Denmark Hill station entrance shambles

[El Presidente]

Denmark Hill is a disaster waiting to happen. Plans shown three months ago with no action yet taken is not good enough. This needs emergency action.

[Abe_froeman]

At least they can charge all the extra passengers more money with the second ticket machine though!

[Elphinstone's Army]

DKH is the only station which arbitrarily announces platform changes with 2 minutes to spare - and an officious employee who refuses to allow access to platforms to those of us with Freedom Passes

[Sue]

Elphinstone's Army Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> DKH is the only station which arbitrarily

> announces platform changes with 2 minutes to spare

> - and an officious employee who refuses to allow

> access to platforms to those of us with Freedom

> Passes

Wouldn't that be because Freedom Passes are only valid on trains at certain times?

[DulwichLondoner]

Which is why many passengers, including myself, no longer trust what's displayed on the screens, and tend to wait on the footbridge, by the lifts, till a train shows up!

[rendelharris]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Elphinstone's Army Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > DKH is the only station which arbitrarily

> > announces platform changes with 2 minutes to

> spare

> > - and an officious employee who refuses to

> allow

> > access to platforms to those of us with Freedom

> > Passes

>

>

> Wouldn't that be because Freedom Passes are only

> valid on trains at certain times?

All day on the Overground, so be interested to know why they stop access.

[Applespider]

Elphinstone's Army Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> DKH is the only station which arbitrarily

> announces platform changes with 2 minutes to spare

2 minutes - you were lucky. There are times they've announced a platform change as the train pulls in with a queue already on the stairs/bridge. There is generally a quiet spot on the bridge between 3-4 where you can stay out of the way.

I feel very lucky that I had an early meeting this morning and was there at 8 for a change.

A second entrance will help but the frustrating thing is that if you go back to when the works were happening, there were countless comments on here about how the plans simply wouldn't work. An extra entrance (or two) only really has to be open/manned at peak times - 7.30 to 9.30 and then 5 til 7. Outside those times, it feels a lot like a potentially dangerous scrum.

Having a few extra screens around the place might also be useful - at the moment, the only info boards are to the side as you go through the barrier, yet another thing to slow progress through that entrance hall.

[Elphinstone's Army]

Thank you rendelharris, : I have been 'allowed' through one morning at 9.30 for the Bedford Overground by a female station assistant, but the SlimController advises 'you will have to buy a ticket' - despite my observations that there is no point having a Freedom Pass if that was the case?!

Apart from the mayhem of the sudden change of platform and two of us having to practically fireman's lift an elderly lady up 39? steps in order for her to catch our Dover Priory train, there is no announcement to say, this is the train which has been platform switched.

This underlines the imperilment of passengers at this station, the volume of which has increased exponentially over the last five years.

If you build it, they will come.

Another practise which should be discouraged is that of people sitting on the steps, eating, talking, chilling, so that others are required to navigate around them, or even, stop half way whilst deep into conversation via their mobile phones, stopping dead in front of a hurrying would be passenger.

Or parents with children in pushchairs carrying them down or up the steps, with adjacent toddler and scooter.

Nerve wracking.

I don't understand why the ramp does not extend to the platform, for those passengers who find stairs difficult or unmanageable and do not like lifts, this is an unhappy travel experience.

KCH should have its own underpass.

[singalto]

Sue, Freedom passes are valid on the Overground before 9.30 which makes things more complica

[Sue]

singalto Wrote:

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> Sue, Freedom passes are valid on the Overground

> before 9.30 which makes things more complica

Yes they are, but not on all other rail services.

I don't know the ins and outs of trains through Denmark Hill, but I just looked up the Freedom Pass rules and amongst them is that you can only travel after 9.30am on "Southeastern services between Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye".

I have certainly been stopped at London Bridge when travelling on a Freedom Pass before 9.30am, and made to buy a ticket, because I didn't know (but this was travelling from East Dulwich not Denmark Hill)

If staff are randomly stopping Freedom Pass holders from catching a train which they are entitled to travel on on their pass at that time of day, then personally I would make a formal complaint.

