In article ,
(Jack Taylor) wrote:

Paul Scott wrote:

so I assume you're going to have to cross the existing forecourt
and come in through the new main southern entrance, between the
existing station and the Great Northern Hotel. As someone else has
said though, aren't the services moving to St Pancras Midland Road
eventually? I really can't think of anything helpful to say about
taking a bike through a gateline, but I'm sure cyclists will have
to get more used to them, they're installing a lot more than they're
removing...

We have them at Aylesbury and at Marylebone - I never have any
problems at all with them. However, Colin is understandably
concerned if all access to KX is intended to be via the new feeder
footbridge from the west side concourse.

or by a barrier line parallel to the tracks at the Euston Road end of
platform 8. On the level at least but a long way round from Grays Inn
Road. They are planning to move the buffer stops Northwards a bit on
platforms 5-8. I suppose that means that only 1 could be used by Regional
Eurostar sets if they ever return to the Cross.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article . com,
(brixtonite) wrote:

Why are you still concerned then? The information provided
earlier shows quite clearly that the 'main' access, and all the
exits, for platforms 1-7 is from the south west corner and south
end of the station, where the steps come up from the tube ticket
hall, in fact.[....]

Paul

Although the current passageway from the tube ticket hall that rises
in the station concourse is to be closed, according to the plans at
http://www.tinyurl.com/35bocd (very detailed, so very large file!),
and replaced by a staircase coming off the new passage connecting
the tube ticket hall to the northern ticket hall. Good job too - the
current passage is the one bit of kxsp underground station that is
still in an awful state.

Thanks for pointing to those plans, or no thanks. Looking at them I now
wonder how on earth cyclists are supposed to get from trains arriving at
platforms 9-11 to Pancras Road. One advantage of arriving on those
platforms now is a much shorter walking route to getting on one's bike.

I do believe that no one has audited these plans for their impact on
cyclists using trains (as opposed to the irrelevant for these purposes
cycle parking). As I've said before, King's Cross (including the Midland
Road Thameslink platforms in future) is now the London terminal for
services to Cambridge, Britain's premier cycling city. It must therefore
expect to handle more cyclists using trains than any other London
terminal. Being completely ignored is hardly consideration.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
(brixtonite) wrote:


Thanks for pointing to those plans, or no thanks. Looking at them I now
wonder how on earth cyclists are supposed to get from trains arriving at
platforms 9-11 to Pancras Road. One advantage of arriving on those
platforms now is a much shorter walking route to getting on one's bike.

I do believe that no one has audited these plans for their impact on
cyclists using trains (as opposed to the irrelevant for these purposes
cycle parking). As I've said before, King's Cross (including the Midland
Road Thameslink platforms in future) is now the London terminal for
services to Cambridge, Britain's premier cycling city. It must therefore
expect to handle more cyclists using trains than any other London
terminal. Being completely ignored is hardly consideration.


Perhaps now you have audited the plans you could drop them a line...

Paul

In article ,
(Clive D. W. Feather) wrote:

In article .com,
TimB writes
Every train does have a designated platform.
Not in my experience

Every train at King's Cross has a booked and timetabled platform.
The signallers will try to get that train into that platform, but
when things are messed up it's not always possible.

Must have been messed up tonight. The 19:15 ran from 6, much more
convenient with the bike.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article ,
(Jack Taylor) wrote:

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:

Gatelines are a right pain because you can't get through the
normal gates with a bike. You have to use a wide gate and to use
that you have to find a member of staff who can be arsed to serve
customers and open it.

Not if they use the same style of wide gate that is installed at
Chiltern stations. They are operated by ticket, the same as the
normal gates. They have different style of paddle fitted, rather
than the large flat panel they have a tubular construction in place.

Must have changed since I last used Marylebone then. My only experience
of using gates with a bike is Liverpool Street, to be fair.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article , (Roland
Perry) wrote:

In message , at 18:29:30 on
Fri, 23 Mar 2007, Clive D. W. Feather
remarked:

Every train at King's Cross has a booked and timetabled platform.

