Great Western Coffee Shop

I was on the 19.44 home tonight (9/5) from Paddington to Maidenhead. I've put on here before my feelings about overuse of platforms 13/14.. Tonight we got to Paddington 10 minutes early to find that yet again we'd have to trek to platform 13.. BUT platform 12 was closed. The information boards suggested walking along platform 8 and going over the bridge, although I decided 10/11 was closer so we went that way..Obviously we had more than enough time to get to the train..

Platforms 10/11 were empty the the whole 10 minutes we were there and yes I know, someone will no doubt tell me that there was a good reason for this.. Some other train was probably hoping to use those platforms at some point, or maybe they were closed to trains but not people.. But not only did people have to sprint today, they had the first confusion of "how do we get there" which caused an initial delay, followed by the long run.

Today I saw old people running, a lady with a disabled child (both) running and a slight large person (sorry!) running.. This is so wrong.. Some unhappy people also missed the train as they didn't sprint fast enough..

I know a lot of people on here don't agree with my opinion in the use of platform 13/14 and say that we should all arrive at Paddington in enough time.. Well I did today.. But I do not like seeing people having to run for trains.. It happens EVERY time platform 13/14 is used and FGW or NR or someone needs to address this because if someone got hurt/ill/died there would be an outcry..

If platform 12 is shut I can only make an assumption that maybe 10/11 was as well, maybe connected to the works to Span 4?

Unfortunately I can't give you a definite answer.

Thanks Ollie. I did wonder.. People were allowed to walk (I mean run very fast) down those two platforms though.. ;D :D

Oh maybe not then if people could go down them? Aha I really don't know, although saying that, when a train I was on from Twyford to Paddington came in on 13 the other day there was certainly a lot going on down 12, much narrower than normal?

Platform 12 is almost dangerously narrow I think at the moment (after we got dropped there rather than our usual platform on Friday morning).. Especially as the running people who want to get the train are trying to get to it through the rest of us walking the other way hoping we might get to work on time  :D ;D ;)

I think johoare makes a fair point about overuse of 13/14 when there appears to be room on other platforms.

It must be even worse now with the T cup and every westbound train from the Circle going to Hammersith and dumping Padd people on 15/16.

What it must be like in the peak when a train arrives on 13/14 at the same time as Hammersmith I dread to think.
 
Which is why I always try and time my jopurney out of Padd to catch the fast Oxford and change at Slough. Even if it means having to have a pint in the Bear and Ragged Staff.

Not sure there was a fast Oxfords at all when I was trying to travel or I might have also changed at Slough.. Oh well..A pint sounds a good plan but I had three children with me so best no.. ;D

19:42, so you would have waited for the 19:44 to come through anyway.

Ollie is probably right it's dodgy getting the fast Oxfords on Sunday especialy if there is engineering work on the mains between Padd and Slough as it can get caught behind the stopper on the Relief. Even if you do check out full engineering work you can still get caught if they decide at short notice to fiddle with Airport Junction which seems to be happening more often these days.

Fast Oxford usually works on weekday though.

Yeah works on a weekday, although sometimes can be a bit crowded.

This morning when using the stairs up from platforms 10/11 to the footbridge I noticed that over the weekend a temporary sign had been placed on them at platform level pointing the way to 13/14. Maybe there had been some sort of attempt to route passengers along 10/11 but there's nothing to suggest from Jo's posts that there was any signage at the concourse.

Incidentally two weeks ago I missed a train at a remote platform at Dublin Connolly when I was travelling to a place called Bray on the local DART electric railway system. I arrived at the main concourse at Connolly to discover that a train for Bray would be leaving in three minutes from platform 6. What I didn't realise (I saw no signage to warn me) was that to get to platform 6 you have to go two-thirds the length of platform 4, down some steps, through a subway and up a very long ramp. And yes I got there just to see the doors of the train closing.

I guess there are many stations around the world with remote platforms but I wish the train operators would make their existence much clearer. (and in the case of Paddington I wish they'd make more effort not to use 13/14!)

Reminds me a bit of last minute platform changes at the West end of Bristol TM............... :D :D