Euston station overcrowding – London TravelWatch

01 October 2024

London TravelWatch statement on ongoing issues at Euston Station

Even on good days, the passenger experience at London Euston fails to match its importance as the capital’s main rail gateway to four of the UK’s largest cities. But it is when train services are disrupted that the station really struggles to cope, with high levels of overcrowding putting passengers in danger.

London TravelWatch has met with Network Rail regarding these issues, yet passengers are still having to rush to platforms due to last minute announcements, staff appear overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people involved and the recently-installed information screens seem to have done little if anything to make things better for passengers when services are disrupted.

It is almost a year since the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) issued an improvement notice to Network Rail regarding the station, but it seems little has changed. We are also very concerned that the situation will only worsen if new operators are successful in their recent applications to run additional services from the station, or if any of the current operators that run out of Euston increase their service frequency.

Incredibly, the ORR closed its improvement notice following actions taken and commitments made by Network Rail. In May, the Transport Select Committee asked Network Rail for further detail on these actions, which aim to improve the management of passenger flows at Euston. These details now need to be published and reviewed as a matter of urgency in the light of the latest events at the station.