I am launching, with Conservative colleagues, a campaign to make Kingston’s smaller train stations a safer place for residents. Whether from fear of crime, or from crime itself, residents can find small stations, such as Berrylands, intimidating once it gets dark. Cllrs are beginning a campaign to introduce improved lighting, cctv cameras and extra staffing so that residents will feel safe using these stations.
At present there are no minimum staffing levels for stations. However, research, quoted this month by the London Assembly’s Transport Committee, has shown that a visible staffing presence at stations is the single most important factor in making people feel secure.
This campaign comes after Surbiton, the Borough’s major station, was placed seventh in a list of crime hot spots in London outside of zone 1.
4 comments:
I have asked senior managers at the train operator, South West Trains, at least three times why Surbiton station doesn't have the designation of ON (Overland Network), as is the case at Kingston station.
ON criteria is that the station must be within London and have at least four off peak trains per hour (Surbiton has twelve).
The website, http://www.overgroundnetwork.com/, says that it promotes consistent standards for service frequency, passenger information and crucially, brings investment to upgrade station facilities. A bit of investment into Surbiton station wouldn't go amiss.
Now that I have looked at their website, I see that this is a pilot scheme, but it has been going on for at least a couple of years, so when are they going to roll out the programme to all the other neglected stations?
I also see in the ES that Waterloo is now to get a £1bn makeover with new platforms and reducing the concourse to street level.
Intersting that they are also increasing the car capacity at what they term "key" stations but the list does not include Surbiton - but Esher is included!
Kevin,you have hit nail on head.
Without extensive car park facilities at all suburban and outer suburban stations motorists will never stop driving into work.
Trains and tubes are appallingly overcrowded so the incentive must be free or nearly free commuter parking in "meccano style" structures built over the tracks at sufficient hight to allow double deck trains and infrastructure to sit below.
Waterloo is a station that Network Rail, Railtrack before them, and British Rail before them, have been trying to develop. It may happen this time, but don't expect it to happen soon. Network Rail need a commercial scheme to get such a major investment underway. They have also mentioned Euston and Victoria stations as potential stations for redevelopment, but here again, developers and the rail industry have been looking at both these sites for twenty years.
Surbiton clearly is a station with a lot of land - it has a massive car park next to it. What would be a sensible thing, in Network Rail's opinion at least, is to provide a multi-storey on part of the car park and housing on the rest. That would generate quite a lot of money for a transformation of Surbiton station, so long as Kingston council demanded the money be spent in that way.
Now many people in Surbiton may not want Surbiton car park developed, but that's another debate.
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