London Banter - View Single Post

[email protected] · February 15th 11, 12:19 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In article , (Roland
Perry) wrote:

In message , at
11:48:39 on Mon, 14 Feb 2011, remarked:

Why not head along the passage towards the Northern ticket hall,
then up the stairs to emerge in the old upstairs concourse (which
will eventually be outdoors). Is there a sign on platform 8, or is
it necessary to find the main departure board from there (which
will disappear soon as that's going to be outdoors as well).

It's at the bottom of those stairs that the screen is needed. Up the
stairs for platforms 0-8, straight ahead for platforms 9-11.

Looking ahead to the final configuration, those stairs are mainly
an entrance to the Underground, being outdoors and the natural feed
from the barriers along the southern face of the station. To get to
any of the platforms will require an awkward U-turn back towards
the "dome". So it's pretty clear they want you to exit via the
northern ticket hall and thence to the mainline platforms via the
new bridge, or rather more directly to the suburban platforms.

I think we are all perhaps underestimating the extent to which
there's this clockwise one-way system. South along the mainline
platforms through the gates to the new plaza, and then through the
domed area via the bridge to the platforms. You can't get to the
ticket office, suburban platforms or St Pancras without that
detour, and they seem quite keen to stop people taking a short cut
to the mainline platforms.

It's all fine and wonderful if the ECML is a faux airline and KGX a
faux airline terminal, but commuter trains in the main shed are not
going to be a good fit.

I have been told that it will be possible, despite this simple model, to
enter the platforms though the barriers and that they won't all be set to
exit after all. I am also assured that the flow will not require people
with bikes to use the footbridge!

But to use the barriers to enter low numbered platforms there will have to
be information screens beyond the individual ones at each platform end.

--
Colin Rosenstiel