foreword continued

1.3 The Station Champions�’ poorest scoring �‘B�’ category stations (worst first) were: 1. Manchester Victoria

2. Clapham Junction 3. Crewe 4. Warrington Bank Quay 5. Barking 6. Preston 7. Wigan North Western 8. Luton 9. Liverpool Central 10. Stockport

28th worst was Carlisle and 29th worst was Chester

The east side of Manchester Victoria station showing its stripped canopy with props July 2009

1.4 To this sorry list TravelWatch NorthWest would add Bolton, Blackpool North and Manchester Oxford Road because of the volume of passenger movements they facilitate and the shortfalls they each have. TW NW argues in this report that they should be regarded as major stations and should be prioritised for improvement with the others.

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2. EXTRACT FROM THE �‘BETTER STATIONS�’ REPORT

2.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2.2 Only two thirds of customers are satisfied with Britain�’s stations. This is a mediocre result, and a demanding service industry should be seeking to lift this to at least the Overall Satisfaction level of 80%. The passenger�’s first priority is clearly the journey itself; but a smart, modern station is an important adjunct which can make or break the public transport experience.

2.3 The customer requirement is for easy access through a safe and pleasant station envi-

ronment. The cause of the dissatisfaction is not face-to-face service �– which is highly rated when provided �– but the physical station facilities, which are only scored at 50% satisfaction. If stations are to be improved, the solution must lie in finding affordable ways of bringing their facilities and environment up to a consistent modern standard.

2.4 We recognise that additional funding will be very limited up to 2014 and we propose that the time is used to introduce minimum station standards into every new franchise and exploit all existing funding channels to prioritise the problem stations we have highlighted. Beyond 2014, we propose a ten year catch-up period for stations to bring them up to the standard of the modern train fleets.

2.5 We suggest that this two-part strategy is delivered in the following ways:

2.6 Key e R commendations

�‘ �’�‘ �’

�‘ �’

�–

�‘ �’

[Extract from the Executive Summary of the �‘Better Stations�’ report, Nov. 2009, page 5]

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3. INTRODUCTION

3.1 TravelWatch NorthWest (TW NW) welcomes the fact that the inadequacy of the majority of the major stations in this region has been recognised. Serious modal shift from cars to public transport is not going to be achieved until the comfort levels of using public transport are raised across the board. In the case of rail, this means not just the rolling stock but the places where passengers have to wait to use the trains and where they disembark, ie. the stations. Even taking into account the fact that most people�’s expectations of railway stations in the UK are quite low and most users are quite stoical about it, what they have to put up with is simply not good enough.

3.2 The infrastructure of station buildings was the lowest priority at the time British Rail was privatised and disaggregated in 1996 and they have continued to suffer ever since due to short term train operator franchises. Of the 2,500 stations in Britain, only the top-rated ones - the 25 regarded as �‘National Hubs�’ (ie. 0.01%) are directly the responsibility of Network Rail. In this region that includes Manchester Piccadilly which received a major remodelling prior to the Commonwealth Games and which, apart from continued overcrowding problems on platforms 13 and 14, is now a flagship station. And Liverpool Lime Street whose up-grade was completed late last year. Visually and functionally the improvements to Liverpool Lime Street are very welcome but, unlike Piccadilly, it is not temperature controlled and on a bleak winter�’s night its slightly elevated position is as exposed to damp and cold air from the Mersey Estuary as buildings on the waterfront and it is bitterly cold in the station. Not an appealing proposition if a car is an alternative.

3.3 Other categories of railway stations have suffered from lack of investment and attention. Although Network Rail is the landlord, it has primarily been the responsibility of the Train Operating Companies and as the TOCs have had no certainty as to their long-term future, they have been loathe to invest more than absolutely necessary in infrastructure. Mean-while local authorities have found it difficult through their Local Transport Plans (LTPs) to apportion much funding to stations and the Regional Funding Allocation (RFA) structure has only recently been amended to make it possible for rail to benefit via that mechanism.

3.4 The Station Champions appointed by the Transport Secretary recognised that funding is not going to be available in the short term to seriously address all stations, although they drew up minimum standards for each station category as an aspiration to aim for. They chose to focus their attention on the Regional Hub �‘B�’ category stations which they have recommended should be re-named �‘National B Interchanges�’ and they advised that some large stations previously in the top rank should be relegated to this category. This includes Preston, Stockport and Crewe in this region. (It could be argued that by so relegating these stations, some imperatives are removed from them but we would hope there was no cynical intent in this move). We agree with the Station Champions high-lighting the stations they did in the North West - including Preston, Stockport and Crewe - but usage (based on the Champions�’ own criteria) also demands that Manchester Oxford Road and Bolton should be re-categorised upwards while Blackpool North has to be a close contender for similar treatment. The key criteria for category B ranking is that the stations are used by over two million passengers per annum. According to the Office of the Rail Regulator, Oxford Road recorded 4,330,800 entries and exits in 2007, Bolton 2,098,679 in 2007-8 and Blackpool North 1,684,803. However, there is an issue about adequately recording the number of passengers changing trains and the fact that former PTE area ticket sales (now ITAs) are not recognised by the system.

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4. RECOMMENDATIONS OF TRAVELWATCH NORTHWEST 4.1 Following the �‘Station Champions�’ report, supplemented by TravelWatch North

West�’s own investigations, there should now be a concerted effort by the rail industry and its partners to raise the standard of Grade B stations to Grade A levels, while the government needs to demand more in operating franchises

4.2 Apart from general up-grading, to a robust standard, and providing a much- improved customer offer, specific tasks which need to be tackled are:

Manchester Victoria �– Immediately: sort out the temporary signage. In the short term: introduce a zero tolerance policy towards loiterers/ drug dealers; deep clean/ maintain an acceptable level of cleanliness in the lavatories; provide information on free shuttle bus. Medium term: Refurbish the lavatories; sort out the passenger-tram conflict at platform A; draw up a master plan that provides for the Manchester Hub and other longer term plans Crewe �– Short term: Make a decision as to whether Crewe station stays where it is or moves, based on sustainable transport/ DaSTS (Delivering a Sustainable Transport System) criteria and its role in any future long term plans. Medium term: Agree a master plan which tackles the internal offerings at the station as well as the external needs, especially parking, as part of the Crewe Visioning initiative. Warrington Bank Quay �– Short term: Signpost circular bus service; ensure both waiting rooms are open in evenings. Medium-long term: Major up-grade/ re-build. Preston �– Short term: Stop trains closer to subway/ encourage passengers to use it to avoid over-crowding on bridges. Provide shuttle bus between rail/bus stations. Medium-long term: Carry out a major up-grade that includes widening the bridges. Wigan North Western �– Short term: Improve toilets. Medium-long term: Close Wigan Wallgate/ create one (totally re-built) station fit for the C21st at Wigan NW. Liverpool Central �– Short term: Create ground floor waiting room/ cycle parking. Medium-long term: Carry out MerseyTravel�’s master plan. Stockport �– Short term: Adequate cycle parking. Medium-long term: Major refurbishment; more car parking; proper provision for bus-rail station link Carlisle �– Short-medium term: Improve signage; sort out hump in the passenger bridge; get the lifts working again, design/ install more sympathetic entrance doors, re-design lobby area and steam-clean the building inside and out; repair roof Chester �– Short term: Better signage for long stay parking & for free bus shuttle. Medium term: More platform seats & car/cycle parking; repair roof; platform upgrade

4.3 Re-categorise up to level �‘B�’ those stations whose usage demands it, notably Manchester Oxford Road, Bolton and Blackpool North and include the works identified in this report in a properly-funded programme for this category of station

4.4 Local Authorities need to prioritise the railway stations in their areas, and access to them in their Local Transport Plans, particularly those which have the highest footfalls. However, they should work with rail industry partners in drawing up a rolling programme of up-grades and repairs in order to meet DaSTS aspirations.

4.5 Better planning for onward travel of passengers, whether it be by provision of bus

stops, pick up/set down points with good visible information at strategic points.

4.6 The government and the ORR must evolve a scheme for better recording footfall

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5. OUR �‘WEAKEST LINK�’ STATIONS

5.1 MANCHESTER VICTORIA MANAGED BY NORTHERN RAIL (franchise ends 2013)

Last official annual recorded entries and exits: 5,060,000

5.2 Manchester Victoria Station is a Grade II listed four-storey building, built mainly in a neo- Baroque style of sandstone, with part slate and part glazed roofing. When it opened in 1844 at the height of the Victorian period, with its curved south-east corner betopped by a clock set in its own ornate elevation, round-arched windows and doorways at ground floor level, panelled booking hall and stained glass dome, it would have been an impressive spectacle. It still is �– from a distance �– but close up is now a sad sight both externally and internally and could be classed as an embarrassment to its otherwise well presented locality. It gained the lowest �‘mystery shopper�’ score in the entire country - 32% - in the survey carried out by the �‘Station Champions�’, who called for �“a major up-grade�”.

