Barriers at Brockley station are causing dangerous overcrowding
Rail travellers have condemned new gates at Brockley train station which they say have caused overcrowding and an ‘unpleasant atmosphere’ at busy times.
The station which was taken over by Transport for London in September 2009, had gates installed last year in the ticket office.
Users say the gates have been causing dangerous overcrowding at busy times.
Although the gates were put in place to catch those passengers attempting to travel for free, residents of Brockley say this was a pointless exercise because when the area becomes overcrowded, staff open the gates to let passengers through.
Passengers using the station are appealing for the gates to be open permanently in order to prevent the overcrowding.
Posters on Brockleycentral.blogspot.com “The Online Home For All Things Brockley” have voiced their concerns at the overcrowding.
One poster wrote “[this] is clearly ridiculous. The amount they save from fare dodgers would be negligible anyway compared to the lawsuit for someone falling down the stairs because of the overcrowding. The atmosphere is really unpleasant with all the pushing and shoving. It makes me dread using the train more than ever.”
Another wrote “The current situation is an absolute mess. If they can’t install a set of gates and a ticket office which are large enough to cope with the volume of people, then they shouldn’t force people through the gates/office. It’s as simple as that.”
In the long term Brockley station is due to be re-modeled, but rail users want TFL to come up with a short to medium long-term solution.
A TFL spokesperson said: “The gates at Brockley station were introduced by Southern, and we inherited this system in September 2009. Since then, no accidents have been reported at the station. However, our stations team is due to go on site at Brockley in the next few weeks to observe passenger flows and determine whether action is required there.”
Thanks for the link, although I can assure you that the barriers at Brockley Station look nothing like your photo. Imagine a tea hut, 10 feet x 10 feet, with dozens of people trying to squash through three barriers while other people try to buy their tickets in the same space and yet more people try to go the other way to get on to the platforms and you’re pretty much there.
Hi Nick,
thanks for your comment. Could you perhaps send us a photo of the actual barriers at Brockley, if you have one? YOu can send it via the email link for news on our Contact page.
As it happens I was passing through the gates at Brockley in the rush hour yesterday. There are only 3 gates, including the wide, one, and allowing one for incoming passengers that leaves two for everyone coming out. It used to be that you could go out the gate onto the pavement off the front of the platform, but no more. So now we’re all crushed up the stairs and through two gates! I thought of taking a picture for you, but it was far too crowded.
Having said all that, it is great to be able to use Oyster pay as you go. But given the pressure on this line it would be nice – now the outside is all landscaped etc – to see the passenger-handling bits dealt with!