Still time to share your views on Station plans says Council

We are reminding people to have their say on plans to improve York Station Front with the removal of Queen Street Bridge and a reorganisation of the transport interchange in front of the station.

Comments on the new plans can be made until Thursday 20 August. People will still be able to make representations after this date. Following this, a report will be taken to the planning committee later this year.

The revised plans, which have been submitted for consultation, follow comments raised throughout the 2019 Station front planning process. As part of this, an addendum will be included to modify several areas of the original planning application, following further consultation with partners, residents and station users.

The key changes to the scheme include:

A redesigned multi-storey car park. After consulting with Historic England, plans for the car park have been revised to better respect the heritage of the railway and York RI. This will also move all the station parking into one area making it better visually.
The layout of parcel square has been redesigned so it is more in keeping with station heritage, and in consultation with existing parcel square tenants to give them a new location in the remodelled station.
On-street parking spaces removed from Queen Street to allow a safer cycle route to promote active travel, whilst reducing congestion around the station.

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Station front plans revised

Revised plans have been submitted to improve York Station Front with the removal of Queen Street Bridge and a reorganisation of the transport interchange in front of the station.

Following comments raised throughout the 2019 Station front planning process, revised plans to transform York Station Front have been submitted for consultation. This will see an addendum added to modify several areas of the original planning application, following further consultation with partners, residents and station users.

The key changes to the scheme include:

A redesigned multi-storey car park. After consulting with English Heritage, plans for the car park have been revised to better respect the heritage of the railway and York RI. This will also move all the station parking into one area making it better visually.
The layout of parcel square has been redesigned so it is more in keeping with station heritage, and in conversation with existing parcel square tenants to give them a prime location in the remodelled station.
Five on-street parking spaces removed from Queen Street to allow a safer cycle route to promote active travel, whilst reducing congestion around the station.

A lot more detail including an interesting historical analysis of the station site can be read by clicking here

For more information about the station front visit www.york.gov.uk/StationFront

People can share their views and submit comments on the application at https://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/ using ref. 19/00535/FULM and 19/00542/LBC

Wow, this isn’t good!

York station train services amongst most unreliable in country.

According to the web site https://www.ontimetrains.co.uk train service reliability in York ranks at 2521 out of 2605 stations in the country.

Amongst eye catching stats on the site is the revelation that, during the last 12 weeks, only 4% of the morning peak journeys from York to Manchester Airport left and arrived on time. A significant proportion of passengers have been eligible for compensation

The Tory transport minister Chris Grayling has been heavily criticised in the region for presiding over a series of timetabling blunders.

These have been exacerbated by the industrial action taken by one of the rail unions.

Local rail services are slightly more reliable at weekends. Most delays occur during the working day.

16% of journeys are delayed by 10 minutes or more.

3% have been cancelled altogether.

Some passengers have experienced very long delays

York Station front – 1,500 public consultation responses

The York Station front project aims to revitalise and re-imagine the historic station to ensure it is a fitting and prestigious gateway into York.

The project has had significant public interest, with nearly 1,500 responses during the extensive public consultation. This has lead to design changes for Executive to now consider. Permission to enter into land acquisition negotiations with stakeholders and landowners is also requested.

York Station consultation leaflet

The York Station front masterplan has four main aims:

create new public spaces and a more inclusive, pedestrian-friendly experience
create an improved setting for the City Walls and other heritage buildings in the area
make it easier to change between modes of transport
keep vehicles and pedestrians apart

If approved, it is proposed that the planning application based on the amended masterplan will be submitted soon after.

Changes to the masterplan following the consultation include:

Moving the cycleway on Queen Street to reduce conflict with on street parking spaces
Providing safe access for cyclists to the station from the west-bound carriageway
Provision for a suitable system for managing rail replacement buses
Incorporating appropriate counter-terrorism measures that are sympathetic to the station setting

The station masterplan is based on eight key features which work together to improve how the space is used in front of York Station. It is dependent on removing Queen Street Bridge to create extra space, which would then be used to separate vehicle and pedestrian access, create new open areas and reveal long-hidden views of the City Walls.

Executive takes place on Thursday 29 November from 5.30pm and is open to members of the public or is available to watch live online

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Plan for improvements to Railway Station precinct welcomed

Unanswered questions about cost and sources of funding

The Council has published consultation plans which could dramatically change the area around the entrance to York railway station. The idea revolves around demolishing the Queen Street bridge.

Although the basic plans have been around for more than a decade the Council has now committed to implementation before 2022.

It will however be a very expensive project to implement (demolition of the Queen Street Bridge alone will cost over £7 million) and the consultation papers are largely opaque on costs and sources of funding. Until more financial details emerge, the plans will simply be the latest is a series of artists impressions.

No journey time impact figures are provided.

Still the basic principle of separating pedestrian movements from traffic has to be right while the removal of cars from the portico and Tea Room Square will be welcomed by many. Replacement car parking is promised on the west of the station.

Bus stops will remain “on street” but are rationalised over a longer distance.

Full details, including an explanatory video, can be found by clicking here.

Left luggage at York station improving

It’s around 4 years since the left luggage facility within York station was relocated.

As we reported in 2013, passengers face a challenging walk with heavy luggage to the new facility which is located near the Europcar Office on Queen Street.

We are pleased to report that the new luggage service operator (Autohorn Fleet Services) has gradually been improving facilities.

Details can be found on their website http://leftluggageyork.co.uk/ while they also have a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LeftLuggageYork/

Autohorn say that they have

Moved the office slightly so it’s at a better angle for customers coming in and out of the office.
Now have the facility to take card payments.
Coned off our office from public walkways and driveways to ensure customers are kept safe (as the road can be very busy at certain times of the year)
Sign posting has become more apparent for travellers from the York Station. Adding onto the addition of our huge ‘Left Luggage’ flat, we’ve got smaller signs pointing towards our direction.
Multi-lingual signs to help aid foreign travellers within the city.
Been working with Make It York we’re also placed in the various tourist maps to showing clearer directions as to where we are.

We do, however, hope that Autohorn and Virgin (who operate York Station) will continue to work to find a way of providing a direct route across the car park to the luggage office.

Passengers complain about “left luggage” mystery tour at York station while East Coast records £6 million profit

Passengers are complaining that the left luggage “office” at York station means a long walk for passengers.

The route from the station involves walking over the Queens Street Bridge to a site near the Railway Institute.

Left luggage office at York Station

It will be a gloomy and slippery route during winter weather.

It has been branded as too demanding for elderly passengers with heavy luggage.

The York ”left luggage” facility is advertised on railway web sites but is poorly signed in the station and on the access route.

“Left luggage” used to be available near platform 1 but this facility has now disappeared.

Left luggage lockers also were taken away in the wake of security concerns.

A more direct route to the new cabin would be possible across the long stay car park but the perimeter is secured.

East Coast Managing Director Karen Boswell has been asked to intervene to ensure that the service – which is important for a City with a large tourism industry – is improved

Meanwhile Skeldergate based East Coast trains have reported increased turnover for last year.

Annual results released by DOR on Tuesday show it paid the government £208m in premium and dividend payments in the year to March 31.

The operator generated a turnover of £694m during the period, up from £666m the year before, although an increase in operating expenditure reduced profits. Pre-tax profit dipped to £5.9m from £7m previously.

A process to re-privatise the line will begin later this month. A winning bidder is expected to be announced in October 2014 before the franchise changes ownership in February 2015.

The contact is expected to be fiercely contested by a number of domestic and foreign rail companies. Eurostar announced last week it planned to bid for the contract as part of a joint venture with fellow French rail group Keolis.