Euston Station to trial earlier boarding as part of five-part plan

The infamous 'Euston rush' could be a thing of the past as Network Rail and train operating companies (TOC), Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway, have announced that they begin implementing a trial of earlier train boarding at London Euston station.

Starting today, October 28, approximately 40% of Avanti West Coast services will commence boarding 20 minutes prior to departure. This initiative is set to expand to around 55% of services in the lead-up to Christmas. Additionally, London Northwestern Railway has already introduced "continuous boarding" for Birmingham services, allowing passengers to board as soon as the preceding train departs.

Gary Walsh, director for Network Rail's West Coast South said: “Getting passengers to their services in good time is at the heart of our improvements at Euston, and today’s changes will tackle that issue head-on. Taking quick and effective action is at the core of our five-point plan which I’m pleased to say is starting to deliver for our passengers at London Euston station.”

Last month, the Transport Secretary announced a five-point plan to improve the passenger experience at Euston. This was in response to criticism of several incidents of overcrowding and concerns over its safety.

As part of that plan, Network Rail convened a rail industry summit to provide updates on it. The event was attended by key stakeholders, including Rail Minister, Lord Hendy and representatives from the Department for Transport, Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, TfL, the Office of Rail and Road and London TravelWatch.

"For too long, Euston station simply has not been good enough," Haigh stated. "That's why I have tasked Network Rail and operators with delivering a clear plan to alleviate some of the issues passengers are facing.

“I am pleased to see immediate improvements being made at Euston Station to reduce the risk of overcrowding, drive up standards and deliver a better experience for passengers.” Haigh added.

Both train operating companies who operate from Euston have committed to the trial with Cheryl Fox, interim customer experience director at Avanti West Coast, acknowledging the previous shortcomings.

"We will continue to work alongside Network Rail as well as our partners on this trial and other measures, with the aim of making journeys at the station more comfortable."

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway said: “We are pleased to be working together with Network Rail and other train operators to improve the travelling experience for our customers at Euston. We’ll be monitoring the impact of these changes closely as we continue working with partners to make the process of boarding trains smoother across the station.”

The future of the advertising board which has caused much consternation since its introduction and was switched off under the orders of the Transport Secretary last month, remains under review and RAIL understands that it has not ruled out returning it back to displaying passenger information.

It is widely expected that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will greenlight the new HS2 station at Euston when the budget is announced on Wednesday (October 30). The project had been on hold since last year as the previous government re-evalauted costs.