STATION MODERNISATION AND EQUIPMENT
Ticket office for re-born Farringdon station
Peter Jones, Sonic Windows’ managing director, discusses the Farringdon upgrade.
F arringdon station in Clerkenwell has for many
years been one of London’s less important stations, despite a long history and the fact that it links Underground and National Rail services.
That is about to change, as the status of Farringdon will be vastly increased when the Thameslink projects – running from Bedford to Brighton operated by First
Capital Connect – and Crossrail – running east to west – are completed in 2018. It will then become one of the country’s busiest stations reckoned by the number of trains passing through it and will be the only link allowing transfer between Crossrail and Thameslink.
Needless to say this upgrading of the overground services has required a complete remodelling of the existing station, with longer platforms, a new roof canopy, a new entrance and a new concourse and booking hall. The booking hall, opened in December last year, is currently coping with Thameslink traffic and Farringdon’s First
Capital Connect services but has the capacity to accommodate Crossrail passengers also when that service opens.
For the supply and installation of the new booking office, the specialist services of Sonic Windows Ltd of Bexhill in Sussex were called upon. Sonic is a company with over 30 years’ experience in the manufacture of security windows and has been responsible for the original installation or total refurbishment of many hundreds of railway booking offices and was therefore a natural choice for a premium project such as Farringdon. There is a total of four ticket windows, three facing directly onto the concourse and the fourth continuing the window line but round a 45 degree corner.
Since the floor tiles and predominant colour scheme of the ticket hall is grey, the stainless steel used immediately above, below and framing the windows blends perfectly with the surroundings, while any hint of starkness is relieved by the use of oatmeal coloured panels leading up to the ceiling. No timber has been used in the construction, to eliminate fire risks. The windows themselves are clear, allowing undisturbed face-to-face communication between staff and passengers, but are of laminated 42mm
bullet-resistant glass,
granting utmost safety for staff and security for cash transactions.
They extend down to below waist level to aid Persons of Restricted
Mobility [PRM], and the needs of the Disability Discrimination Act [DDA] are also catered for by the provision of horizontal grab rails (for those dedicated to acronyms – and surely that does not apply to many of those they most affect – PRM has for some unknown reason replaced the now moribund MIP [Mobility Impaired Person] in PC speak).
The Farringdon communication system is non-distorting and once again guarantees a stress-free interchange between public and staff and induction loops are fitted to the windows for the benefit of hearing aid users.
Chip and pin terminals are available on the outside counters, while recessed cash/ticket trays make transactions speedy, simple and secure. On the staff side of the security windows the shelf surfaces are of Staro – hard- wearing, stain resistant and easy to clean – and the entire layout reflects Sonic’s vast experience in the requirements of ticket staff.
Booking offices are generally the first point of contact between the traveller and the railway employee and Sonic’s Farringdon windows will help to make that meeting pleasant as well as efficient for the vastly increased number of passengers when the Thameslink/ Crossrail interchange is fully operational.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
T: 01424 223864 E:
enquiries@sonicwindows.co.uk W:
www.sonicwindows.co.uk
rail technology magazine Oct/Nov 12 | 63
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