New entrance to Denmark Hill station

[the-e-dealer]

Entire Building used to be Station.

[El Pibe]

I do think, on balance, things have improved but it's still a pretty cramped bottlenexk in the new office isn't it, epsecially immediately outside.

I hope that after the cafe is refurbed an entrance with sensors is retained there.

Also surprised there was no Windsor Walk entrance done, I assumed for ages that's what all the work there was about, lost opportunity I reckon.

But still.....better....

as for the look, I was musing this morning that it has broken up the elegance of the old view of the station from the platform, but you can't have your cake and eat it. All told I don't mind the aesthetic, especially given the eyesore that is KCH behind it.

Poor Johnny, gone....gone...!!!

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/162/367987192_13deaaa57c.jpg

ye olde lampes, on Flickr

[KidKruger]

Great shot El Pibe, wow how big the moon is...

[El Pibe]

Actually I think it's a giant zorb on the roof.

[StraferJack]

@trefford. Lifts up and running this week

[youandiaredominoes]

Good news about the lifts. Anyone know about the state of the rest of the station? Some concrete fell down the other week, I think under the old bridge at platform 1. This bridge has a weight restriction.

[James Barber]

The official opening took place earlier this week.

It cost ?6.2M to add those walkways and lifts to Denmark Hill station under the governments Access for All funding stream.

I'm amazed so much was spent to provide so little of such poor design with no boost to capacity at the station.

What do other think?

[Twirly]

Have you actually read the thread James?!

Poorly designed and way too small is the general opinion I believe. It seems to have cost a fortune for very little benefit. The flow of traffic through the new gates is sometimes even worse than through the old door (at peak times), particularly as they insist on having the in/out gates alternately, rather than a section in and a section out - which means that people get in each other's way as they try to change direction. The departure boards are in the wrong place - they should be above the gates so a quick glance up tells you which platform for your train/if it's on time or you've missed it. Off to the side causes even more dithering in front of the gates.

Anyone know what is happening to the old entrance? Will it be reopened? I got stuck in the upward flow of people coming off the train I wanted to catch the other day.

[cle]

Agreed it's horrendous, and agreed James - read the thread.

I hate the triple dog leg to get to the front of a London train. Zero expanded capacity. Temporaary tin shack architecture.

Shit ticketing options, no cash machines, no waiting space - dreadful.

As I've said, why didn't they do similar to the new West Hampstead thameslink station, which is an identical set up (4 tracks in a trench, 1 island and 2 side platforms) - and works great.

[El Pibe]

It's a temporary situation though isn't, the old stairs will reopen.... Won't they?

[reddulwich]

What it needs is the screens moving from being right by a ticket machine - everyone bunches up.

Ideally it needs the ticketing machine moved, perhaps across to be nearer the offices. It also needs another ticketing machine - perhaps against the windows off the pavement.

Its a poor design, I had hoped they would keep the old ticket office as a way in/out. At least if it was a way out, you wouldn't have the mad congestion now of people coming in and out, bunching round the screens and queuing for the ticket machine.

[KidKruger]

I think the old stairs will re-open. Much time/effort was spent renovating and recovering the stairs and the structures which house them.

[James Barber]

I have read the thread. But wanted to know what people thought once they knew the ridiculous price.

[Too Good To Be True]

?6.2m is unbelievable.

At least half the time during the construction period nobody was working on it.

Truly awful. I reckon you could have gone to Imperial College, asked some Engineering undergraduates to do it for ?0.62m and they would have done a better job in less time.

Or why not just ship in some proper Engineers from Germany (company like Hochtief), for whom this is bread-and-butter stuff. Bet they could have done it for far less than ?6.2m and you could guarantee there would be people working on it solidly 8 hours a day, 7 days a week.

[Nigello]

Agreed. I don't like being a moaning Minnie, but that amount of money and the time it took is shaming, even more so when the badly-designed result is what we got.

James (or anyone else that can help) - what about all the muck, litter etc that's now been exposed on the slopes? Can the railway owners or the franchise operators clean this up? It's a right mess and just encourages others to add to it.

[philosophie]

I agree ^ . The quantity of litter on the slopes is awful, and it just encourages more. The design is bad and uninspiring. The amount of time they spent on it dared me to be too hopeful, perhaps...

[Too Good To Be True]

I am also unsure why they didn't build an additional exit onto Windsor Terrace.

[Earl Aelfheah]

I understand that it was originally a ?4.18 million project at Denmark Hill, so a one year overrun and an additional 2 million pounds. In my opinion, as I have said before, someone should be held responsible for such mismanagement.

[James Barber]

Hi Nigello, philosophie,

I've asked the lead manager at Southwark why we don't use section 215 of the Town & Counrety Planning Act 190 to serve an 'untidy land notice' onyjhr landowner. If they then fail to clean it up the council can clean it up under section 219 of that act and sned the bill to the landowner.

I'm awaiting council officials to tell me whether they'll do this or whether the suggestion will be enoguh to get Network Rail to act.

[cle]

Can you also ask TFL about ticketing? It's dismal - and I've seen signs now that weekly travelcards will no longer be on paper, so that's another massive tranche moving to Oyster. And the guy in the booth is a tosser.

A free cash machine might be handy too.

And what is happening with the original entrance?

[KidKruger]

free cash machine ?!

excellent - be there all day !!

[ADOC]

I am appalled and shocked that there is to be no exit onto Windsor Walk (based on what I'm garnering from this thread and a cursory check on the designs), especially as several sections of wall have been knocked through on this side over the extensive period of works. While it may only shave a (often crucial) minute or three off my and others' arrival onto the platform, it beggars belief that it was not considered as a curative measure for the heavy flow in and out of the main exit. It's not too late for this to be considered, surely? It's a no-brainer, with the newly constructed walkways centimetres away from this permieter wall. Can anyone advise/petition?

I also echo sentiments on project over-run and cost of works.

[James Barber]

Hi ADOC,

They blew the budget and 50% more. I don't see any extra money being spent on this flawed work.

I'd be delighted to be wrong.

Let me find a train company official and meet with them.

[Baggs]

The last two days of ticket checking at Denmark Hill - the gates have been closed - really highlights the ridiculous design of the station. The bottlenecking at the gates when people have to check their tickets on the reader means that queues are snaking back to the stairs from platform level. There is no way that they can have this happen every day so the fare dodgers will continue to travel without tickets for the 28 days a month they can get away with it.

[the-e-dealer]

If they are closed how can anyone get in?