In message , at 15:00:36 on
Sat, 6 Jul 2013, Paul Corfield remarked:
On Sat, 6 Jul 2013 13:38:42 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 21:08:54 on
Thu, 4 Jul 2013, Paul Corfield remarked:
There is plenty of practical pressure from commuters, older people,
parents with young kids and those in wheelchairs who would like to use
the rail network with less hassle than they currently encounter.

Here's a good example: I've complained in the past about the lack of
stepless entry to Camden Town tube station. Although one of the two
doorways is level with the pavement it seems exclusively for exit,
leaving passengers entering with several steps to negotiate.

Yes and Kentish Town Road is at a slightly lower level than Chalk Farm
Road. You'll have to explain to me how TfL could provide a ramped
entrance, within their own property delineation, which doesn't cause a
massive trip hazard on the pavement or else be so steep that it was
unusable to someone in a wheelchair.

They don't need to provide a ramp up the steps, just allow people to
*enter* on the other side, on the level, through the most southerly
gate, which is wide and somewhat disjoint from the rest of that
gateline.

Today, I see that it's gone completely mad. The only way to the
platforms is down the 116-step spiral staircase!

Happens every weekend because at certain times the exit flow far
exceeds the entry flow. Camden Town station is simply inadequate for
the demand. The only answer is to rebuild the place but there is not
the land or planning permission that can do this without harming the
market. Camden Council appear to place retention of the market above
the provision of a safe accessible tube station that would allow more
people to reach Camden by tube.

I don't understand that at all. It's on a massive road junction - they
could put a ticket concourse underneath (like at Oxford Circus).

There appears to be no viable solution to expanding Camden Town
station which would also include step free access from platform to
street.

The current site of the booking office could be the accessible entrance.

And that's after a neat trick from the Northern Line - all trains from
Kings Cross were going to Hampstead, but I was going to Archway. I can't
see a stepless way of doing the change (there's two flights of stairs at
Camden Town) without going via whatever the first remaining
island-platform station is in the Clapham area. Unless there's a
same-level interchange at Euston, of course, but they were telling
people to change at Camden.

That will be because there is engineering work associated with testing
of the new signalling on the Edgware branch.

I can understand that stopping the trains from going north of Hampstead,
by why does it stop Bank-branch trains going via Archway?

There is no step free
interchange between N Line branches at Euston.

I somehow thought there wouldn't be.

If you wanted Archway and wanted a step free journey take the 390 bus
- it's pretty fast given it goes up York Way and avoids the more
seriously congested roads in the corridor from KX to Archway.

I don't really understand your overall comment though. Today you're
moaning about a lack of step free routes and the other day you were
saying provision of lifts and ramps was a "box ticking" exercise and
that the assets were then left to rot because no one used them. Make
your mind up!

My comments are about how dedicated TfL seems to be when it comes to
providing step-free access. Where there's the slightest problem - forget
it. If it's easy, grab the money and tick some boxes! (Even if it's
somewhere with little demand)

ps I know it's Network Rail rather than TfL, but I was somewhat amused
to see gleaming new LCD displays at Kings Cross's brand new concourse
showing "Windows XP" error messages this afternoon. It's only six years
out of date.
--
Roland Perry