Passengers using London’s Euston railway station will be allowed to board some services early in an attempt to ease persistent overcrowding.
Network Rail has said it would allow passengers to board about 40% of Avanti West Coast services from the station 20 minutes before departure.
Avanti West Coast is the chief rail operator between London and big cities on the west coast main line, such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow.
The scheme comes after London Travelwatch raised safety concerns over Euston earlier this month, warning that passengers were being put at danger by high levels of overcrowding.
The capital’s travel watchdog also said that passengers were still having to rush to platforms because of last-minute announcements, while staff often appeared “overwhelmed by the sheer number of people”.
To combat this, Network Rail has confirmed an early boarding trial on 40% of Avanti services; it expected to be available on 55% of trains in the weeks running up to Christmas.
The Guardian understands that there is no standard time for how early passengers can board trains but for commuter trains it is usually about six minutes, with intercity trains longer because they need to be cleaned and restocked.
From last week, travellers using London Northwestern Railway’s services to Birmingham were invited on to platforms to wait for services, in an attempt to further alleviate overcrowding concerns.
The move comes as part of Network Rail’s five-point plan aimed at improving passenger experience at the station, which is the UK’s 10th busiest station with 30m entries and exits each year.
The plan, which was ordered by the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, included moves to try to create more space on the concourse and alleviate pinch points, as well as to improve station operations during disruption to benefit passengers.
It also ordered the station to turn off its large advertising screen, which had previously been the departures board, after widespread criticism.
In September last year, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) issued an improvement notice to Network Rail in relation to the station. It said crowding had reached unacceptable levels and accused the owner of lacking sufficient measures to control it.
It also found reports of minor injuries as a result of the crowding, which it said had the “potential for more serious consequences in the future”.
In December, the ORR said Network Rail had complied with the notice and implemented measures to “manage passenger traffic flows and overcrowding” but London TravelWatch said last month that little had changed.
The Avanti West Coast interim customer experience director, Cheryl Fox, said: “We know the travelling experience for our customers at Euston has fallen below the standards they should rightly expect.
“We will continue to work alongside Network Rail as well as our partners on this trial and other measures, with the aim of making journeys at the station more comfortable for those travelling on the west coast main line.”
