East Midland Trains are continuing to upset and bully the people of Sheffield with their ridiculous tactics of denying people access to the bridge across the station. They seem determined to alienate as many people as possible.
Following article is on page 2 of tonight's Sheffield Star.
08 February 2010
By Nick Ward
FURIOUS campaigners have slammed railway bosses for stopping people without tickets crossing the Sheffield station footbridge.
The move, on Friday evening, comes just months after campaigners won their fight against an application to install ticket barriers to stop anyone without a ticket using the bridge.
Stagecoach, which owns East Midlands Trains, applied to install barriers to improve security and stop fare dodging but faced a massive protest when the plans were announced in 2008.
Sheffield Council's planning board rejected the scheme in November.
Protesters were angry the barriers would prevent residents from using the station footbridge as a route between the city centre and Norfolk Park.
Members of campaign group Residents Against Station Closure say they are furious after the bridge was closed to anyone without a ticket on Friday evening.
Protester Graham Wroe said: "The six members of a city planning board unanimously voted to reject the scheme after receiving nearly 1,250 objections - and slammed the station operator for pursuing the plans despite such overwhelming opposition.
"But now EMT are continuing to disrupt pedestrians journeys, forcing people to use the unlit and dangerous covered bridge which has no disabled access, or take an extremely long detour to get round.
"On some previous occasions when EMT have carried out ticket checks they have issued pedestrians with tickets to enable them to cross the bridge. On this occasion they failed to do this and forced everybody to walk round.
"We are calling a meeting of Residents Against Station Closure on Monday February 15 at 7pm at Victoria Methodist Church, Stafford Road, to discuss our response."
Fellow campaigner Mark Halsey has written to East Midlands Trains saying: "I wish to complain at being stopped on the footbridge at Sheffield station this evening.
"This is despite the fact that Sheffield City Council, when you applied to install barriers, made it clear that while you are entitled to run a penalty fare scheme, this only applies to the platforms on which your trains operate and that you can at no time prevent pedestrians from using the footbridge over the station.
"I would like an explanation as to why your staff and company think that the civil law doesn't apply to them."
East Midlands Trains said the ticket checks were part of an ongoing plan to prevent people trying to travel without a ticket and have been carried out for a number of months at Sheffield station. These ticket checks are also carried out in other stations across the East Midlands Trains network.
Loads of good comments on the website
http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Outrage-as-residents-hit-by.6051230.jp
and a very supportive editorial
Don't alienate Sheffield folk.
EAST Midlands Trains are right to be concerned over fare dodgers, who deprive the company of vital revenue which, in turn, threatens its role as employer to thousands of people. But it is not acceptable that their campaign to stop people travelling without a ticket should result in pedestrians being prevented from using a footbridge at Sheffield railway station, which is what happened the other evening when the rail company ..carried out a ticket check operation.
An application for ticket barriers at either end of the footbridge, in effect restricting its use only to train passengers, has already been thrown out by Sheffield City Council, which felt the apparatus was out of keeping with the character of the railway station.
In reality, though, this decision would have been driven equally by sympathy for the campaign against the loss of the footbridge to general use.
For the rail company to unilaterally close off a well used and much appreciated thoroughfare which not only links a major part of Sheffield with the city centre but also joins Hallam University with its bespoke tram stop, is to ignore the feelings of the public at large. The irony is that they no doubt sympathise with the company in its plight against fare dodgers.
We would appeal to them to find an alternative way to achieve their goal without alienating Sheffield people.
Showing posts with label pedestrians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pedestrians. Show all posts
Monday, 8 February 2010
Monday, 4 August 2008
Residents furious at continued proposals to "gate" the railway station.
East Midlands Trains complain trains are too overcrowded for ticket collectors!
I joined a group of local people who represent a wide range of interests, such as access for people with disabilities, the City Council, SYPTE and local residents last week at the station. We met with 4 reps from East Midlands Trains (EMT)on Thursday 31st July. The group presented a united front and gave EMT a hard time about their proposal to install ticket barriers.
EMT claim that this will tackle fare “dodging” although they have no information on the current level. It was established early in the 2 hour meeting that EMT had no alternative suggestions to discuss other than the installation of gates. EMT insisted that this was consultation and they wanted to listen to local views but despite the total rejection of ticket barriers they had nothing else to offer. They managed to get the group to discuss other ways of solving their, unquantified, problem of fare evasion, but went on to reject all suggestions as unworkable. For instance the suggestion that they should put more staff on trains to collect fares was ruled out as impractical as trains were already "over- crowded, sometimes eight deep!"
