COMMENT
“We know that this stuff matters, but too often nobody’s thought about it.” Local funding
notable examples such as King’s Cross and its huge public realm scheme spring to mind. And the wider transport world has begun to take behavioural work and pedestrian modelling more seriously. But Joseph warned: “It’s highly variable.”
A narrow view
At “the worst end”, some operators have a mindset that considers car park revenue more important than sustainable transport options. ‘Bad neighbour’ relations between the railway and the local authority “make the railway a more unattractive place to get to”, which has detrimental impacts on both players.
“We know that this stuff matters, but too often nobody’s thought about it,” Joseph said. Getting the rail industry on board is clearly important, and the operators who “still have quite a narrow view”, need to work more closely with authorities to reap the benefi ts of a good centre-station link. Joseph said: “As one long-serving manager put
it at the launch: ‘Too often we’ve said that if it’s ten metres from the railway station, we’re not interested.’ That misses the point.”
Beyond the station
Passenger opinion could be another factor that “falls between the gaps” of the railway industry and local government when considering station links.
The National Passenger Survey concentrates on how people get to stations and what they think of those facilities, without a wider view on the route to the town centre.
Local authorities also conduct surveys of the public’s view on their streets, but again “wouldn’t necessarily alight on this”.
But improving the routes can be very simple things to change; adding clear signage at the station, for example: “Even at that level, there’s a failure to think about onward travel in that sense,” Joseph said.
The Campaign for Better Transport has made some recommendations on funding – sure to be another sticking point as train operators and local authorities argue over responsibility. The report suggests making full use of local enterprises and the local growth fund – in many cases improvements will have a strong economic case.
This adds another element to the co-ordination, making collaboration even more complicated. But the Fixing the Link methodology could provide a framework with which to bring players to
all these the table
and take route improvements beyond Station Travel Plans. It’s
certainly a pilot to watch. Stephen Joseph
http://tinyurl.com/fi xingthelink FOR MORE INFORMATION
rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 14 | 19
Image of Stephen Joseph © Paul Heartfi eld
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