Do they still have that station announcer who yells at people (to
go back to the concourse) who "guess" the platform before it's
published?

Not tonight they didn't. I was one of a group waiting for the signallers
to get off their arses and announce that the 19:15 was going from 6. It
had to be; there was no other 8-car FCC train to be seen. Eventually they
put it on the screens at 19:09.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article ,
(Paul Scott) wrote:

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
(brixtonite) wrote:

Thanks for pointing to those plans, or no thanks. Looking at them
I now wonder how on earth cyclists are supposed to get from trains
arriving at platforms 9-11 to Pancras Road. One advantage of
arriving on those platforms now is a much shorter walking route to
getting on one's bike.

I do believe that no one has audited these plans for their impact
on cyclists using trains (as opposed to the irrelevant for these
purposes cycle parking). As I've said before, King's Cross
(including the Midland Road Thameslink platforms in future) is now
the London terminal for services to Cambridge, Britain's premier
cycling city. It must therefore expect to handle more cyclists
using trains than any other London terminal. Being completely ignored
is hardly consideration.

Perhaps now you have audited the plans you could drop them a line...

I was going to give them a ring when I'm in the office. Though contacting
Camden Council does seem like a game of dungeons and dragons. Anyone here
have a clue who to ask for?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:

Must have changed since I last used Marylebone then.

That's quite possible, actually. The new gates went in when the barrier line
was renewed last year, just before the new platforms 5 and 6 were opened.
Prior to that, with a bike you had to use the "big" vehicle access gates at
the side of the barrier line, nearest platforms 1 and 2.

Platform 4 has now been shortened, ending just outside the main trainshed,
and the old trackbed infilled and paved over (making the bufferstop line of
platforms 4, 5 and 6 parallel) with access to these platforms via the very
wide walkway that has been created from platform 3 to the wall that used to
be at the back of the platform 4 road; the bicycle racks have also been
relocated to that area. A new barrier line has been installed behind the
ticket office, with a wide gate, primarily to give access to platforms 3-6
(although they can be used and the wide gate *needs* to be used for access
to other platforms as well). The original barrier line in front of platforms
1-3 has been renewed, with a second wide gate (normally for exit from all
platforms), and a mixture of entry and exit gates.

On 23 Mar, 15:42, (Colin Rosenstiel) wrote:

( changes at King's Cross)

Gatelines sound pretty cycle-unfriendly too. They certainly are at
Liverpool Street. No mention of "cycle" in the Executive Summary or any
other part of the document referred to above I note.

All in all no consideration of passengers accompanying cycles at all.

Gatelines are getting better for cyclists, fortunately.
Here's a photo of the new gates at Stevenage, including a wide gate
for cyclists etc.
http://www.camcycle.org.uk/map/location/10317/

Doubtless we'll see something similar at Cambridge in due course.

PaulO

On 23 Mar, 23:59, (Colin Rosenstiel) wrote:
In article , (Roland

Perry) wrote:
In message , at 18:29:30 on
Fri, 23 Mar 2007, Clive D. W. Feather
remarked:

Every train at King's Cross has a booked and timetabled platform.

Do they still have that station announcer who yells at people (to
go back to the concourse) who "guess" the platform before it's
published?

Not tonight they didn't. I was one of a group waiting for the signallers
to get off their arses and announce that the 19:15 was going from 6. It
had to be; there was no other 8-car FCC train to be seen. Eventually they
put it on the screens at 19:09.

They seem to be announcing the 1915 rather late these days. Even
though it's in the platform from about 1900, they often don't announce
it until about 1905, by which time there can be a hundred regular
passengers hanging around at the platform end.

I think it may be related to the fact that the 1903 to Leeds often
leaves from the opposite platform 6; GNER often close the gates to
platforms 6/7 until after their train departs (not always possible if
hundreds of arriving FCC passengers need to leave platform 7 at the
same time).

PaulO