Mmmmm, Humans! - Episode 25, Day 41 - Polesworth to Smethwick Rolfe Street
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 มิ.ย. 2017
- It's Friday 16th June, and we start the day by getting the once-a-day only service from Polesworth - but who catches this train? Shrewsbury is pretty, and we chat to a passenger with accessibility needs, and discover a brilliant community artwork installation at Smethwick, Birmingham.
Download the All The Stations theme tune from iTunes here: th-cam.com/users/edit?o=U&vide... (other stores are available....)
Geoff and Vicki are visiting ALL 2,563 national railway stations in Britain - view the progress map and loads more information about the project on the website at: allthestations.co.uk/
ROUTE: Polesworth, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Penkridge, Wolverhampton, Smethwick Rolfe Street
The mural at Smethwick Rolf Street was previously done by local kids and was mentioned by Chris Tarrant in the ITV schools program “Stop Look Listen”.
Being disabled and wheelchair user my biggest hate is having to book a day in advance , but i am a bit of a rebel and just turn up lol . And so i should be able to turn up and travel just like everyone else !!! thanks geoff and vicky for highlighting this many thanks :-)
British Railways 1967 If you don’t book in advance you my not be able to travel. While it may not be compulsory it’s certainly highly recommend. And I’d avoid peak times too because that’s another big no no. Trains are often rammed with even normal passengers finding it difficult! It’s also a good idea to have someone else with you.
@@nigelkthomas9501 normal passengers? Really Nigel?
@@luciacecilia u
GOOD NEWS regarding ramps, both Greater Anglia and Merseyrail have ordered Stadler Flirt EMU trains which have a built in ramp under the floor, which slides out from under the body of the train to the platform in order to permit easier boarding and alighting of trains.
Now if only someone could create a norm for platform heights ...
Don't be too harsh on yourselves, the differing heights aren't just a British thing, on the contrary. Most countries are in a process of standardising to either 55 cm or 76 cm, some can't make up their mind and have both, and there are still a lot of places with yet another height (e.g. Belgium, IC stations and Brussels suburban stations are being standardised at 76 cm, others at 55, but still a lot are at 28 (!) cm. There is also variability because of new ballast padding, which can bring the rails up some cm. Only concrete trackbeds stay the same.
Here is the webpage on the Greater Anglia website giving information regarding the new Stadler Flirt EMU trains, which are fitted with automated sliding ramps that slide out from underneath the body to the platform:
www.greateranglia.co.uk/form/transforming-your-railway-with-new-trains
Also here is the dedicated webpage on the Merseyrail Electrics regarding their Stadler Flirt EMU trains:
www.merseytravel.gov.uk/about-us/Pages/New-Trains-For-Merseyrail.aspx
Good luck getting Arriva to fit automatic ramps to their trains and busses. Not happening
As an American one of the things that has surprised me watching this series is the way most stations have "level platforms" of a sort, but most of them don't actually line up with the height of the trains, and the gaps between the platforms and the trains are quite wide. I suppose it makes sense if the British rail system had level platforms put in when a lot of railroads were using non-standardized equipment. It's odd coming from the US because most level platforms were put in after 1900, by which time passenger cars were fairly standardized. Also, until the past 20-30 years most stations outside of major cities didn't have level platforms. There are still a lot which don't.
At Polesworth, surely Network Rail could install a path from the nearby road bridge to give access to platform 2 and do the same at Pilning - they have done this at Breich in Scotland
A quick look at Google Maps suggests you're right and that could be done fairly easily. But it seems the powers that be are not committed to providing Polesworth with a decent service, though have also not followed through on closing it.
YAY - that's my fabby friend Sarah! Even though I know the accessibility issue is really annoying, I can safely say that Sarah never lets anything get in the way of her travelling and having fun... and I'm lucky to have been a part of that on more than one occasion!
Just a quick drop in: Subsequent to this trip, I was contacted by someone from the rail operator. They're putting me in contact with management. Interested to hear what they have to say. Thanks Geoff and Vicki!
Hi Sarah. Just recently found Geoff's channel and didn't expect to see you in one of his videos. Yes, manual ramps are a pain. It would be good if arriva trains and busses fitted automatic ramps on their trains and busses. Yeah, good luck with that. Not happening.
@@simontay4851 Why wouldn't it be happening? If buses can have automatic ramps, then trains can, and it would make their makers and owners look good and make more money. I wish Geoff and Vicki unsarcastic good luck with it.
@@jaspermay5813 Arriva busses don't have ramps either. The driver has to get out and open the ramp manually. When i visited San Francisco, busses there had automatic motorised ramps for wheel chair users - the driver just presses a button and the ramp unfolds.. Arriva are too cheap to do that.
