Whoever first suggested that life is about the journey, not the destination, evidently never began their trip at London Euston. From its oppressive architecture to its heaving concourses, it is the train station that hope forgot. But there may finally be some good news on the horizon for weary travellers.
The infamous “Euston rush” - whereby passengers must rush to their platform in the hope of finding a seat - may soon be a thing of the past. That is because train operators have begun to trial the revolutionary idea of early boarding. It follows a warning from London TravelWatch, a passenger watchdog, that “high levels of overcrowding” were “putting passengers in danger.”
Other train stations clearly manage demand better. Euston is busy - with more than 31 million passenger entries and exits a year with up to 40 trains arriving or departing an hour at peak times. But it is only the UK’s 10th busiest station. Its longstanding issue is a lack of platforms, which forces passengers to wait on the concourse. When the information boards finally reveal departure information, it can precipitate a stampede.
This change is therefore welcome. Roughly 40 per cent of Avanti West Coast services at Euston will now begin boarding 20 minutes before departure, with the majority of services expected to follow suit in the run-up to Christmas.
Disruption caused by HS2, and the appalling delays to the extension to Euston, only threaten to make matters worse in the short term. Consequently, Network Rail must get this right now, before the station becomes even more overcrowded.
For far too long, Euston has been something of a national embarrassment. Delays, rushes, topped off by the large advertising board which had to be switched off as part of a major review into overcrowding at the station. But the overriding priority must be passenger safety. The Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, has tasked Network Rail to come up with a plan to urgently improve conditions for passengers. Early boarding is a start. But as any regular passenger knows, Euston has far further to go.
