Commuters ‘put off’ unmanned stations
Passengers are increasingly refusing to use unmanned railway stations as they perceive them to be unsafe, the National Audit Office (NAO) finds in a new report.
Although commuters are happier with larger stations, the watchdog finds concerns about cleanliness, car parking, personal security and vandalism and graffiti are putting them off small and medium-sized stations.
NAO head Sir John Bourn said: “While most of Britain’s largest stations provide excellent facilities, many other stations do not.
“The government, the industry and other interested parties must work together in a more concerted fashion to tackle the financial and other barriers to improvement so that more of our stations provide the facilities and services that rail passengers deserve.”
A stations code due to be implemented by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in 2006 aims to encourage better management and improve the state of repair of stations across Britain.
