BBC London's Tom Edwards tackles Euston rush
Rail passengers will be able to arrive at their platforms earlier at a central London station to reduce the so-called 'Euston rush'.
Network Rail said it would now allow passengers traveling on around 40 per cent of Avanti West Coast services to board trains 20 minutes before departure.
This percentage will increase to around 55% in the run-up to Christmas.
Earlier this month, watchdog London TravelWatch warned that Euston passengers were being put “at risk” by “high levels of overcrowding”.
The changes come after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh ordered Network Rail to review and improve the way it runs the station, including an initial five-point plan.
According to the press release, the “last minute announcements” mean that passengers are “rushing to the platforms”.
As part of the reforms, passengers traveling on London Northwestern Railway services to Birmingham were invited to the platforms to wait for their train as soon as the previous service departed.
The so-called 'Euston rush' is dangerous for passengers, a watchdog has said.
Gary Walsh, Network Rail's West Coast South route director, said: “Getting passengers to their services on time is at the heart of our improvements at Euston, and today's changes will tackle head on to this problem.
The plan includes other measures such as turning off a large advertising screen while its use is reviewed, creating more concourse space, upgrading toilets and improving the operation of the station by case of disturbance.
Ms Haigh said: “I am pleased to see immediate improvements being made to Euston station to reduce the risk of overcrowding, raise standards and provide a better passenger experience.
“For too long, Euston Station has simply not performed well enough.
She added that work was underway on a “long-term solution for the station”.
Plans to redevelop Euston include creating a larger concourse, but these are subject to Network Rail securing more government funding.
Major work to prepare a site next to the station for HS2 was halted by the Conservative government in March last year.
Labor ministers are yet to announce whether the high-speed rail will be extended to Euston or whether it will only run to and from Old Oak Common, in the west London suburbs.
Jonny Wiseman, director of customer experience at London Northwestern Railway, said: “We will closely monitor the impact of these changes as we continue to work with our partners to make the process of boarding trains smoother at the station. . »
