Safety campaigners have raised further concerns that London Euston – one of the UK’s busiest train stations – is a danger to commuters.
Last-minute announcements that lead passengers rushing to platforms when there are high levels of overcrowding are putting passengers in danger, according to London TravelWatch.
Their assessment comes off the back of a warning from the Office for Rail and Road issued to Network Rail in October last year, which observed three incidents of concern. The regulator cited unacceptable numbers of people and a lack of crowd control, leading to people being injured.
Campaigners have told Metro that more needs to be done – and warned that Euston could still be at risk if urgent action isn’t taken.
What are the problems with Euston?
Footage from the busy station regularly shows passengers crammed in the concourse and outside, with people dashing to the platforms when they are announced.
In incidents where trains have been delayed or cancelled, passengers for multiple trains often rush to get a spot on a later service.
After receiving the improvement notice from the Office of Rail and Road last year, Network Rail admitted the ‘outdated’ station has seen some ‘very uncomfortable and unpleasant conditions for passengers’ and that ‘a major reconstruction of the station is required’ – but did not use the word ‘unsafe.’
It proposed targeting ‘pinch-points’ and creating more concourse space along with driving up the reliability of infrastructure and train services ‘to reduce disruptive events’ at the station.
Network Rail said it had complied with the notice in December and the matter appeared to have been resolved.
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What happened when a rail engineer spoke out?
In April 2024, Gareth Dennis, an engineer working for a Network Rail supplier Systra, gave an interview to the Independent saying Euston was ‘unsafe’.
He said that Euston was ‘not just uncomfortable, it’s not just unpleasant, it’s unsafe’.
Following the publication of the article, Lord Hendy wrote a letter to Mr Dennis’ boss at Systra UK, Nick Salt.
In the letter, first published by Politico, Lord Hendy described Mr Dennis’ claim that Euston was ‘unsafe’ as a ‘serious allegation’ and ‘a serious one for a safety critical business’. Lord Hendy added: ‘And, of course, finding a potential supplier criticising a possible client reflects adversely on your likelihood of doing business with us or our supply chain.’
Although the issues were already in the public domain thanks to the regulator, Mr Dennis’ employer Systra came under pressure from Lord Hendy.
In subsequent internal emails shared by Mr Dennis following the letter, Lord Hendy asked the Network Rail team: ‘How did we deal with him?’
The engineer, who has a young child, was eventually fired from his ‘dream job’ following Lord Hendy’s interference, leaving him with depression and anxiety.
Two weeks ago, Lord Hendy apologised to Mr Dennis for the language he used, saying: ‘There was a sentence at the end [of the letter] where the tone of it fell well short of what should be expected, and for that I apologise.’
He said no contractor ‘has or will be penalised for employees raising concerns about safety,’ adding employment matters are up to employers.
Mr Dennis said he believes Lord Hendy only apologised to calm the supply chain rather than being genuinely sorry, adding ‘only a full and frank apology can reverse some of that damage.’
Metro understands Lord Hendy might be looking to retire at the end of the year.
Mr Dennis explained that if every train is ‘carrying thousands of people you’ve got multiple trains piling up, delayed, cancelled – that’s a huge number of people, thousands of people gathering in a concourse that is not built to cope with those numbers of people’.
He said the disabled community has described Euston as ‘unsafe,’ adding that it cannot be ‘ignored and dismissed’.
‘It says a lot about the culture of the railways and railways leadership that it takes other safety events unrelated to accessibility for us to be now talking about accessibility, and it’s extremely frustrating,’ he continued.
Systra told Metro it cannot comment on individual staff matters other than to confirm that ‘a thorough investigation was carried out’.
But the public exposure of what happened to Mr Dennis appears to have put wheels in motion. In October – almost a year after the regulator’s notice – Network Rail announced a five-point plan to improve the situation at Euston.
At the end of October, earlier boarding was introduced as part of the improvement plans.
Further changes could be in the pipeline, including a ‘brand-new station concourse that’s fit for the future,’ Network Rail has revealed.
