Clifton CC

Not entirely sure I should be posting this on a Clifton CC Board, but it is at least as relevant as a discussion about subsidising car manufactures. Anyway National Express East Coast has submitted a planning application for Listed Building Consent to install ticket barriers at York railway station.

If you feel strongly about them either way here are the details. (Applogies if the URLs don't work, I am not entirely sure what I am doing. )



The application can be viewed at:
http://planning.york.gov.uk/PublicAcces ... F5PSJ0A700


The overall plan view is at:
http://planningdocs.york.gov.uk/WAM/doc ... ageCount=1



If you think that York should remain an open station, objections can be
lodged online by 14th January via
http://planning.york.gov.uk/PublicAcces ... F5PSJ0A700

The other documents in connection with this (including other objections)
can be seen via:
http://planningdocs.york.gov.uk/WAM/sho ... /02755/LBC
http://planningdocs.york.gov.uk/WAM/sho ... /02755/LBC

(I've edited the post to fix the URLs)

One thing to note is that the York planning system website only works properly in Internet Explorer.

As I understand it, one of the marketing features of Grand Central Trains, is that you can purchase any ticket on board without penalty.

Given the service is superior than National Express (the crew is friendy and interested); there is more room at the seats...., and given that National Express is covertly trying to squeeze the 3 daily trips off the metals, this would be yet another way of getting rid of the samll fry!

What price competition improving services?

This one letter says it all from a cycling point of view:

http://planningdocs.york.gov.uk/WAM/doc ... on=volume5

Maybe the club should lodge and official objection? Could someone get British Cyclcing to object too? Time is short....

How will cyclists get their bikes through gates? Especially where the museum end of the bridge is concerned.

Are they proposing to station a staff member at all of the barrier sets, to assist, like London Transport do on the tubes?

Since I put in a pratical objection, I've been told that because this is an application for listed building consent, the only grounds for objection are architectural or aesthetic - ie. "it will disfigure the beautiful building."
Depressing, but I don't think the access problems for cyclists bother the planners this time round.

If they do put these barriers in, south-bound travellers should give Selby a shot. You can ride right onto the platform and be on your train in about a minute, and Hull trains are friendly and happy to take bikes, AND you can get to King's cross at peak times for about half the NXEC York fare. Downside is fewer trains and slightly slower (first one into London at 9.15)

On a related theme, there's a petition to sign up to at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/bikes-on-trains/ regarding creating some sort of sensible national policy on all this. Sign!

PhilBixby wrote:On a related theme, there's a petition to sign up to at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/bikes-on-trains/ regarding creating some sort of sensible national policy on all this. Sign!

I'm going to have to sign this, I hope they get results from the petition, I know when I come back to york area it is truly awful on the train when I take my bicycle.

Personally I've only once had problems getting my bike on a train with me, but the annoying thing is the uncertainty of it and the wildly differing attitudes of rail staff. Just the fact that you might end up on the platform, looking at two burly mountainbikers who'd arrived before you and being eyeballed by a grumpy jobsworth train guard is enough to make it stressful - when it needn't be.

PhilBixby wrote:Personally I've only once had problems getting my bike on a train with me, but the annoying thing is the uncertainty of it and the wildly differing attitudes of rail staff. Just the fact that you might end up on the platform, looking at two burly mountainbikers who'd arrived before you and being eyeballed by a grumpy jobsworth train guard is enough to make it stressful - when it needn't be.

Well when I print my ticket it comes out with a bicycle reservation ticket too, but sometimes people with wheelchairs can end up meaning I might not be able to get on, once the rail staff just told me to get in the doorway so I had to get off the train each station as my bike was blocking the doorway.

Have just heard from someone who attended the meeting to discuss NXECs application for consent to install ticket barriers at York railway station:
"After much debate the planning committee rejected the application by 6
votes to 3."
So no barriers for now... Perhaps now they're giving up the franchise anyway that'll be an end to it.

tom