@@simontay4851 I see, so it's more about the supposed cheapness of Arriva specifically. Maybe it's a UK thing, because in the Netherlands, Arriva says that their train floors are at 'the same height as the platform' (except for a small section of the network), as if all platforms are pretty much the same height, so there is no need for special motorised ramps. www.arriva.nl/consumenten/service-contact/ik-heb-een-vraag.htm
I don't know about the buses here. They say that most buses have low floors, but that 'bus stop accessibility varies'. www.haltescan.nl show the accessibility of all stations in the Netherlands.
I do like writing buses as 'busses', because I always think 'buses' should rhyme with 'fuses'.
@@simontay4851 London buses (and taxis) have ramps, some of which are arriva. Trains however, it's a matter of levelling platforms and connecting platforms - with lifts.
Thank you for representing people with disabilities and highlighting some of the issues they face. I remember the platform ramps you've shown in your Facebook lives as well, I had no idea they existed in some places. Things are better than they used to be in terms of accessibility, but there is still a lot of work to be done for sure.
There was a previous mural on that same wall at Smethwick Rolfe Street. It was painted by local schoolkids during BR days but had faded/rotted away to virtually nothing.
Good to see some coverage of problems encountered by disabled rail users. I avoid the national network for this exact reason.
Valtion Rautatiet in FInland - if I recall rightly - have onboard ramp gear for wheelchair access on most trains, but not all. The old Valmet Tampere-built Sm1s and Sm2s never had that. The Sm1s are now phased out but the Sm2s are still in service.
Lovely to see how you met Sarah, one of my favourite characters in the All the Stations Cinematic Universe!
Network Rail or London Northwestern or the local council of Polesworth could built a foot tunnel between the two platforms
As another commenter pointed out, it would probably be even cheaper to stick a footpath down from the far side of the roadbridge just around the corner from the station. This would mean two separate entrances for the station but would be cheaper than sticking a tunnel in.
Absolutely brilliant title, "mmmmm, humans." Love the videos, keep them up! 😀
I am from North-Rhine Westphalia, where some Bombardier "Talent 2"-trains operate. They have automatically extendable boarding ramps under every door reaching to the platform. Germany is actually pretty good with accessibility, pretty much every station is fully step-free accessible and fitted with facilities to allow disabled people to find their way around the station. Sadly, breakdown is frequent and maintenance sucks with Deutsche Bahn, the Train Operating and Infrastructure Managing company...
I would've expected better from Germany. German stuff is usually made to be high quality and reliable. Wouldn't expect your trains to break down.
LondonUndergroundFan We have CAF units with extendable ramps that don't break down frequently.
Totally agree with Sarah about the ramps. We who are disabled want to be able to freely get on and off trains independently without having the need to book assistance. They've made many stations now step free so why can't they make train independently accessible to all. At least now unlike when I was a child your not put in the guards van.
In Wellington, NZ, all the trains have fold-out wheelchair ramps built into selected doors. The exception is Wairarapa line service, which due some low platforms has wheelchair hoists fitted.
Yeah they are great, my father who is in a wheelchair uses the trains regularly as it is so easy to get on!
Off topic, but I am in Wellington this evening for the first time in a while and I have to say that, while the people are as lovely as ever, it is exceptionally wet and cold. Wish I was travelling around the sunny English Midlands :-)
I know this comment is like a year old, but it's just an incredible coincidence that you mention Wellington NZ, when in this video (though not filmed) they pass through Wellington Station, Shropshire! You can see it on the map at 4:16! It's my local market town!
Awesome mural! Yes, it's a mural, not a murial. I know some people have trouble with this word! Another great episode. Have there been any that were bad though? No, no there haven't.
Polesworth is a decent sized village. They really should think about putting that footbridge back and reinstating regular services.
They didn't put the footbridge in because they thought the road bridge 10 metres away would suffice, but the road bridge turned out to be too narrow.
The footbridge should never have been removed in the first place. Why not just leave things as they are. If it was still there people would use it.
I used to live in Polesworth and took some pictures of the footbridge being removed overnight many years ago. Such a shame..
Bit like Norton Bridge. That had its footbridge removed when the WCML was modernised in 2003, now thanks to the diversion nothing passes it.
Very impressed with this one....
I never travel by train, but after watching your vids I want to start....
but I am in a wheelchair, so I doubt whether the system can really handle me....
So nice to hear from a fellow wheeler. lol
At Smethwick Rolfe Street, some will be pleased to know that new lofts and stairs have been installed as part of a major upgrade, improving accessibility that has been needed for well over 10 years.
