|
|
 |
| |
Passengers attempt to board a packed train at Upper Holloway station on Wednesday evening |
Revolt of the rail ‘sardines’ brings threat to halt trains
Passenger anger mounts at overcrowding on ‘Cinderella’ line
RAIL passengers using Upper Holloway station – on the beleaguered Barking-Gospel Oak “Cinderella” line – are threatening civil disobedience in protest at overcrowding on trains at peak hours.
A demonstration of “passenger power” – with trains being prevented from leaving the platform – is a possibility unless the service improves.
Station managers are being warned that tempers are beginning to “boil over” because the overcrowded trains result in travellers being squeezed in like “sardines” or unable to board trains at peak times.
Passengers who cannot get on trains have complained of being up to 40 minutes late for their destination.
To head off action, Transport for London (TfL) officials are meeting the Barking-Gospel Oak Users’ Group and Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem deputy chairwoman of the London Assembly transport committee, at Barking town hall today (Friday).
Similar problems at Highbury and Islington station on the North London line have brought warnings from furious passengers of the possibility of injuries as commuters are “crammed into carriages like animals”.
Richard Pout, secretary of the Gospel Oak Users’ Group, who lives near Finsbury Park, said: “Passengers are at the end of their tether. They are fed up with being left on the platform day after day as their morning train to work arrives packed solid.
“Some passengers have started taking a train in the opposite direction, just to have a chance of getting a seat.”
More people than ever are using the route, particularly with the recent introduction of Oyster cards.
Mr Pout, a former housing officer who uses Crouch Hill and Upper Holloway stations, added: “Peak time we get trains every 20 minutes, which wouldn’t be bad if there were more than two carriages, and the rest of the time it’s every half an hour.”
Adding to the weekday misery of overcrowding is the lack of trains at weekends, due to engineering works. Users complain that there are few replacement buses on the line.
TfL has introduced a short-term proposal of reduced seating to make more room for standing passengers.
The final blow to passengers was the recent announcement by TfL that, due to delays at the manufacturer, new diesel trains for the line, which would have allowed a 15-minute service, are now unlikely to be delivered until 2010. They were due this September.
Andrew Bosi, who runs Capital Transport pressure group, said he could well understand the fury of frustrated passengers.
Mr Bosi, from Angel, added: “A few years ago passengers on the Northern Line at Finchley Central refused to leave a train which was being turned round. It was part of their protest against the lack of trains to High Barnet and Mill Hill East. The service has much improved since.”
Kate Calvert, chairwoman of Better Archway Forum and a frequent user of the service, said: “Two carriages are obviously not sufficient. They need more if they are to provide a comfortable service. We are glad that TfL has now appointed a station supervisor at Upper Holloway, but it is no good if the service is not up to scratch.”
A TfL spokesman said: “We are always looking at ways of tackling overcrowding where there is any, and we’re always happy to listen to suggestions from passengers.
“But we inherited a railway with decades of underinvestment, and which is shared with major freight routes, so any real solution will take time.”
Improvements in signalling would mean that by October or November four trains an hour could operate during the rush hour, instead of three.
“That will make a big difference,” the spokesman said. “It’s all part of TfL’s £400million overhaul of the railway. And later this year we will be introducing new trains which will have more room.
“It’s always dismaying to hear that passengers have difficult journeys, but they may also like to know that eventually we will also be introducing longer trains – once all platforms are long enough to accommodate them.”
Stations feel strain as 5,000 homes go up
NEW homes, including flats built around the Emirates Stadium, are putting enormous strain on local Tube stations.
The Piccadilly line’s Caledonian Road, Arsenal and Holloway Road stations are all experiencing huge demands, with more passengers than ever before at early-morning and evening peak times.
Caledonian ward Labour councillor Paul Convery said the three stations served an area that has been intensively developed over the past 10 years.
“There’s 5,000-plus homes and the new stadium, all adding to the pressure,” he said. “But nobody has insisted that London Underground upgrade the three stations to cope with demand.
“It’s not just match days that result in overcrowding. At peak times it has become so overcrowded it can be very unpleasant. It’s a real failure in public transport planning policy in the past decade.”
Cllr Convery said today’s planners compared unfavourably with those responsible for Arsenal’s original Highbury stadium, built at the beginning of the 20th century.
“The old Highbury Hill station was completely rebuilt to accommodate fans,” he said. “Today we keep the same infrastructure and hope we can squeeze everyone in. But there will come a time when we will have to build bigger stations to cope with demand.” |
 |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