Unpleasant for passengers arriving on foot, is the heavily used Balloon Street entrance. It involves using a dimly-lit passageway, one of four entrances accessing the concourse. Note all the uncleared rubbish and litter immediately to the right of this access point.

5.3 TravelWatch NorthWest provided an assessment of this station in its February 2009 �‘Manchester Stations�’ report but carried out further investigatory visits at the beginning and end of December 2009 specifically for this exercise and found it incomprehensible to discover that our earlier advice of the urgent need for better signage to aid non-regular visits had not been acted upon. Temporary signs would have sufficed. But, instead, one of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ unfamiliar with the territory, arrived at platform 3a to be met with immediate confusion �– did they go over the stairs (signposted as the way to the exit) or follow some of the other alighting passengers who were heading towards a makeshift barrier (not signposted) which had been erected with temporary railings near a work site area? Following the majority of the other passengers took the �‘mystery shopper�’ to the same flimsy temporary barriers mentioned in our previous report where the same cursory visual check was made of tickets that we reported on before. And, just to add to the general feeling of despondency that pervades this station, the lift serving platform 3 was out of service for maintenance around the Christmas period.

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Yellow and other hoardings and traffic-style paraphernalia abound around Victoria station�’s concourse. The entire place feels most unwelcoming. Not somewhere most people would choose to relax and have something to eat and drink.

5.4 The station concourse was designed to be an impressive open space. It is now a dingy,

unwelcoming place, currently frequented by dubious characters and cluttered with boarded-off areas. A big area of the once spectacular roof is covered with netting and translucent material which minimise the leaks when it rains. Accommodation for staff occupies an area where there used to be waiting rooms and a small buffet and only one of the two shops was open when we visited. The former bank on the corner of the building is closed and dirty and what was once the dining room complete with cupola has long since lost its ambience and is no longer a pleasant place to take refreshment. The booking office and the level of lighting are about the only acceptable provisions.

5.5 It is hard to believe that there used to be 17 platforms at this station. Nowadays three are used for the Metrolink light rail system - A, B and C �– although A is currently out of use. There are two bay platforms �– 1 and 2 (2 is currently being re-modelled) �– then four through platforms - 3, 4, 5 and 6, the latter being bi-directional. These through-platforms are now sited beneath the MEN (Manchester Evening News) Arena that was build over them. This provided some funding at the time for repair and a little modernisation, but it created a dark and unpleasant subterranean structure.

5.6 Private motorists arriving at the station can only do so from Victoria Street, with the reverse direction reserved for buses. Dropping off passengers can be difficult; there is no free short-stay facility and just three pay spaces that are often monopolised by taxis. And there is a total lack of information about the free No. 2 Metroshuttle service.

5.7 None of the suggestions that TW NW made a year ago appear to have been implemented and nor have there been any more retail facilities opened up, despite the amount of space available for them and the fact that the �‘Station Champions�’ appointed by Lord Adonis estimated there is about £177,000 extra retail potential available here.

5.8 Nor has there been any improvement to the lavatories. A male investigator viewed the men�’s facilities in early December and described them as �“terrible�” (there have been no W.Cs for many years). A female investigator viewed the ladies facilities later the same month and said they were so poorly maintained as to be a health hazard. She found spattered marks on the walls that had clearly been there a long time especially disgusting.

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5.9 THE WAY FORWARD FOR MANCHESTER VICTORIA STATION

5.10 The government�’s �‘Stations Champions�’ called in their report for a master plan to be drawn up for Manchester Victoria that makes use of former operational land. Nothing less than a complete redevelopment should be considered, they said. TW NW supports this suggestion wholeheartedly �– but would urge that this is not done in isolation. It would be entirely inappropriate to design a mighty new station and only then start to address the question �‘What is it for?�’ The physical infrastructure of Victoria and indeed all the other Manchester stations needs to be considered as part of the discussions taking place about the Manchester Rail Hub. This debate needs to decide whether or not new heavy rail tracks are to be built in the centre of Manchester and if so, where, and what services should run to and through which stations. Similarly, long term plans for the future of light rail need to be part of the equation, along with the possibility of tram-trains.

5.11 Latest DfT guidance on major transport schemes requires that the approach favoured by Sir Rod Eddington in his report to government should be followed. The recommended starting point for major schemes is that they not only identify the problems but also set out the objectives. It then advises that various options should be considered and explored. In the case of Victoria Station, because it is an important listed structure, most options should �– as a minimum �– endeavour to retain the shell of the building, if not the roof, but a total redevelopment should not be dismissed (possibly on the site of the former Exchange station). However, it is appropriate to mention here that there are three war memorials at Victoria Station. All due consideration must be given to them.

5.12 A whole new concept of station design needs to be considered that is more customer- friendly. Also, all the Metrolink and bay platforms need to be covered. That would enable Metrolink platform A to be brought in to use, thus obviating the need for every outbound tram to move forward to platform B to set down and pick up passengers.

A section of the current boarded-off mess that the Metrolink trams are required to pass through at Victoria. The set up is such that passengershave to walk across the line, but it need not be so.

5.13 In addition, consideration might be given to erecting a cinema-style screen similar to that at London Euston.

5.14 The problems at Manchester Victoria station are enormous �– but the scale and complexity of them must not be an excuse for any further delay in addressing them and nor should aspirations by the present government for High Speed Rail 2 be allowed to take attention away from the urgent problems that exist which must be dealt with now.

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5.15 CREWE 5.16 MANAGED BY VIRGIN TRAINS (franchise ends 2012)

Last official annual recorded entries and exists: 1,900,139

5.17 Built in 1837, Crewe is one of the most famous historic railway stations because, apart from its position at a major interchange in the centre of the country, it was the home of train-building in the UK for well over 100 years. This fact is recognised by the existence of the Crewe Heritage Centre nearby, opened by the Queen in 1987 to commemorate 150 years of the town. However, former glory days of building magnificent locomotives are long gone and the station itself is well overdue for a major makeover.

Crewe Station (pictured here) and Manchester Victoria were described by the �‘Station Champions�’ as �“extreme

examples of large

Victorian Stations

which are top

priority for

special funding�” (para. 3.5, p.36, �‘Better Stations�’)

5.18 Cheshire County Council, before it ceased to exist, recognised that the station buildings and environs were well below modern standards and drew up plans for what it termed �‘The Crewe Rail Gateway Project�’. These included providing better access for vehicles and pedestrians, a multi-storey car park and improved nearby bus interchange. They had received a partial funding commitment from the North West Development Agency when Network Rail, as well as consulting on overhauling the existing station, also threw into the pot the possibility of re-siting the station to Basford (off the A500) �– one and a half miles to the south. Their rationale for this was that they were planning a £200 million resignalling and track improvement to increase capacity and line speed through Crewe but the present station layout, dating from the mid C19, precluded this.

5.19 Opponents to the concept of moving the station have argued that the suggested new track layout also has many shortcomings and moving the station even further away from the town centre to a site very accessible to the M6, would discourage local people from using public transport whilst encouraging more people from some distance away to drive to this station. The counter from Network Rail to the latter points has been that it would provide a park and ride facility to connect with the town centre and it claims that, according to its research, some 42% of passengers using Crewe do so as an interchange - so they never leave the station. Opposing groups challenge this latter assertion. The new Cheshire East Council has now picked up the cudgels on this as part of its planning for economic development over the next 20 years and it was due to produce a �‘Crewe Visioning�’ report at the end of February. In the meantime, 4NW, the Leaders�’ Forum, responded to the DfT�’s limited consultation on the �‘Better Stations�’ report by suggesting, amongst other things, that Crewe should become the location for a �‘Super Hub�’ station.

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5.20 This �‘Weakest Link�’ report by TW NW, which primarily focuses on the state of existing station infrastructure, is not the place for TW NW to be drawn into the ongoing debate about the future location of Crewe station but it is apposite to explain the current uncertainties �– which, of course, could be further thrown into confusion if aspirations for High Speed Rail 2 start to move forward and include paths through Cheshire.

5.21 As far as the existing station is concerned, it gives no concept of scale from its drab and unimpressive single storey main entrance on Nantwich Road, but that entrance leads straight through the ticket hall onto the main access bridge which is at the same level. From there it is necessary to descend via steps or lift to the platforms of which there are 12, half of which serve through lines. There is also a second footbridge over the lines.

5.22 The �‘Better Stations�’ report awarded Crewe a score of only 42%, based on its �‘mystery shopper�’ reports and ranked it third worst Regional Hub (category B) in the country after Manchester Victoria and Clapham Junction.�’ It called for a major up-grade.

