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ORR’s Euston decision ‘incredible’, says watchdog




Transport
watchdog
 London
TravelWatch
has
described
a
decision
by
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
as
‘incredible’,
amid
a
new
controversy
which
has
flared
up
about
the
safety
of
London
Euston. 



The
station
was
at
the
centre
of
allegations
during
the
summer
that
before
rail
minister
Lord
Hendy
had
joined
the
government
and
was
chair
of
Network
Rail,
he
had
warned
a
company
that
it
was
risking
future
contracts
unless
it
took
action
against
an
employee
who
had
criticised
the
overcrowding
at
Euston
as
dangerous.



Guardian
journalist
Barney
Ronay
posted
on
X
a
few
days
ago
that
Euston
is
‘easily,
easily
the
worst
main
station
in
Western
Europe’.
He
continued:
‘It’s
like
being
taken
away
to
be
machine
gunned
in
the
woods
by
various
mobile
phone
and
soft
drinks
companies.
Congrats
to
everyone
involved.’



Now
London
TravelWatch
has
joined
the
fray,
saying
that
‘it
is
when
train
services
are
disrupted
that
the
station
really
struggles
to
cope,
with
high
levels
of
overcrowding
putting
passengers
in
danger’.



LTW
has
discussed
its
concerns
with
Network
Rail,
saying
that
‘yet
passengers
are
still
having
to
rush
to
platforms
due
to
last
minute
announcements,
staff
appear
overwhelmed
by
the
sheer
numbers
of
people
involved
and
the
recently-installed
information
screens
seem
to
have
done
little
if
anything
to
make
things
better’.



In
a
statement,
it
continued:
‘It
is
almost
a
year
since
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
issued
an
improvement
notice
to
Network
Rail
regarding
the
station,
but
it
seems
little
has
changed.
We
are
also
very
concerned
that
the
situation
will
only
worsen
if
new
operators
are
successful
in
their
recent
applications
to
run
additional
services.



’Incredibly,
the
ORR
closed
its
improvement
notice
following
actions
taken
and
commitments
made
by
Network
Rail.
In
May,
the
Transport
Select
Committee
asked
Network
Rail
for
further
detail
on
these
actions,
which
aim
to
improve
the
management
of
passenger
flows
at
Euston.
These
details
now
need
to
be
published
and
reviewed
as
a
matter
of
urgency.’



Network
Rail,
which
manages
Euston
as
part
of
its
portfolio
of
19
larger
stations,
said:
’Euston
was
designed
for
a
different
era
and
we
acknowledge
that
it
is
in
need
of
major
investment
and
modernisation.



‘However,
safety
is
at
the
heart
of
our
operation
and
something
we
would
never
compromise
on
in
any
of
our
stations.



’For
the
majority
of
the
time
the
station
works;
however,
during
times
of
disruption,
there
simply
isn’t
enough
room
for
passengers,
and
we
know
this
can
make
for
an
uncomfortable
and
unpleasant
environment.’



The
first
Euston
was
opened
in
1837
as
the
terminus
of
the
newly-built
London
and
Birmingham
Railway,
but
after
being
enlarged
more
than
once
it
was
demolished
in
the
1960s
as
part
of
the
electrification
and
modernisation
of
the
main
line
to
Birmingham,
Manchester
and
Liverpool.



The
new
Euston
was
opened
by
the
Queen
in
1968,
when
British
Rail
said
the
terminus
was
‘at
your
service
with
every
modern
amenity’.

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