I now live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. However I lived in Moxley in the West Midlands an as a kid I usd to visit my uncle and aunt in Kidsgrove and we used to take the train. You mentioned a station called Barlaston. When I used to travel that way I am sure that it was called Barlaston and Titensor
Wikipedia agrees with you that it's been called this in the past, although the spelling is Tittensor
You get the impression they never intended to actually replace the pedestrian bridge at Norton station
love the art work
So glad to finally see you in my home of Shrewsbury it's such a lovely place. As it is the major hub railway station for Shropshire and for mid Wales hopefully you may visit it again.
Erasmus Darwin, is an incredible person and may have given charles his passion for discovery
a crewe bonus video would delight me.
I'm sure Crewe Alexandra FC are nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' due to the railways in the town.
That is correct!
But the question is: Who is Alexandra?
@@SomeBritishGal1 It's because the club was formed in a pub called The Princess Alexandra - allegedly.
I have often wondered this about trains and ramps given all new buses since 2001 I think (and many before then) had fold out/push out ramps so you can get a wheelchair on/off the vehicle with only a few seconds delay compared to someone walking on or off.
I think that refurbished Pacer you went on in Yorkshire had something along those lines fitted mind (and that hasn't even got a flat floor) so it can be done!
Sure there could be automatic ramps, but even better would be to have the floor perfectly level with the platform. This requires the trains to have "load levelling", which is a system that compensates for the weight on board the train to always keep the floor at the same height above the tracks.
In Toronto, our older commuter lines have a single manual wheelchair ramp per train that the conductor always deploys at every station, and a whole bunch of wheelchair spots on that carriage (so you don't need to book!). The newest commuter line (UP Express) has perfectly level boarding so anyone can just roll anything on or off any door with ease.
Yes!! You are finally on Arriva Trains Wales.
From Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Our metro system here has ramps on all of our trains which lower at the push of a button to let a wheelchair on and off. The buttons are placed at wheelchair height on all of our train cars and all of our stations have step free access. Siemens makes our metro trains (some of which are as old as the late 1970s and even all of them have been retrofitted with the ramps)... hopefully any future trains they make for national rail have these ramps as well!
Thinking of the small black country stations which closed, makes me think of the string of pearls which litter the West Coast Main Line in the late 1960s in the North West.
Hello! GA have done the ramp thing already and I'm very pleased with it! You have made it happen :)
Stone, where I lived for the first 13 years of my life. My mum commuted from that station every day for several years.
I'm sad we didn't get to see the trip to cleethorpes with all the awkward stations on the way :(
Some years ago, I was filming some new trains for Alsthom, and they wanted to feature disabled access. As it happens, my wife is disabled, so we arranged to catch the train in question at Wolverhampton, and film her being wheeled onto the train, and into the access area. They had to hold up the train for us, because the wheelchair was too wide to fit down the corridor on the shortest distance from a door to the disabled area. They had to wheel her off again, and take her to the door at the other end of the carriage in order to be able to get on......
You think they would design it so the corridor is wide enough to fit a standard wheelchair through. Unbelievable. What an embarrassing fail.
7:00 - that aged well. the 745s on greater anglia have built in boarding ramps
Great! Now just the rest of the companies left, there should just be a button by the door that deploys a ramp for someone in a wheelchair. It's really not hard to refurb trains to do that.
@@camotech1314 fr it rly isn't hard to build ramps into trains they do on 745 so why not on others? just have an extra button that deploys a ramp out
you guys deserve a beer after this!!
Don't you just hate it when all the stations go past every station on your local line ;(
Brilliant video I love your TH-cam fleece Geoff!
The theme tune sounds like one of those early 1990s Railway TV Shows
Yessss, it finishes at my local!
Crewe station looks awesome.
Absolutely well said the lady in the wheelchair, we cannot travel without booking, we need special ramps that are not available....
Hey Geoff and Vicki, I am now thinking of doing as you do, that is every station, but in my wheelchair....
No, bollox, I'm too old and crippled, the system can't handle me.
Automatic access ramps on trains have been possible for some time. The electric trains built by CAF for the Auckland network a couple of years ago have automatic ramps for the level boarding doors, but the SX carriages had similar automatic steps fitted when they were refurbished for use in Auckland over 15 years ago.
Or the train operators could use the Western Australian approach, where the platform and train floor heights on the TransPerth network are so closely aligned, there's barely any gap between the train and the platform, and wheelchairs can roll safely across without any ramps needed at all.
Shrewsbury, Wem and Crewe!!!!! :) Getting a bit to local to my family a route I have been on a lot!
We have a WEM in Edmonton Alberta - WEM here stands for West Edmonton Mall. Have you ever considered coming out here to take the Rocky Mountaineer Train ?
Loving Vicki's HP Deathly Hallows earrings #alltheearings
She is lovely dressed
I can certainly identify with what you said Geoff about it being a different feeling once a train leaves the urban sprawl and heads into the countryside.
