Forum Topic

Crossrail and Ealing Broadway's lack of an escalator

As a regular user of Ealing Broadway, I'm really cheesed off that we haven't got an escalator to come when the patching up of the station is finally complete. There will be a small number of lifts so our dreadful mayor can 'tick the access boxes' but that's it. Maybe a little more foresight from tfl, Ealing Council and the local MPs, all Labour, might have got an escalator. If Greenford can get one, then why not a station that handles many times the number of passengers?

peter king ● 1607d10 Comments

I have to say that I have grown to hate lifts and reliance on them - never design with only one lift available - always have two.  At least most of the time with escalators when they are not working you can walk up or down them.  Both of these will have a lot more complicated statutory maintenance than steps.However if you have just a suitcase or a buggy to carry an alternative to steps is necessary to keep passengers moving. Perhaps instead of a dropping off space they will rely on us using double yellow lines.  Dropping off and parking are not the same it seems.  That of course was never the case in the forecourt of the station before.

Philippa Bond ● 1587d

The number of steps doesn't make a difference to those in wheelchairs or people with a buggy.

alan raine ● 1600d

These would be short escalators and like most found in airports and stations around the world they slow and stop very gently if overloaded or face crowd congestion. These designs have been in service in most countries all over the world now for well over 40 years.They can be wider and able to take wheelchairs and trolley carts. Works fine in other places but does not seem to work here. Mainly because of a lack of understanding by decision makers and a high degree of blinkered ignorance and over the top costings and procurement.

Raymond Havelock ● 1601d

One issue with escalators as very busy stations is that you have to exit it whatever, once at the top, even if your exit is blocked by the queues at the electric ticket barriers. With stairs you can stop on the steps while awaiting a space at the top. But you cannot stand on the same spot if on an escalator, so are forced into the crowds whatever. This would mean constant staff at the bottom to stop dangerous overcrowding on the escalators.Escalators require an as even a flow exiting them as was entering them.

Leslie Bailey ● 1601d

Philippa,Yes there was a problem for both EB and West Ealing in that Chris Cole LBE hates cars so much he couldn't offer a dedicated drop-off even for the disabled and even when it is written into the British Standard. So pleased you have raised this stupidity again. Indeed as we get older we need access for us and our luggage to get to places we used to drive to. Ealing's leaders don't understand this.

Arthur Breens ● 1606d

There was a lot of discussion about this and a consultation ages ago.  I also don't believe that there is a drop off space at the station.  It is also a mainline station from which you can travel on holiday or home if you are a student to for instance the west country when you would want to take luggage.  To reduce the number of cars on the road you have to make the other options easier.

Philippa Bond ● 1606d

I think they ditched the escalator for the lifts which is more accessible (you're not allowed to take prams wheelchairs etc.. on escalators).Ideal to have both, but if you could only have one or the other, it would have to be a lift.

Paul James ● 1606d

U-Bahn and S-Bahn Stations in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt have short escalators and wheelchair escalators. Installed in the mid 1970s and still as good as new. Despite regular grafitti and misuse by people. They are well built updated to use less energy and designed with easy maintenance built in.Here we are, Britain in the new century and still cannot get past beancounter mentality and overpriced mediocre end results

Raymond Havelock ● 1607d

How do you suppose the lifts are going to work? I mean you've the shallow steps down to the ticket hall, then the longer steps down to the platforms further along.

Susan Kelly ● 1607d

Greenford is quite a long one whereas at Ealing there are not too many steps. It would be logical that there is some kind of height rule in order to qualify for an escalator.

Peter Chadburn ● 1607d