5.23 Our �‘mystery shoppers�’ agreed that the fabric of the station is poor. They commented that platforms are uninviting and spaces between platforms are often used for storage

purposes, the two waiting rooms are basic and catering facilities limited, but one questioned whether the passenger environment was quite so bad as painted. That said, we would repeat an observation made at the outset ... such judgements are made against low expectations.

5.24 TW NW�’s investigators flagged up the issue of access by car. It is possible to drop passengers at the entrance, but inadequate convenient parking has been a major issue for many years. There is a short stay car park four minutes walk away but, after the first 20 minutes stay here, the charge is an excessive £10 per hour.

This picture is intended to provide a feel of the distance from the station to the very expensive short stay car park �– and how exposed it is. The parking problem at Crewe often results in cars blocking the station frontage.

5.25 The nearest longer-stay car park at Pedley Street is a five-to-10-minute walk away and

costs £8 for a standard day�’s parking. In addition, just before Christmas, Virgin Trains announced that they had leased part of a lorry park in Cowley Way, off Weston Road, slightly further away from the railway station. This provides an additional 365 parking spaces on top of the 500 at the Pedley Street car park which are so often taken from early in the morning. The fee is £4 per day or £2 per day after 10 a.m. and £1 per day at weekends. But, the key point remains that it is not possible to park adjacent to the station, a problem for the mobility-impaired and for everyone in bad weather.

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5.26 The taxi rank is immediately outside the station. Frequent bus services to Crewe bus station in the town centre also leave from a stop outside the entrance that has a timetable displayed on it, but the stops have been observed to be blocked on occasions by cars and delivery vans. The bus stop for eastbound buses is about 150 metres away with no signage. There are four ticket machines in the station but one was out of order around Christmas.

5.27 There is a very modest amount of not-very-secure cycle parking but it is inadequate. However, a new DfT initiative announced in September 2009 is going to benefit cycle

parking here. Crewe was specifically named as one of 350 stations across the country which, between them, will benefit from £3 m. to provide over 4,500 additional cycle park spaces. It is not known how many Crewe will receive.

Cycle parking between platforms at Crewe station. Other areas like this around the station are used for storage

5.28 Our surveyors noted that whilst the station itself is well signposted and accessible on foot without the necessity to use steps, the town centre �– which is almost a mile away �– is not signposted from the station, although there is a map of the surrounding area. (Of course, not everyone can read maps!)

5.29 A female �‘mystery shopper�’, waiting for a train one December evening in 2009, described Crewe as �“a cavernous, dark and brooding place�”. She felt that brightly-lit information boards, display cabinets and shops on the platforms �– even if they were not open at night �– would significantly �‘lift�’ the gloomy atmosphere. It is worth noting here that the DfT�’s station champions estimated that there was an extra annual retail potential of £45,000 p.a. at Crewe Station.

5.30 Overall, at the time of our inspections, the station was relatively tidy although there was a tatty seat in the waiting room on platform 5 and a male mystery shopper noted a leaking urinal in the gents�’ lavatory on platform 6.

5.31 The present uncertain future hanging over Crewe station requires urgent resolution. TW NW had understood that the issue was not going to be resolved during the current control period (CP4) which ends in 2014 when we learnt that the new Cheshire East Unitary Authority was now taking a leading role in the matter. We hope for a speedy resolution and one that will include investment commitments and the appointment of a dedicated local authority Rail Officer.

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5.32 WARRINGTON BANK QUAY 5.33 MANAGED BY VIRGIN TRAINS (franchise ends 2012)


5.34 Railway history has dictated the position of Warrington Bank Quay station on the West Coast Main Line. It is situated at the extreme south western edge of the central part of Warrington, adjacent to a highly visible and physically overpowering industrial area (see

photograph below, taken as night falls).

5.35 The site cuts through an undulating terrain which means that part of it �– the northern end where the entrance is �– is on a level with the surrounding area but much of the remainder is on an embankment and very exposed. This location is quite a long walk from the town centre and also the bus station. In addition, it is a 15 to 20-minute walk between Warrington Bank Quay and Warrington Central railway station. There is a bus service linking up these places �– along with the Centre Park commercial site and other facilities �– but it is not obviously signed from the station and, because it is just the one circular service trying to be all things to all people, it does not serve any users well.

5.36 In order to use the 101 Centre Park Circular, pedestrians have to cross a busy road and proceed about 100 yards to an undercover stop next to a newsagent. (Not much use for the mobility impaired). The service is mainly business hours only and sponsored by the North West Development Agency whose headquarters are situated on the Centre Park business site. At the moment it routes via the business park first. There is a proposal to reverse its route and have it call at the town centre first but, either way round, it is a compromise. A second service uses a new lay-by provided on the station side of the road, but this is only for the employees of 02 at Preston Brook. Stop and route information is provided on a dedicated bus information noticeboard in the subway at the station.

5.37 Taxis are right outside the station entrance �– almost too close because the pavement here is a restricted width �– and in fact the number of taxis and their movements during the day often cause a problem with people dropping off passengers.

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5.38 There is a well-publicised �‘No kissing�’ sign at the drop-off point 20 yards north of the station doors.

The infamous �‘kiss and ride�’ poster outsideWarrington Bank Quay Station which has been the butt of jokes in local and rail press

5.39 Short-stay car parking is derisory �– just three spaces plus two disabled parking spots �–

but there is a car park 50 yards up the slope from the station entrance. There is also an open-sided bicycle rack outside the station and a few bicycle parking spaces between platforms 1 and 2. There should be more and more secure bicycle parking. There also needs to be a review of the design of the lavatories which feature transparent glass panels in the doors to both the gents and the ladies toilets.

5.40 With a �‘mystery shopper�’ score of just 44%, the �‘Station Champions�’ judged Warrington Bank Quay to be very poor indeed, but a couple of percentage points better than Crewe. TW NW would agree that it is very poor. It also has the misfortune, like Crewe station, to be badly sited in relation to its respective town centre. But we would argue that Warrington Bank Quay is so lacking in physical infrastructure (of any standard) for the through-put it handles that it is much worse than Crewe. Well over a million passengers a year - and growing - use this busy interchange. Yet it has little space, a bare minimum of facilities, limited seating, a booking office which is not manned in the evenings (passengers have to rely on two ticket machines), a subway with a patched and flaking ceiling which is the only access to the platforms (see photo below) and virtually unprotected platforms that expose its customers to the vagaries of the weather quite cruelly. In addition, although the platforms were re-surfaced in the last five years, there are areas where water accumulates in heavy rain.

Although the subway lighting is not bad at Warrington Bank Quay, the roof and the floor are crumbling and in need of upgrading and more thought could be given to poster content

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5.41 There have been some recent improvements to the frontage, (although it is still looks as unattractively industrial as its backdrop), and to the booking office area. The main buildings on the northbound platform (3 and 4) are new but utilitarian replacements of the original LNWR provision. The buildings on the southbound side are original and the buffet area here was re-furbished last year, but is not open in the evening. Passengers have to contend with exposed, narrow, elevated platforms which have leaking roofs. The platforms were extended to accommodate longer trains but the extensions are not under canopies �– leaking or otherwise �– and therefore passengers are exposed to the elements when boarding and alighting the extremities of long trains in inclement weather

5.42 The �‘Station Champions�’ simply called for an �“upgrade�” to this station. As the town of Warrington and its environs continue to be a focus for major economic growth, given its strategic �‘crossroads�’ position, the station falls woefully short of expectations and we would call for a major upgrade urging Warrington Borough Council to be involved in it.

The �‘Welcome to Warrington�’ sign on platform 3 which our freezing �‘mystery shopper�’ found especially ironic when she was locked out of the facing waiting room on a bitterly cold evening

5.43

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On a bitterly cold and wet December night at the end of 2009, one of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ was waiting for a late train due in to platform 2 of Warrington Bank Quay station. She had to do so outside because the southbound waiting room had just been mopped and then locked by a cleaner (at 8.30 p.m.). Facing her, across the tracks, was a large illuminated sign bearing the message �‘Welcome to Warrington�’! It was particularly ironic, she felt, because it was illustrated with an advertisement of Arley Hall - a stately home that is not even in Warrington. In her report, she commented: �“If the sign had been promoting Walton Hall, it might have been understandable ... at least that is in Warrington!�” Having then listened to a further announcement apologising for a further short delay to her train to Crewe �– while she gradually got colder and colder �– she was next assailed by a pre-recorded female voice wishing her: �“A very Merry Christmas�”. In view of the, very uncomfortable, circumstances which she was enduring, that would have been quite bad enough �– but the date was December 29th !


