Goring and Streatley station - facilities, services, footbridge, improvements, events and incidents - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

A six-month trial for a rearranged commuter link bus, which will improve connections for south Oxfordshire rail passengers, will start next week.

From Monday, the 6.20pm bus from Goring & Streatley railway station to North and South Stoke and Wallingford will leave 20 minutes later, to make a connection with the 5.36pm train from London Paddington, after requests by rail users.

See http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/3959752.Bus_retimed_to_make_rail_link/

[autotank]

How many meetings of highly paid executives do you think it took to come up with this bright idea! Pretty shocking that it hasn't been thought of before really. Still, shouldn't grumble too much - at least it is a step in the right direction and I hope that the service gets used.

[john_boler]

The Mobility Issues Group for Goring and Streatley (MIGGS) has been making representations to all who will listen, but especially FGW^▸ (First Great Western), Network Rail and the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to instal lifts when the footbridge is rebuilt at Goring and Streatley station as part of the electrification programme. The latest salvo was fired in the House of Commons on 24 April 2013 when Henley MP^▸ (Member of Parliament), John Howell presented a petition collected by MIGGS.You can view the actualit^ here:

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=12999&st=18:01:33.0770000

It begins at 6:28:09

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for posting that interesting information and link, john_boler, and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum! 

[eightf48544]

Very interesting, Goring and Streatly like Taplow seems to be unmanned for most of the day therefore would the lifts only be available up to 13:00 each day (not Sunday)?

I started a thread on this in Frequent Posters Club about unmanned stations and lift opening times,  but it didn't start a debate.

I made the comment that Docklands has unmanned lifts at it's unmanned station open all the time and that in this case was Twyford more bandit country than East London.

 

[john_boler]

See "Accessible train station design for disabled people: a code of practice", published by the Department for Transport", November 2011 edition, at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3191/accessible-train-station-design-cop.pdf. This implies that an acceptable standard for the availability of assistance in the event of emergency is two hours. This is well within the capability of a technician based at either Reading or Didcot, both of which are staffed 24 hours a day.

[paul7575]

I started a thread on this in Frequent Posters Club about unmanned stations and lift opening times,  but it didn't start a debate.

I didn't really think there was anything else to debate.  SWT^▸ (South West Trains)'s current practices already made it clear that there is no fundamental problem with having lifts at unmanned stations.

Paul

[lordgoata]

Another nosey question - anyone know what that fence is that appeared between platforms 2 & 3 at Goring over the past few weeks ? My partner asked me about it today, and said I assume its to stop people leaping in front of the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) judging by the Samaritan signs, but given it has passenger operated gates and is open at each end so you can just walk around it, it seemed that might not be the reason after all?

[Network SouthEast]

These have sprung up elsewhere on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) network too.

The gates when closed can still be opened from the platform not normally used, so if a train on the Up Main has to make an unexpected call it is still possible for passengers to leave the platform.

They are to act as a deterrent against fatalities, and whilst they won't stop everyone, research from the Samaritans says that these initiatives do have an effect on reducing them.

[lordgoata]

Thanks NSE^▸ (Network South East), I assumed that was the case.

[IndustryInsider]

They are to act as a deterrent against fatalities, and whilst they won't stop everyone, research from the Samaritans says that these initiatives do have an effect on reducing them.

They also make things safer for regular passengers.  Not so much of a problem at Goring, but at stations like Southall and Hayes when a packed train arrived in the down relief platforms as a fast HST^▸ (High Speed Train) approached the adjacent up main platform at full whack, it was frightening how the swell of passengers spread out too close to that platform edge.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for that useful confirmation of the reasoning behind it, Network SouthEast and IndustryInsider. 

In my opinion, anything that even hopefully reduces the incidence of anyone being injured or killed at railway stations is surely to be supported.

[Electric train]

These fences are going in right across the National network.   Long over due in my opinion

[john_boler]

Goring and Streatley station now has a fully accessible toilet. The new toilet, along with fully modernised ladies^ and gents^ toilets, was formally opened for use on 12 March by John Howell, MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Henley. The ^disabled^ toilet is the first of a number of accessibility improvements planned by First Great Western and Network Rail, the most important of which is passenger lifts, to be integrated into a new footbridge, due for completion in the summer of 2015. The latest forecast is that the lifts will be completed by late summer or early autumn. The accessible toilet is fitted with a ^Radar^ lock that can be opened by any disabled traveller in possession of a Radar key.

[john_boler]

On 12 March John Howell MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) unveiled an orientation plaque at Goring and Streatley station. The plaque is intended primarily to help long distance walkers and other pedestrians arriving at the station, many of whom use Goring and Streatley as the railhead for exploring the Thames Path and Ridgeway national trails and the Chilterns and North Wessex Downs areas of outstanding natural beauty, all of which meet at Goring river bridge. The picture shows Dave Martin (right) accepting the plaque on behalf of First Great Western from John Howell, MP for Henley.