Rail passengers using London’s Euston station are being put in danger from high levels of overcrowding, a transport watchdog has warned.
London TravelWatch said the station, which hosts services to and from places such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow, was “struggling to cope” when train services were delayed.
The watchdog said that despite meeting with the station’s owner, Network Rail, to voice its concerns, passengers were still having to rush to platforms because of last-minute announcements, while staff often appeared “overwhelmed by the sheer number of people” they had to deal with.
Euston received widespread criticism last week from passengers after a post on X by the Guardian journalist Barney Ronay in which he described it as “easily the worst main station in western Europe” went viral.
Euston is easily, easily the worst main station in Western Europe. It’s like being taken away to be machine gunned in the woods by various mobile phone and soft drinks companies. Congrats to everyone involved pic.twitter.com/uclZj46awK
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) September 22, 2024
London TravelWatch, an independent watchdog to advocate for those who travel in the capital, said: “Even on good days, the passenger experience at London Euston fails to match its importance as the capital’s main rail gateway to four of the UK’s largest cities.
“But it is when train services are disrupted that the station really struggles to cope, with high levels of overcrowding putting passengers in danger.”
Network Rail said there was not enough room for passengers when there was disruption to services, leading to an “uncomfortable and unpleasant environment”.
In September last year, the Office of Rail and Road issued an improvement notice to Network Rail in relation to the station, saying that crowding had reached unacceptable levels and accused the owner of having a lack of crowd control in place.
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”.
London TravelWatch said little had changed since December and recently installed information screens had “done little if anything to make things better for passengers when services are disrupted”.
On Tuesday, Network Rail warned passengers to avoid the station for 10 days over the Christmas period as closures to Paddington and Liverpool Street because of engineering works would make the station extremely busy.
Network Rail has plans to extend the concourse at Euston but this is dependent on it receiving more government funding.
The station will also receive an overhaul as part of the HS2 project but the government has yet to confirm if the line will terminate at Euston – as originally planned – or Old Oak Common, near Acton, west London.
Last year, the then Conservative prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said that the high-speed rail line would only be extended to Euston if it could secure enough private investment. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is likely to approve funding for the station in her budget later this month, the Sunday Times reported last weekend.
The site at Euston station was farmland before its construction, opening in 1837. It now serves more 40 million passengers a year - more than twice the number for which it was designed, according to the government.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Euston was designed for a different era and we acknowledge that it is in need of major investment and modernisation.
“However, safety is at the heart of our operation and something we would never compromise on in any of our stations.
“For the majority of the time the station works; however, during times of disruption, there simply isn’t enough room for passengers, and we know this can make for an uncomfortable and unpleasant environment.”