5.44 PRESTON 5.45 MANAGED BY VIRGIN TRAINS (franchise ends 2012)


5.46 Preston railway station is a Grade II listed structure that was opened in 1880. It has had various alterations and renovations since but is long overdue for an overhaul and the government�’s �‘Better Stations�’ report only gave it a 46% score for mystery shopper satisfaction (sixth worst Regional Hub B category - in the country) and recommended it for an upgrade. Lord Adonis said, after visiting it, it was �“in serious need of a makeover�”.

5.47 Like many big stations of its era, it is still impressive from a distance. The train sheds have a four span roof of glass and corrugated sheet carried on cast iron columns. The booking hall and offices at the Fishergate Bridge entrance off the main street are of buff brick with sandstone dressings. This is the original historic entrance to the station from which there is a wide, direct ramped access down to the central island (platforms 3 and 4) which is much wider than the other two platform islands.

5.48 There are two other access points to the station. The Butler Street entrance, opposite one of the Fishergate shopping centre entrances/ exits, was created in the early 1990s. Both the original station access point and the Butler St. one have dropping off areas and taxi ranks, although Butler St. is less accessible because it involves having to use steps. The third access point is from a new multi-storey car park opened in 2009, for which the standard charge for a day�’s parking is £10. This entrance (the former access from a ground level car park) brings customers in on the disused platform 7. It is remote from booking and information facilities that can only be reached via a subway or steps.

5.49 The vast majority of passengers tend to cram over the footbridges (see below). It is questionable as to how many are even aware there is a subway alternative. The bridge linking platforms 1 and 2 with 3 and 4 is wider and caters better at peak times but the one connecting platforms 3 and 4 with 5 and 6 on the Butler St. side is little more than six feet wide. It carries heavy passenger traffic and this and the stairways serving it are liable to crush conditions when several trains occupy the station at the same time.

5.50 On the other hand, the subway �– which is at the opposite end of the station �– is very much underused and only involves the use of steps from platforms 1 and 2.

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5.51 The subway is reached by long ramps from platforms 5 and 6 and by a winding ramp from platforms 3 and 4. But it is narrow and dreary, suffers from damp and it is assumed the ramps would not meet current DDA standards. Nevertheless, it is a far less congested option to using all the stairs, most of which are suffering from broken treads. It might be worth experimenting with stopping trains further south on the platforms and better signposting the underpass.

The damp and dreary subway at Preston station which, although depressing to use, is a less congested and probably a safer bet to make use of when the station is very busy as there is crushing on the footbridges

5.52 Another advantage of stopping trains further south on the platforms would be that passengers would find it more convenient to make use of the lifts which were being

refurbished at the time our surveys took place. The lifts are distant from the booking office and not particularly obvious and could be signposted better. Here again, if more people were tempted to use the lifts, it would alleviate over-crowding on the footbridges.

5.53 Overcrowding also happens on part of platforms 1 and 2. A small buffet bar/ waiting room is located there at a point where the platform widths are sub-standard. Despite this being the case, this is where the trains stop for Blackpool and East Lancashire.

There is a gross lack of space on certain Preston platforms, exacerbated by many people interchanging between Virgin Trains and local Blackpool trains.Any refurbish-ment needs to tackle this problem

5.54 Having to wait for trains on platform 1 at Preston station, which is very exposed to prevailing winds, is a particularly unattractive proposition (one investigator described it as �“threatening�”). The small buffet area was described as �“tatty�” by another �‘mystery shopper�’ and it does not have train running CIS in it.

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5.55 The main waiting room (along with most of the other station facilities) is located on platforms 3 and 4 and does have CIS available but this waiting room has also seen better days. In addition, there is some obstruction of access to and from platform 3 by badly sited train departure panels. Meanwhile, passengers having to make use of platforms 3c and 4c (mainly reserved for terminating Ormskirk and Liverpool trains) find themselves fairly exposed and with no adjacent facilities.

5.56 Platforms 5 and 6 probably handle the greater part of the station�’s premium long-distance travellers (Birmingham and London-bound) and yet they are narrow and have no covered waiting rooms. They only offer limited seating on metal benches, train departure information and a couple of telephones. This is totally inadequate. It has always been surprising that these platforms have been regularly used for most long distance trains, rather than platforms 3 and 4 where the station�’s main passenger facilities exist.

5.57 The toilets at the station are checked regularly by staff but were described by one of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ as �“well past their sell-by date�”. This, despite their actually having

been refurbished only a few years ago. However, the whole approach was inadequate.

5.58 Also inadequate is signage to station exits and information about the surrounding area is not very evident although there is a map of the city centre area at the top of the slope from platforms 3 and 4. None of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ could find bus service information in the station itself. There is a bus stop with information on it at the end of the main station approach road but the only buses stopping here are those going to Leyland, Penwortham and the west. For all other services it is necessary for public transport users to make their way to the bus station, which is a minimum of a 15-minute walk away on the opposite side of the city centre. This is a very poor show. A free shuttle bus with a couple of key stop-off points should be provided between the bus and rail stations.

5.59 For cyclists, there are racks at the station but there is no lockable storage.

5.60 It could be argued that this station is perhaps the major interchange on the West Coast Main Line and in the North West, as well as the only station serving Preston city centre. Because of its important interchange role, it has a vastly greater footfall than simply the number of people originating or terminating their journeys here. Yet it is poorly geared for people with mobility impairment and parents with pushchairs, it has inadequate cycle parking and it has no first class lounge. It is grubby and in need of a deep clean and as has been indicated there are numerous other shortcomings that need addressing.

5.61 The government�’s �‘Station Champions�’ reckoned that Preston had an extra retail potential of circa £40,000 p.a. This seems a relatively modest estimate for a station of its scale. We would have thought the potential was greater. But, it is not just about more provision, it is about better design for new and existing. As one �‘mystery shopper�’ put it: �“You have to wonder when you see a glass box type kiosk erected for the sale of news- papers but note that the main aspect on display is a rear view of display cabinets!�”. TW NW hope that any up-grade is not minimal and superficial and we would urge Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council to make provision for improvements here in the joint Local Transport Plan they are preparing. Preston City Council also need to be see themselves as a key partner.

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5.62 WIGAN NORTH WESTERN 5.63 MANAGED BY VIRGIN TRAINS (franchise ends 2012)

Last official annual recorded entries and exists: 998,596

5.64 As with Warrington, railway history has contrived the strange dual station provision that exists in the centre of the town of Wigan, but here it is odder because of the proximity.

5.65 Two completely separate small railway stations exist less than 200 yards from each other diagonally either side of Wallgate (although, perversely, neither station signposts the other). Passengers from Southport and Kirkby travelling north all have to change stations here, (not just platforms), as do many Southport-London travellers.

5.66 Rail services from Wigan North Western provide direct links with principal cities and towns on the West Coast Main Line, with Birmingham and with stations to Liverpool via St. Helens. Wigan Wallgate Station (managed by Northern Rail) meanwhile handles local services to Manchester, Bolton, Southport and Liverpool via Kirkby and not that many fewer entries and exits than Wigan North Western, ie. 918,431 at the last count. Lines to the south of each station almost run together for a short distance.

5.67 Proposals have been tabled many times to merge the two. The most realistic of these involved providing new platforms on the Manchester-Southport line at the southern end

of Wigan North Western Station and the closure of Wigan Wallgate. However, a new 400-space multi-storey car park could make such an eventuality more difficult to achieve.

5.68 The DfT�’s �‘Station Champions�’ focused their attention on Wigan North Western. Their �‘mystery shoppers�’ gave it a score of only 47% in their customer satisfaction stakes, making it the seventh worst category B station in the country. This reflects the very limited facilities on the exposed platforms, which are all reached by subway and stairs or lifts. Bearing in mind that an excellent one-stop hourly service to London is now offered from this station, it is especially anachronistic that the infrastructure is so exceptionally poor.

Poorly maintained building on Wigan North Western station

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5.69 The entrance to Wigan North Western Station is set back from Wallgate and has a taxi rank, short stay parking and bus stops for local services lining the road, this being a main thoroughfare through the town. Access is on the level from the forecourt with the booking office facing on entry. The two-island formation of platforms is reached via subways which house the lifts and the lavatories. (A female �‘mystery shopper�’ found that a door was missing from one of the cubicles in the ladies toilet). Because the toilets are here, of course, they are remote from the platforms.

5.70 The subways are a reasonable width, brightly lit and painted and brickwork is hidden by painted wooden rails but they need re-flooring as the photo below illustrates.

One �‘mystery shopper�’ was met with this somewhat intimidating sight on the day they visited Wigan North West �– police with dogs carrying out a drug (and ticket) inspection in the subway

5.71 There are six numbered platforms. Numbers 1-4, grouped together, include two south- facing bays for terminating services. All platforms are more than long enough for the train formations using them but the canopies are short. Passengers making their way to the extremities of long trains (including first class ticket holders) have a long unprotected walk. Similarly, the small refreshment bar and an enclosed shelter are some way from the canopied area, located at the head of the now little-used bay platforms. Platforms 5 and 6 also have a short canopy and a small waiting room. Passengers congregate around the top of the stairway under the canopy but all platforms are very exposed with the wind whistling right across them. The cycle parking racks are open to the elements.

