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Rail firm under fire as ticket barriers rejected
CONTROVERSIAL plans to introduce ticket barriers at Sheffield's Midland railway station were thrown out by councillors yesterday who described the scheme as "appalling".
East Midlands Trains, which owns the station, wants to introduce barriers to stop people without tickets from boarding trains and said they were a "revenue protection" measure.
The firm has claimed that its franchise agreement with the Government to run rail services on the Sheffield to St Pancras route obliges them to install barriers to stop fare dodgers.
But campaigners have consistently opposed the idea, because Sheffield station contains a public footbridge which links the city centre with the community around Park Hill flats.
East Midlands Trains, part of huge Scottish public transport group Stagecoach, was forced to submit a planning application for the barriers because the station is a Grade II listed building.
Yesterday, that application was considered by Sheffield Council's city centre, south and east planning and highways area board and was rejected by every member of the committee.
Coun Brian Holmes said he was "disgusted" by the application, while Coun Alan Law criticised the company for what he called a "pretty appalling consultation process".
Immediately after East Midlands Trains announced its plan to use ticket barriers at the station, a campaign group called Residents Against Station Closure (RASC) was formed.
The group carried out several demonstrations, including protest walks which took place back and forth across the bridge, and a large protest rally on the station concourse.
Members of the campaign have collected the names of more than 1,200 people to formally object to the plans, and have been supported by public bodies and developers.
Sheffield Civic Trust has joined the campaign because of its concern over the barriers' effect on the station, and Urban Splash, which is halfway through redeveloping Park Hill flats, has also weighed in.
The strongest criticism of the plan was given by Coun Tim Rippon who said: "I think it beggars belief that an organisation like Stagecoach, which is delivering a public service, continues to pursue this application in the face of such opposition.
"I can only hope that Stagecoach go away and stick to running trains, and that this subject does not come before this area board again."
Speaking after yesterday's meeting, campaign spokeswoman Geraldine Roberts welcomed the council's decision and said: "We are delighted that the council has voted unanimously to reject the proposal.
"We were particularly pleased with comments made by councillors pointing out that Stagecoach, and East Midlands Trains, are running public services and therefore should listen to the public.
"There have been more than 1,200 separate objections and we hope the company will now try and mend fences. They have talked about collaboration and consultation, this is their opportunity to get better at that."
East Midlands Trains' head of stations, Arthur Pretorius, also attended the meeting and said after the decision: "This is a franchise obligation, there is absolutely no malicious intent whatsoever."
Mr Pretorius said the company would now consider its options.
People living in York waged a similar battle over access through the city's railway station after plans were unveiled to restrict access to the platforms for "revenue purposes".
York Council threw out a planning application for 20 automatic ticketing gates at the Grade II* listed station in July, saying they would detract from the station's character.
Just last month, station owner National Express East Coast (NXEC), said it had launched a bid to overturn York Council's decision, but days later bosses were forced to hand the franchise back to the Government.
Ticket barriers in York have now been completely dropped after Transport Minister Lord Adonis said he did not back the idea for the city.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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