Network Rail has continued to avoid using the word ‘unsafe’ regarding Euston. Instead, it has referred to improving the ‘passenger experience’ and the ‘Euston rush’ to describe what goes on at the station.
It argued that the Euston rush is now ‘on its way out’ after earlier boarding was rolled out – almost a year after it said it had complied with the ORR improvement notice highlighting overcrowding.
What is Euston like at rush hour?
Passengers and the customer watchdog London TravelWatch have previously said the station experience ‘fails’ even on a good day.
Emma Dobson, a wheelchair user from Birmingham, said the Euston experience is particularly ‘dangerous’ for disabled people.
The 28-year-old analyst and blogger, who travels through Euston monthly, told Metro: ‘It’s not going to be too long until someone is going to be killed in a crush. And I think that’s me.
‘If I’m in a large crowd or someone with a disability, it’s easier to go down and not be seen. I’m not the only disabled person thinking that.’
She said it felt ‘odd’ Euston was getting the attention only ‘after able-bodied people have raised it,’ adding that disabled people have been highlighting the issues for a while.
Emma said she’s also worried someone running could injure themselves on her wheelchair or trip over, adding that she is ‘hyper-aware’ that Euston wasn’t ‘perfect’.
‘How much longer do we have basically until something happens? I don’t think it’s very long,’ she continued.
But Mr Dennis said while he welcomed the action being taken by the Transport Secretary Louise Haigh ‘in the short term’, he added there must be ‘evidence that the needs of disabled passengers in particular have been taken account of in these changes,’ highlighting Euston’s expansion plans for HS2, which are predicted to be completed between 2029 and 2033.
He continued: ‘There remains no long-term plan from government to expand and resolve capacity pressures in the existing station, both above and below ground.
‘There is also still no plan for the high-speed station and its integration into the overall site.
‘For the operators of the station, this clarity is key to understand what any interim measures may look like. The public deserves that clarity, too, so that they can see a positive vision of travelling from Euston in the future.’
The state of the Euston outdoor plaza during a mid-week lunchtime in October (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
A Network Rail spokesperson told Metro: ‘Euston was designed for a different era and we acknowledge that it is in need of major investment and modernisation. However, safety is at the heart of our operation and something we would never compromise on in any of our stations.
‘For the majority of the time the station works, however during times of disruption, there simply isn’t enough room for passengers and we know this can make for an uncomfortable and unpleasant environment. In recent years we have invested significantly in making Euston better – work that has included building a mezzanine to enable concourse-based retail to be moved ‘upstairs’ to create more concourse space, revamping the piazza outside the station, removing further retail outlets (Boots) to alleviate congestion points, and revamping and reconfiguring passenger information provision.
‘These improvements continue with our recently announced five-point plan that will look to further alleviate pinch-points, introduce more early boarding of services and repurposing the large bulkhead advertising board. We also continue our work with the Euston Partnership (DfT, TfL, HS2, GLA, NR and Lendlease) to develop plans for the long-term future of the station.’
A Department for Transport spokesperson said the Transport Secretary has been ‘clear that for too long Euston station has not been good enough for passengers’.
Network Rail and train companies have been tasked to work with the rail regulator and ‘deliver a clear plan to tackle the issues faced by passengers, while working on a long-term solution,’ DfT said, adding that the five-point plan, including the earlier boarding trail, has ‘already brought immediate improvements at Euston.’
Last week, Lord Hendy admitted that the Euston station’s marble columns ‘would fall off’ without bands around them.
He told the House of Lords that the station is ‘no longer in fit condition.’
The advertising board controversy
Network Rail was criticised by passengers after the large station information board was turned into a headache-inducing advertisement screen.
The Transport Secretary Louise Haigh ordered for the ad boards to be switched off as part of the Euston improvement plan in early October.
She wrote on X: ‘For too long passenger experience has not been good enough at Euston.
‘I’ve asked Network Rail to take steps to improve the situation, which they’ve done immediately. This includes an immediate, temporary shut-down and review of the overhead advertising.’