5.72 This station represents an exceedingly poor offering. The �‘Station Champions�’ simply recommended an up-grade. We would recommend that, in the medium to long term, the scheme to close Wigan Wallgate should be revisited. Its services should be merged with a re-built Wigan North Western station to provide facilities and a service fit for purpose in the 21st century and we urge the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) to prioritise this in its LTP and to consider making a contribution towards funding in the future, possibly via the Greater Manchester Transport Fund.

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5.73 LIVERPOOL CENTRAL 5.74 MANAGED BY MERSEYRAIL (franchise ends 2028)

Last official annual recorded entries & exits: 8,890,177 - but see first para. on p.25

5.75 Liverpool Central Station has a fascinating history which needs to be briefly outlined in order to put into context that which exists in 2010 (a station beneath a shopping centre which is scheduled for redevelopment) and the plans that have been drawn up for it.

One of the current access points for Liverpool Central Station �– the busiest underground station outside London. The sign �‘Liverpool Central�’ has no meaning to strangers who tend to assume it is the name of the shopping centre.

5.76 In summary, it originally opened as a ground level station in 1874, constructed by one rail company (the Cheshire Lines Committee). But another rail body (the Mersey Railway)

built a deep underground line beneath the River Mersey from Birkenhead, terminating it at new underground platforms at Liverpool Central and that was opened in 1892 - almost 120 years ago. The overground part of the station was listed for closure as part of the Beeching cuts and - when alternative routings for the overhead lines were finally in place - �‘Liverpool Central High Level�’ as it was known was closed in 1972. In 1975 the �‘Low Level�’ station closed also, but only for the construction of the new Loop and Link Line underground system which involved the provision of another set of escalators and an extra underground platform at Liverpool Central. It re-opened in 1977 and in 1978 the original route east of the high-level station also re-opened although it was excavated out a few hundred yards from the end of the original platforms to allow the trains to descend to the low-level platforms.

5.77 What exists today is a purely underground station that is run as part of the Merseyrail metro system, connecting the Northern Line (two platforms here) and the Wirral Lines (one platform), but which looks and feels like many busy London underground stations. (The �‘Station Champions�’ called it �“charmless�”). Like many of the capital�’s underground stations, it is congested and run down and its narrow platforms become overcrowded. All it has at ground level are a ticket hall, newsagent, telephones, toilets, automatic ticket barriers and escalators and lifts. In addition, when Lord Adonis did his whistle-

stop tour of the 10 stations highlighted by his �‘Station Champions�’ in November, he opened a new travel centre �– which doubles as a food and convenience goods retailer. (This was after the �‘Champions�’ estimated there was an extra retail potential of £10,000 per annum).

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Taken on a rare quiet day due to very poor winter weather, this image gives an impression of the narrowness of the platforms at Liverpool Central Station. Behind the passengers, it is possible to see the escalator.

5.78 Merseytravel says that around 60,000 passengers pass through Liverpool Central every working weekday and quote the annual number of entries and exists as 17 million p.a. This is double the official ORR figure for 2007 �– 8,890,177. The discrepancy is no doubt due in big part to the fact that ticket sales as well concessionary passes issued by Integrated Transport Authorities (formerly Passenger Transport Executives) are not recorded through the industry system. Nevertheless, eight million is an extraordinary difference and is puzzling. TW NW has no way of validating usage figures. The very significant inconsistency that appears to exist here is highlighted and we appeal to the ORR to correct the situation.

5.79 Liverpool Central can be accessed from the Ranelagh Sreet/ Place shopping area that adjoins the original John Lewis store (there is now a new J.L store in the Liverpool One retail complex) or from Bold Street shopping area. Key plans exist for the seven acres of the Liverpool city centre area above it. The Merepark Central Village Development Scheme includes the construction of two big hotels, one of them to be created in the refurbished and extended Grade II listed Watson Building adjacent to the Lewis�’s building, offices and the re-location of the Network Rail Central Station maintenance depot to beneath a new multi-storey car park. The designs incorporate a stepped water feature, a timber boardwalk, a colonnaded walk and a new open space (Newington Square) as well as ground floor retailing. It also envisages a glazed atrium over the station concourse and links to their development.

5.80 Effectively, what has happened as a result of Merepark�’s extensive aspirations for over and around the station, is that Merseytravel, Merseyrail and Network Rail (who all accept there are major problems with Liverpool Central) have together drawn up a master plan for it. They are counting on achieving the majority of the funding for the plan through a 106 planning agreement. In other words, the developer would take on the cost and responsibility for delivering much of the major up-grade works.

5.81 The master plan was outlined to Lord Adonis on his day-long tour of the 10 worst category �‘B�’ stations by Neil Scales, Merseytravel�’s Chief Executive and Director General. Its aim is to lift the station well out of its present lowly rating (it was ranked ninth worst in the country by the �‘Station Champions�’ who recorded a �‘mystery customer�’ satisfaction rating of only 49%).

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5.82 The plan consists of six phases. The first, (provision of the travel centre at ground level),

has happened.

5.83 Phase two, currently out to tender, combines a number of improvements to passenger and staff facilities. These are: re-aligning the gate line with the potential for additional gates to improve the through-flows of passengers, new and enlarged public lavatories (the �‘Station Champions�’ described the existing ones as �‘fetid�’), provision of a passenger lounge area (to help reduce platform overcrowding), new cladding and improved lighting to the concourse areas (similar to works recently carried out at James Street Station), cycle parking facilities (there are none at present), widened access to the existing lift, up-graded staff facilities including the provision of a new British Transport Police office, new ceiling above the Northern Line platforms and better platform lighting.

5.84 Phase three would be the provision of an additional lift to improve access from the concourse to the Northern Line platform. This is currently at the design stage.

5.85 Phase 4 focuses on the Wirral Line and incorporates the replacement of the ceiling, wall and flooring surfaces on all the platform areas and around the escalators and corridors between concourse and platform. This is also at the design stage.

5.86 Phase 5 comprises enabling work to allow phase six to happen, ie. enhancements to Moorfields Station to accommodate Northern Line passengers during a temporary closure of Central Station.

5.87 Phase six involves providing capacity improvements to the Northern Line platform by replacing the escalators and relocating equipment rooms below the platform, thus creating extra platform space for passengers.

5.88 Merseytravel has assured TW NW that the master plan has been designed in such a way as to cause the least disruption to passengers. We wish them well in bringing it to fruition as the present facility does not currently reflect the rejuvenating city around it. We urge the DfT and Network Rail to work with Merseytravel in providing any funding shortfalls necessary for this project.

5.89 Tens of thousands of people�’s daily commutes are affected by this station which Merseytravel describe as the �“key�” one in its network. It also represents the first view which many visitors get of central Liverpool and it is a poor one. It is right that the �‘Station Champions�’ prioritised it. Merseytravel must do so as well in their LTP.

5.90 However, temporary improvements should be made in the short term. For instance, bicycle racks could be installed at the street level beyond the automatic ticket barriers. We are well aware that Merseyrail allow bicycles onto their trains, but not every cyclist would want to struggle to take their bike on an escalator/ in a lift/ on an underground train. Also at ground level, a waiting area with CIS should be established - if necessary within the shopping centre. It takes such a short amount of time to travel down the escalators to the platform and holding some passengers back from the narrow platforms until the last minute would be a decided advantage.

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5.91 STOCKPORT 5.92 MANAGED BY VIRGIN TRAINS (franchise ends 2012)

Last annual recorded entries and exists: 2,439,499

5.93 Stockport Station was, in effect, built beneath and over the most southerly of the 27 arches that make up the railway viaduct which was opened in 1840 to carry trains from Manchester to London across the River Mersey valley. Containing over 11 million bricks, this massive viaduct is one of the largest brick-built structures in Europe and, as well as the river, it now has traffic on the M60 Greater Manchester Ring Road flowing beneath its arches. Sadly, the station itself does not live up to the mighty and impressive infrastructure around it. The �‘Station Champions�’ ranked it 10th worst in the country in its category, its �‘mystery shoppers�’ having given it a rating of just 50%.

5.94 The station, which is a major stopping point on the West Coast Main Line, has four long through-platforms and also a south-facing bay platform �– all accessed from the subway

under the tracks via a dauntingly-long, broken rises of steps or lifts. (There is no ramped approach to the platforms).