The group was shown around the proposed sites for locating gates. The current plan is approximately thirteen barriers in the front hall consisting of 10 standard size and 3 wide aisle to be located between the arches and probably 5 at the back entrance, two standard size going in, and two standard size going out with one wide gate off to the side where the lift is. These ideas are subject to change as a result of a computer modelling exercise to check safety. One look at this layout makes it clear that if gating is introduced all free movement through the station would be at an end. Even people meeting passengers from trains or help them with their departure would only be able to do so at the discretion of staff on the barriers. It is also likely that wheel chair users who find the system of lifts in the station the most convenient way of getting to the city centre from the communities on the hill above the station would be blocked.
There are no arrangements in place for tram users getting off at the back of the station to go into the city centre, or walking from the bus station to the tram stop at the back of the station to be able to use the footbridge.
There was some talk of enabling local residents to be able to walk through and EMT suggested the possibility of developing a token or pass system for Residents. When informed that there are 70,000 residents in the Central Constituency alone there was no response. EMT were unable to define the meaning of "local resident".
There are a number of large organisations and proposed developments on either side of the station. Staff and Students at Castle centre of the Sheffield College; Sheffield Hallam University; a number of secondary and primary schools in the immediate vicinity and the residents of the huge Park Hill development, in addition to people who already live here, would all be prevented from using this award winning listed building which the city has spent millions of pounds to refurbish.
If readers have concerns about EMT's proposal that can email them to getintouch@eastmidlandstrains.co.uk
or write to Tim Shoveller, East Midlands Trains, FREEPOST DY940, Derby, DE1 9BR
For further information contact Residents against Station Closure at RASC2008@live.com
I joined a group of local people who represent a wide range of interests, such as access for people with disabilities, the City Council, SYPTE and local residents last week at the station. We met with 4 reps from East Midlands Trains (EMT)on Thursday 31st July. The group presented a united front and gave EMT a hard time about their proposal to install ticket barriers.
EMT claim that this will tackle fare “dodging” although they have no information on the current level. It was established early in the 2 hour meeting that EMT had no alternative suggestions to discuss other than the installation of gates. EMT insisted that this was consultation and they wanted to listen to local views but despite the total rejection of ticket barriers they had nothing else to offer. They managed to get the group to discuss other ways of solving their, unquantified, problem of fare evasion, but went on to reject all suggestions as unworkable. For instance the suggestion that they should put more staff on trains to collect fares was ruled out as impractical as trains were already "over- crowded, sometimes eight deep!"
The group was shown around the proposed sites for locating gates. The current plan is approximately thirteen barriers in the front hall consisting of 10 standard size and 3 wide aisle to be located between the arches and probably 5 at the back entrance, two standard size going in, and two standard size going out with one wide gate off to the side where the lift is. These ideas are subject to change as a result of a computer modelling exercise to check safety. One look at this layout makes it clear that if gating is introduced all free movement through the station would be at an end. Even people meeting passengers from trains or help them with their departure would only be able to do so at the discretion of staff on the barriers. It is also likely that wheel chair users who find the system of lifts in the station the most convenient way of getting to the city centre from the communities on the hill above the station would be blocked.
There are no arrangements in place for tram users getting off at the back of the station to go into the city centre, or walking from the bus station to the tram stop at the back of the station to be able to use the footbridge.
There was some talk of enabling local residents to be able to walk through and EMT suggested the possibility of developing a token or pass system for Residents. When informed that there are 70,000 residents in the Central Constituency alone there was no response. EMT were unable to define the meaning of "local resident".
There are a number of large organisations and proposed developments on either side of the station. Staff and Students at Castle centre of the Sheffield College; Sheffield Hallam University; a number of secondary and primary schools in the immediate vicinity and the residents of the huge Park Hill development, in addition to people who already live here, would all be prevented from using this award winning listed building which the city has spent millions of pounds to refurbish.
If readers have concerns about EMT's proposal that can email them to getintouch@eastmidlandstrains.co.uk
or write to Tim Shoveller, East Midlands Trains, FREEPOST DY940, Derby, DE1 9BR
For further information contact Residents against Station Closure at RASC2008@live.com
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