[Lynne]

I believe you can't use Freedom passes at the ticket machine in Denmark Hill, if the office is closed?

[nxjen]

Elphinstone's Army Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Thank you rendelharris, : I have been 'allowed'

> through one morning at 9.30 for the Bedford

> Overground by a female station assistant, but the

> SlimController advises 'you will have to buy a

> ticket' - despite my observations that there is no

> point having a Freedom Pass if that was the

> case?!

>

>

Bedford is on the Thameslink line which is only available free to Freedom Pass holders after 9.30 from Denmark Hill though I believe if you were to bus it up to Elephant and Castle you can use your Freedom Pass before 9.30 from that station though happy to be corrected. From Denmark Hill, you can only use trains on London Overground, the ginger line, without paying before 9.30 am.

I?ve never had any problem with being given access to the overground platforms before 9.30 by showing my pass to the station staff and explaining I wanted to catch the overground.

[Nigello]

This reply from Caroline Pidgeon

Thank you for raising concerns about overcrowding at Denmark Hill, I agree that the overcrowding there is unacceptable and that another entrance/exit point is needed.

I have been on a site visit to the station with Govia Thameslink Railway and they have applied to the Government for funding to open another entrance on Windsor walk. I?m not sure where the funding bid is at the moment and so have been in touch with Govia to try and get confirmation on the matter.

[edcam]

Thanks Nigello.

[rendelharris]

Go-Ahead, which owns Govia Thameslink, had ?3.4BN revenue and ?156M operating profit last year, but it expects the government (i.e. us) to pay to rectify a hazardous issue on one of its own properties? That's fair...

[Bic Basher]

Clearly the Thameslink staff at Denmark Hill have been told not to let passengers through, despite the Freedom Pass being perfectly valid on London Overground services before 0930.

Another reason why Denmark Hill should be under the control of TfL instead of a fledgling rail franchise.

[nxjen]

The poster who complained they were prevented from getting through to the platforms was trying to get to Bedford, not part of the London Overground. As I said before, I?ve never had a problem gaining access before 9.30 to catch the London Overground using my Freedom Pass. I don?t disagree about TfL taking over the running of the station though.

[Elphinstone's Army]

nxjen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Elphinstone's Army Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Thank you rendelharris, : I have been 'allowed'

> > through one morning at 9.30 for the Bedford

> > Overground by a female station assistant, but

> the

> > SlimController advises 'you will have to buy a

> > ticket' - despite my observations that there is

> no

> > point having a Freedom Pass if that was the

> > case?!

> >

> >

> Bedford is on the Thameslink line which is only

> available free to Freedom Pass holders after 9.30

> from Denmark Hill though I believe if you were to

> bus it up to Elephant and Castle you can use your

> Freedom Pass before 9.30 from that station though

> happy to be corrected. From Denmark Hill, you can

> only use trains on London Overground, the ginger

> line, without paying before 9.30 am.

>

> I?ve never had any problem with being given access

> to the overground platforms before 9.30 by showing

> my pass to the station staff and explaining I

> wanted to catch the overground.

not on a Saturday

but thank you all for your helpful input

[nxjen]

Very true, there are no time restrictions on a Saturday for any of the services. If indeed you were travelling to Bedford on a Saturday, your Freedom Pass would have operated the automatic gates at any time.

[BackinSE22]

Over what timeframe James? This is dangerous NOW!

[josephineB]

Would love a second entrance and oh please, please, please another ticket machine for Oyster cards! Can I also do a shout out to the staff who are amazing there. If you use the station, you?ll know there is an incredibly helpful guy who in my opinion should be getting an OBE.

[zerkalo]

A response from Govia Thameslink Railway to a letter from Cllr Kieron Williams on overcrowding at Denmark Hill station was shared on twitter. See attached.

[DulwichLondoner]

"as and when funds become available to achieve this" could well mean when hell freezes over.

[El Presidente]

So the soonest any funding proposal will be considered is April 2019. Which means many years before anything could possibly happen. Not good enough.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Or, cynically, until somebody gets killed.