The dauntingly long rise of steps to the platforms at Stockport station

5.95 The subway would benefit from cladding and a decent flooring. The platforms themselves need refurbishing and, even under the covered areas, they are wet in poor weather. The platform buildings are very run down. The waiting rooms are functional and have CIS, but live announcements cannot be heard from within them. The new refreshment area could do with being the twice the size it is. One of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ commented that there seemed to be plenty of unused space that could be brought into use. (The �‘Station Champions�’ believed there to be £40,000 p.a. of extra retail potential.

5.96 There are two entrances and exits to Stockport Station. The main one on the east/ town centre side of the tracks has a semi-circular, flat �–roofed glass construction which was added in more recent times to provide a proper, manned ticket hall. There are also ticket machines. The drop-off area and taxi rank are immediately outside the main entrance but they are uncovered.

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5.97 The station car park is totally inadequate as it is shared with other town centre facilities.

The usual �‘Car Park Full�’ sign that invariably greets passengers arriving by car

The unattractive entrance on the Edgeley/ west side of the tracks

5.98 Signs to the station are adequate but one of the three maps in the station of the surrounding area is out of date.

5.99 Bus information is available in the station and some buses serve it. However, the bus station, which can be seen when crossing over the viaduct on the train, is inconveniently

distant and to move from one to the other on foot involves using flights of steps alongside the Plaza Theatre in Mersey Square. The need for better access between the train and bus stations has always been an issue and an improvement scheme in the town centre promises to address this. One idea which has been widely floated is the concept of a covered travellator between the two running up the southern tip of the viaduct on the town centre side. Cycle parking provision is inadequate. TW NW agrees with the �‘Station Champions�’ that this station needs an up-grade and much improved car park provision. It should feature in the Greater Manchester LTP.

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5.100 CARLISLE 5.101 MANAGED BY VIRGIN TRAINS (franchise ends 2012)

Last annual recorded entries and exits: 1,470,219

5.102 Citadel Station at Carlisle is probably the most architecturally interesting station building in the region, both in its own right and because of the grade 1 listed turreted towers and Gothic arches adjacent to it, but it is also a station of great contrasts and, with a 67% �‘mystery shopper�’ rating, was judged by the �‘Station Champions�’ to be the 28th worst station in the �‘B�’ category in the country.

5.103 The station building itself is regarded by English Heritage to be one of the most important early railway stations in Britain. It is a grade II listed Tudor-style structure built of calciferous sandstone in 1847-8 and extended in 1879-80. The main facade is made up of two tall storeys but above them are gabled roof dormers projecting from a green slate roof and behind is a glazed roof covering the large train shed. Inside there are Tudor-style fireplaces. The main feature of the building facade is an imposing octagonal clock tower, which would look more imposing if the clock were working. The building itself would benefit from the stone being cleaned. It is covered in verdigris.

The verdigris-covered stonework and, inset, standard-issue white automatic doors that are totally out of keeping with a Tudor-style grade II listed building

5.104 No attempt was made in installing the modern automatic-opening doors to design anything remotely in keeping with the grand building they grace or even to use aluminium of a more complementary shade for the doors and surround (buff/ black?).

5.105 There is also an issue connected with the fact that no care has been taken to preserve the setting of the building. The immediate forecourt is a car park and pedestrians have to dodge manoeuvring traffic near the entrance. As well as being an unofficial drop-off point, this area has been largely turned over to short and long term parking, in addition

to a car park around the corner. The National Rail website says there are a total of 194 parking spaces. (A day�’s fee recently went up to £8 peak, £4 off-peak).

5.106 The area at the front of the station is cluttered with cycles locked to traffic bollards as there is no cycle parking within the station (the excuse being a lack of CCTV). The taxi rank is behind the Citadel walls across a busy road which does not give pedestrians priority.

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The cluttered area at the front of the station, with many conflicting vehicle and passenger movements, has not been designed withany thought given to the setting of the building

5.107 In similar vein, there is an ugly corrugated iron structure within the station complex (see below). It is strange this could have been allowed to be attached to this building.

5.108 Arriving by train can be a dismal experience if passengers have to alight on platform 1 at the back of the station where they look out onto a blackened wall (see below).

5.109 This platform has every appearance of being a semi-abandoned backwater with only a handful of seats and a dilapidated entrance to a refreshment room. Further down the platform is half blocked off by temporary-looking structures which only partially hide train crew signing-off offices and mess rooms and an open wire-screened store/ dump.

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5.110 Arriving on foot, there is only one finger post sign near to the station and there is no sign either on or immediately outside the building saying it is a station (merely the Network Rail symbol over the automatic doors)! There is only one entrance/ exit (part of a requirement of obtaining �‘secured station�’ status) and it constantly gets congested.

5.111 There are maps of the surrounding area and tourist leaflets in the station but, on leaving it, there are no directional signs. Presumably, it is assumed that most people will turn left and walk between the turreted towers to the city centre but a stranger is left wondering what to do for the best as there is a busy street with shops going off to the right as you exit the station and there is a commercial area ahead of you that looks like it might lead somewhere, whilst the actual centre is hidden behind the towers (which were the former assize courts for the city).

5.112 Also, bus information is seriously lacking and/or poorly displayed with the exception of the service via the border town of Hawick to Galshiels which is shown on the train departure screens because it is a �‘rail link�’ bus. But, although this service leaves from and terminates directly outside the station, there is no stand to proclaim this.

5.113 There are no posters giving information about buses or where they depart from and the

rack that contains some bus timetables, including details of Cumbria County Council�’s �‘Cumbria Rider�’ service, is in an inconspicuous place in the lobby by the Hertz car rental office. Most people would miss them. The large city centre map in the station does show the location of the bus station but there are no clearly signed bus stops on leaving the station and, even on the first bus stand a visitor encounters (in English Street), there is no location chart or details of any network.

5.114 The short narrow corridor (lobby area) leading from the platform areas to the outside is home to the station�’s ticket offices (with their habitual queues), an ATM machine, the information office and a myriad of uncoordinated leaflet racks holding train and tourist information as well as a W H Smith shop. Other than the information office, which closes in the evenings, there is no central point for timetable information and, oddly, at the time some of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ visited, there were no Virgin timetable leaflets on display. Collectively this creates a confusing space challenging passengers with many obstacles to be negotiated and consequently the area is always congested.

The overly-cluttered entrance/ lobby area of Carlisle station where it is easy to miss the information point and different displays by the different Train Operating Companies

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5.115 The main concourse has been made quite attractive and feels safe because of the presence of a very obvious, staffed British Transport Police office. However, the roof leaks in various places. On a rainy day, water cascades across the archway through to platform 4 and onto the footbridge to the station exit. Less dramatic leaks occur on platform 4 itself. The roof was identified as a major problem by the �‘Station Champions�’. There is also a perennial problem with pigeon droppings on platform 6.

5.116 The waiting rooms are gloomy and old and there is no sign on the door of the one on

platform 1, but there are attempts to cheer them up with exhibitions of art by local schoolchildren. Unused display stands are stored in one. The one on platform 4 was only re-opened a couple of years ago after many years in other use. Like the others, it needs some attractive lighting.

5.117 Customer information screens are available in the waiting room on the up side (by platform 6) and in the buffet on the down side (between platforms 1 and 3) but not in the down side waiting room. The opposite is the case for announcements. There are no announcements in the up side waiting room or the down side buffet, but the down side waiting room does have announcements and also a T-loop. However, it is pleasanter to wait on the main concourse than in the waiting rooms because of the spaciousness of it and it all being covered. The customer information screens are of the new (LED) style, which is just as well as announcements are not very audible in some parts of the station.

5.118 The lifts at the station have not been in use for many years and were not previously passenger lifts in any event. Fortunately, the main footbridge has ramps, although there is a steep hump to be negotiated in the middle, and there is a �‘Citadel Courtesy Car�’ for the mobility-impaired, but this does not help relatively fit passengers carrying heavy briefcases or luggage who would feel guilty about sequestering the courtesy vehicle. It is unsatisfactory that there are no passenger lifts. This could and should be addressed.

This picture illustrates the steep hump that has to be negotiated when crossing the lines at Carlisle railway station. Passengers arriving from the south on Inter-City trains invariably have to cross over this bridge from the dismal platform 1.

5.119 The main doors of the lavatories, male and female, are propped open with weights and traffic cones and a regular male user of Carlisle station commented �“the toilets on the station always smell unpleasant�”. On the day a female �‘mystery shopper�’ checked the ladies she reported that they had definitely not been cleaned the day she was there.

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5.120 CHESTER 5.121 MANAGED BY ARRIVA TRAINS WALES (franchise ends 2018)


5.122 Chester railway station is a Grade II listed building built in an Italianate style of stone- dressed brown brick, with slate and glazed roofs. It has a long symmetrical facade which is mainly two storeys except that, towards either end, there are projecting, three- storey pavilions. The ground floor windows are round-arched. Robert Stephenson had some involvement in its construction in 1847-8 and it was originally named Chester General. There was an enlargement carried out to the station in the late 19th century which, effectively, caused it to become a station of two halves with the need for duplicated facilities. The name changed to Chester City circa 1969 after Chester North- gate Station closed and since it has simply become known as Chester Railway Station.

5.123 Anyone who appreciates fine-looking public buildings might well think that some value would have been placed on both the setting of such an edifice and the original internal features, particularly in a city which is internationally famous for its architecture and plethora of listed historical buildings. However, this is not the case.

5.124 The frontage is permanently cluttered with large volumes of traffic, taxis and buses that are forced to use the immediate forecourt. The station and the area around it are, very slowly, being regenerated by what is termed a �‘Gateway�’ project. It ought to be an ideal opportunity to make the setting a bit more spacious and to move the bulk of the traffic (except for drop-offs and disability provision) a little away from the frontage. However, it does not appear that this is part of any plan. And, with similar lack of concern, many interior architectural features have been either stripped away or are covered. In providing for the convenience of modern life inside, no attention whatsoever seems to have been given to the features of the building. The �‘Station Champions�’ felt that this station had the potential to generate another £50,000 of retail business p.a. If more businesses are introduced, more thought should be given to impacts on the building.

5.125 Remaining, however, are the original grand stone-dressed brick stairs to each end of the iron lattice-girded footbridge linking near and far platforms. But, on arriving at the top of these stairs - having crossed over the tracks - it is noticeable that the hand rail does not reach a height which is immediately of use for the average height person before they begin to descend the steps. If wishing to use the rail, passengers need to either lean forward over the top step to reach it or to take the top step with no support.

5.126 However, the lifts and the information screens were working during our visits and refreshments were available from three different establishments for most of time, although the coffee franchise appears to close at about 7.30 p.m.

5.127 A regular user of the station commented that from early in the morning to about 10 p.m. at night the station is always well-staffed �– mainly by Arriva Trains Wales, although Virgin staff oversee their own services. The main part of the station is also adequately lit at night. Consequently, it feels safe and more welcoming than many railway stations when used in the evening. Some are made to feel unfriendly and a bit foreboding simply by poor lighting.

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5.128 The station is designed so that platforms 4 and 7 form an island between the tracks and there are bay platforms (5 and 6) inserted into the eastern end of this island. These have no display boards and are distant and unattractive but we understand an up-grade of this area is likely to be included in phase three of the Gateway project.

Distant, wet (bay) platform 6 at Chester Station �– looking and feeling very exposed to the elements despite the roof. Most car drivers need more attractive images than this to tempt them onto trains.

5.129 Some platforms surfaces are poor and the glass roofs leak, badly, in places �– partly due to not having been made good after a fire many years ago. (There is a combination of the original high roof and low 1950�’s canopies). Guaranteed to catch out unwitting passengers is a gloss-painted bench set just inside the main entrance. When it is raining, water drips onto this bench but because of its shiny turquoise appearance, it is not evident �– and there are no warning signs.

Part of the cracked and very damp platform 4 at Chester station, in need of up-grading. Also, note the amount of overgrowth around the tracks visible beyond the platform edge

5.130 Despite some shortcomings, however, this station is still better than many others in the region and the country. The �‘Station Champions�’ rated it 29th worst in its category in the country with a score of 68% based on mystery shopper assessment. They particularly picked up on the need for upgrades to the platforms and for more car parking.

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5.131 As far as parking is concerned, one of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ (a stranger to the area), arrived by car following signs from the A56 whilst heading towards the city centre. Turning left and left again after passing over Hoole Road railway bridge, they realised they were arriving at the station and drove into the first available car park they spotted (to the west of the station building). Only when they were parked up and peering at the pay and display machine did they realise they were in a long stay car park with long stay type charges. This was not made very evident on entering the car park �– much of which is a poor surface. There is also an east long stay car park on the other side of the building, which is partially under cover, whilst the drop-off area at the front of the station battles for space with short-stay parking. When consultants working on behalf of Passenger Focus, Network Rail and the Association of Train Operating Companies conducted a passenger satisfaction survey at Chester Station in November and December last year, they found that the highest dissatisfaction (41.2%) was with the number of car parking spaces. Second highest (at 38.3%) was with availability of seating on platforms and third (at 35.4%) was the lack of availability of waiting rooms. (During refurbishment work only one, very small, waiting room appears to be available).

5.132 A free bus shuttle service to and from the city centre leaves at regular intervals from right outside the station entrance. Also, either leaving from here or immediately opposite are GH coaches and Arriva and First PMT buses serving the Chester area, plus services to North East Wales and South Cheshire. However, whilst each bus stop has timetables attached to it, and pocket timetables are available from the ticket office and customer services office, there are none on racks around the station entrance/exit itself. One of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ commented that, without having to ask, it was easier to spot information about attractions in the city than bus services. This is a shame in view of the �‘pro bono publico�’ shuttle service on offer. How many first time visitors, we wonder, arrive at the station, head towards the well sign-posted exit glancing to left and right for information about public transport to pick up and - not seeing any - walk out and hail a taxi, without realising they could be transported to the city centre at no cost?

How many people, we wonder, arrivingat Chester Station for the first time and spotting this well-sign-postedexit, realise that there is a free shuttle bus into the city centre from right outside?

5.133 Cycle parking is restricted to a few cycle hoops secured to the platform and, at the time of our visits, these were reduced due to scaffolding on an adjacent building. Chester has Cycling Demonstration Town status. It should be doing better than this. Also, the only toilet facilities available at the time our visits were on the public side of the gateline, due to refurbishment. These were, however, well serviced.

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5.134 MANCHESTER OXFORD ROAD 5.135 MANAGED BY NORTHERN RAIL


5.136 It will be surprising to many to discover that Manchester Oxford Road Station, although only dating to 1960 and looking extremely tired just 50 years on, is a Grade II listed structure. English Heritage�’s description of it is:

�“Laminated timber shell roofs and supports with hardwood strip ceilings to the shell roofs and canopies. The main station building is covered by three shell concrete roofs of diminishing size and it sits between two railway tracks with arched canopies to each platform. Similar canopies partially cover the two other platforms. The single storey buildings accommodate booking office, buffet, toilets and staff facilities and are also constructed in timber. Deep, flat fascias edge the station canopies. Beyond the main shell roofs are two smaller shells and these lead to arched timber canopies over the platforms. The theme is carried right through to the specially designed timber seats on the island platform. A unique main station building of outstanding architectural quality and technological interest; one of the most dramatic stations in England�”.

5.137 If that description fails to ring any bells, it is undoubtedly due to the poor condition of the place, exemplified by the state of the benches given such a special mention (see below)

It seems incredible to believe that this decrepit, cruddy andunmaintained seat between platforms 2and 3 on Oxford Road Station is one of the two which received such a glowing description from English Heritage, but it is

5.138 Despite some refurbishment not that many years ago, this station is not fit for purpose with its four short platforms for through trains, an under-performing bay platform, basic waiting rooms and lack of parking and lifts (even though lift shafts exist), making it only partially accessible for the mobility-impaired. Yet it performs a significant interchange function and is very heavily used by commuters and university students. At times, as witnessed and highlighted by TW NW in previous studies, it is used as a �‘turn round�’ station for late running airport trains and during engineering work, leaving passengers with heavy luggage and children in pushchairs etc. faced with the challenge of humping all their belongings across the footbridge for an ongoing service. This is a bad advertisement for rail travel. Platforms 2 and 3 suffer from severe overcrowding in the evening rush hour to the point of becoming dangerous. The high usage demands that Manchester Oxford Road Station should become a Grade B level station.

5.139 The good news is that the station is in the Station Investment Programme. We await with interest to find out just how much investment there will be and, in the meantime, urge that any up-grade is of the highest standard due to the very high usage.

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5.140 BOLTON 5.141 MANAGED BY NORTHERN RAIL

Last annual recorded entries and exits: 2.097,879

5.142 Considering it is not even convenient for the town centre, Bolton station carries a remarkable two million plus passengers a year. But it does so in no great comfort. It is assumed that the usage figures are inflated by people driving from outside Greater Manchester to the free car park available here in order to travel into Manchester city centre. Certainly, our �‘mystery shoppers�’ found the car park full to overflowing.

5.143 The station has three through lines and a bay. They are served by four platforms of decent widths, but they are in a poor condition (see images below). There are lifts. However, the passenger facilities are of a low standard.

These images show the poor condition of the platforms at Bolton Railway Station

5.144 Due to the modification of the original station layout, it is a long walk to and from the entrance area and ticket office and platforms 1 and 3. (Platform 2 is rarely used). At the time our �‘mystery shoppers�’ visited late last year the buffet was closed.

5.145 Whilst the waiting rooms are enclosed, they are unwelcoming with bench seats and bare walls and they do not have CIS in them. Our �‘mystery shoppers�’ were appalled to realise that directly off them, without proper partitioning are unisex toilets with half height walls. People using the toilets were clearly audible from the waiting rooms.

5.146 The station itself is well sign-posted and there is a drop-off area for private cars and taxis on the street by the side entrance. There is also a taxi rank close to the station entrance and there is some cycle storage, but there could be much more.

5.147 Detailed public transport maps are at the end of each main platform, bus timetables are available from the travel centre and a comprehensive network of buses serves the station. There is a bus stop immediately outside and the bus station is close but looks set to become much closer. A consultation is being held on joint plans by GMPTE and Bolton Council to replace the existing bus station on Moor Lane with a new one on a site bounded by Newport Street and Great Moor Street next to the railway station. The new facility will provide better links between bus and rail, something TW NW wholeheartedly endorses.

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5.148 There will be improved waiting areas, passenger facilities, information, safety and security at the bus station which, it is understood, will be connected to the railway station via a lift. Bolton Council is due to consider the outline planning application this Spring. This proposal ties in with a station up-grade also due to start in Spring as part of the Station Improvement Programme.

5.149 Functional in the extreme is the description which comes to mind for the present station. TW NW sincerely hopes that current plans will move it into a whole different league. At least, unlike Oxford Road, it has some space to play with and TW NW would like to see some of that space used for retail purposes as well as vastly improved waiting and toilet facilities. We would also argue that, because of its high footfall - greater than Lancaster which is a Regional Hub category B station - it should be re-classified to �‘B�’ level.

As is evident from this image, there isno shortage of space at Bolton railway station �– offering plentyof opportunity for better facilities and for retail outlets

5.150 BLACKPOOL NORTH 5.151 MANAGED BY NORTHERN RAIL


5.152 The present Blackpool North Station, which was opened in 1974, is housed in a flaking grey building that has a partially glazed frontage and ceiling. It has eight platforms accessed directly from and on the same level as the concourse, but only two of them are covered, which is poor. Bird droppings are evident on two platforms. However, a new innovation has been the installation of manned automated ticket barriers.

The unattractive top half of Blackpool NorthStation viewed from the Talbot Road approach, before descending the subway.

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The ticket barriers control access to the large concourse that has CIS but no heating and few seats and therefore is not fit for purpose. Outside the holiday season, there is just one small shop on the concourse side of the ticket barriers.

5.153 The recently refurbished and rather institutionalised lavatories are off the concourse area and are well maintained but, oddly, the hand drier for the gents is outside!

5.154 Leaving the station, pedestrian routes and the town centre are signposted, but the main access and egress on foot is a subway to the north of Talbot Road. Although newly- painted when our �‘mystery shoppers�’ visited, it is still an uninviting route to have to take and the startling colour scheme is garish and in poor taste rather than being jolly �– which, presumably, was the intention. However, it does not involve using any steps.

The garishly-painted subway which is the principal way to access and egress Blackpool North Station on foot. It was damp underfoot when our �‘mystery shoppers�’ visited it.

5.155 The station has a visible British Transport Police office, which instils a feeling of safety, as do the ticket barriers. However, the station is not cycle-friendly. There are not even basic cycle racks. There is a laminated map of the bus system on the station wall but only one bus route option for getting to and from the station - line 2.

5.156 The taxi rank is immediately outside the station but uncovered (a poor show for tourists arriving with luggage) and one of our �‘mystery shoppers�’ pointed out that the tarmac surface there is breaking up and needs attention. The car park is adjacent to the station although it is over-subscribed mid- week, which is not very helpful. It is cheap however.

5.157 TW NW understand that this station is due to undergo alterations as part of the Talbot Gateway Scheme. One regular user expressed concern that this will not improve matters as much as claimed and might have some downsides. We would like to see Blackpool North re-ranked to a category B level station and, as a result, benefit from the extra attention this rating would bring because it is a well used tourist destination.

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6. CONCLUSIONS

6.1 The condition of the vast majority of Regional Hub �‘B�’ grade stations in the North West is significantly below what passengers have a right to expect in the 21st century. Serious underinvestment needs to be addressed across the board. Extra government funding of £50m. to be spread across 10 stations is welcome but will barely scratch the surface.

6.2 TravelWatch NorthWest�’s �‘mystery shoppers�’ went out of their way to assess the stations from an impartial perspective. Although some of the individuals who undertook this exercise were not unfamiliar with some of the stations they visited, they tried to view them as though they were using them for the first time �– possibly through the eyes of an over- seas visitor. Many of the people who participated in this survey have travelled on trains in Europe. They felt ashamed when they compared the physical state of our stations and the poor customer offer in this U.K. region to the best that Europe provides. Regular public transport users in the UK appear to have become oblivious to the poor condition of the physical facilities they are putting up with. But that does not make the situation right and people used to the comfort of their own cars are not going to make the switch to more sustainable forms of travel without a much better offer. The industry and its stakeholders have got to do better in providing infrastructure of good quality and fit for purpose. It is not adequate to provide uncomfortable, partially-covered transit sheds. All Grade B stations should aspire to grade A standards.

6.3 Whether travelling, seeing off or meeting travellers, station users have to endure periods of waiting - and sometimes for inordinate periods when there are delays. This presents opportunities to market a range of goods and services (including train travel) to them, to provide them with information, to sell them sustenance and to entertain them. But, only the upgraded category �‘A�’ stations such as Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street have realised their true potential. Users of these top-of-the-range stations know that they can rely on a choice of shops and refreshment facilities being available to them, that they can pick up some food to take to work, take home or eat in the station and they have entertainment screens to watch while they wait.

6.4 TW NW is aware that some of the stations featured in this report are scheduled for up- grades. But, past experience means we are not taking it for granted that the up-grades will be of a sufficiently high standard. We hope that this report will make uncomfortable reading for those in a position to do something about stations �– and that includes regional agencies and local authorities who can act as partners with rail organisations to bring about a step-change. If the will is there, the way will be found. This applies not just to the stations themselves, but to the access to the stations, to car parking facilities and to points for onward destinations by other modes. Lack of adequate, sensibly-priced and convenient parking is disincentivising many people from using trains. In saying this, we recognise that most car parks controlled by the ITAs are free, but many have capacity issues and some have no car parks at all.

6.5 And, while we are raising our voices here and calling on politicians, civil servants, quasi- civil servants, Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) and Local Authority officers and TOCs to do �‘the right thing�’, we cannot let this opportunity go without mentioning the related issue of under-counting passenger figures. It is an anachronism that ITA rail ticket sales and concessionary passes are not recorded by the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) and rover tickets and interchange passengers are undercounted. Nowhere is the problem more evident than at Liverpool Central. Merseytravel claims it deals with 17m. passengers p.a. but the ORR records a figure of half that. A difference of eight million users is simply not acceptable, especially when the usage figures affect investment. Although we have made a case for three stations �– Manchester Oxford Road, Bolton and Blackpool North �– to be re-categorised to Regional Hub B level based on the ORR�’s figures, we believe those figures are nowhere near accurate. More must be done to get the numbers right.

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CONTRIBUTORS

TravelWatch NorthWest is most indebted to all who contributed to this project. Anon Lillian Burns David Butterworth Chris Dale Andrea Fawcett John Hart John Moorhouse Richard Morris John Murray John Owen Alan Pettener Malcolm Richardson Peter Robinson Richard Rollinson John Ryan Aidan Turner-Bishop Ian Watson

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APPENDIX 1 [Extract from pages 6-9, inc., Better Stations report] Detailed Recommendations of the DfT�’s �‘Station Champions�’

Con tsis ent Standards

�‘ �’

�‘

�’

�‘ �’ National �‘B�’ Interchanges�‘ �’ �‘ �’

Fun Gapsding the �‘ �’

�‘ �’

�‘ �’ inadequately�‘ �’ �‘ �’

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�‘ �’ �‘ �’

National Stations ImprovementProgramme Access for All

Better Access______________________________________________________

�‘ �’

�–

�‘ �’

�‘ �’ �‘ �’Access for All

�‘ �’

Better Management

�‘ �’ �– �‘ �’�’

�’

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�‘ �’

Lon eg T rm Vision

�‘Manual for Streets�’

Conclusions This Review seeks to point the way to better station facilities for a growing rail demandover future decades. We would hope that the Department for Transport and the railindustry will take this work forward to ensure that it culminates in a programme ofimproved station facilities for customers, supported by a clear partnership with local

planning authorities to provide better long term transport interchanges.

Documents

THE NORTH WESTs WEAKEST LINK RAIL STATIONS · 3.2 The infrastructure of station buildings was the lowest priority at the time British Rail was privatised and disaggregated in 1996