Also I'm glad Vicki that you resisted the temptation to make any comment to camera about cows going "moo".!!! I honestly thought that's what you were about to say for a second...!!
6:27 All the Stations makes their closest point to my house! Oakengates station, about 3 miles SW of where I live
Try less than a mile (station featured in this episode too 😎)
Interviews make the Show, liked the opening encountering the Locked Gate ... Life Hitches (!!)
Fascinating learning about Norton Bridge. I know it well and it's a railway community living along the tracks to Stratford and beyond... Shame they closed the station.
Like the saying that is often applied to building a place in your garden for a wild animal...if you build it they will come.
Maybe worth keeping in mind when building a new platforms for some of the railway stations that Dr Beeching closed down in his wisdom.
I actually used Barlaston when I use to live in Stoke on Trent. And even then there were only two trains a day or something like that. That was back in the late 90's
Polesworth and Dordon deserve better than one train a day. I remember seeing the footbridge dismantled. Criminal.
3:21 Crewe: I remember arriving there on a foggy morning in 2004ish, at 8AM. I had travelled from Milton Keynes, having driven from Aylesbury.
I remember thinking "what's going on in my life"
The Caledonian Sleeper stops at Crewe too - I remember taking it southbound and having to change there for Birmingham but it took so long getting from Scotland (seemingly stopping several times en route for long periods with no idea why) I missed my connection.
Next time that you're at Crewe, have a look around the heritage centre where they have the APT and other train related things!
Wolverhampton home of Chubb locks Goodyear tyres and many more plus you have the old GWR low level train station that used to go all the way into birmingham snow hill
biggaG75 All the way to Marylebone actually.
Clicked fast as hell. looking forward to #AllTheCastles . After that, you guys should do #AllTheQuaint - all of it!
3ƧЯ3V3Я | REVERSE Studios along with all the canals, all the footplates, all the remaining signal boxes and all the tea
Don't forget #allthecanals
#AllTheHeritageRailways
Great Video, I cannot believe that Vickie didn't see that castle in Shrewsbury, there is also another one at Stafford as well
there was a castle in Shewsbury? WHERE! we didn't see it!!
Above the station ;) it also a good place to take some photos of the trains
Seeing you in Crewe is so weird, it's literally 20 mins out of Chester (Home Town), seems so close :D
Finished at my station 😃
Geoff: "We will make Siemens do accessible ramps!"
Spoiler alert:
*They didn't*
The situation with Norton Bridge and the other stations sounds similar to what happened to Etruria station (which by chance, is also near Stoke-On-Trent).
The Sons of Epsilon one of the worst things they did In the area was close Etruria. The area's seen some huge re-development since it's closure and it would actually have done very well now. The only way to get there now from Stoke or Longport station by public transport is 2 buses.
2 f-ing buses. I wonder how many people use these buses.
7:00 Stadler listened
Those built-in accessibility ramps do exist. I can't recall where I encountered them but I am certain that I have been on a train that had them!
Being from Crewe, although in Pontypridd these days, Since you said you will be back, i would recommend going to the heritage centre if you get chance! Although i can't actually recommend anything else in Crewe!
6:55 Geoff, Siemens has made trains with those ramps, look up step-free access on the new Miami to Orlando High speed rail service known as Brightline
6:32 merseyrail's new trains are going to feature something similar to this, the floor of the train will be at platform level and a sliding step with cut the gap between the train and the platform to allow disabled passengers do board without assistance.
Other companies will hopefully follow in the future
What a messed up system we have. They close a station where there is already a train running through and replace the service with busses! Well done to Stone for getting your station back!!! Closing Etruria station was ridiculous! It's the nearest station to the commercial heart of Stoke-on-Trent. Our roads are crumbling and they cause pollution and stress. If we had a very good public transport system profit or none profit, then commerce would follow! Bring back ticket offices and ticket checking! I have had several journeys recently that I could have done for free as there were no checking for tickets! Also I have just travelled from Rugeley Trent Valley to Stone. I thought the ticket was very expensive for such a short journey. I checked online and discovered it would have been cheaper if I had bought two tickets, one to Stafford and one to Stone..... The cost of rail fares is not only ridiculously high but also makes no sense!
S-bahn trains in Germany have wheelchair ramps built in to the trains and they are activated when the passenger doors are open
Disable access.Here in Melbourne Australia, the driver has a disables a simple designed ramp, which he has in his drivers area to allow the disable vehicles to access the train at the front carriage most stations are only 30 cm required height for the ramp so not such a problem to the UK, the gap is also much smaller some new stations have rubber insert to bring the gap much less.
Most stations have been modified over the years so the front driver section are raised up to minimise the access height to almost zero, this allows the disable person in there chair to run straight into the carriage compartment without assistance from the driver, thou the driver normally ask if the person needs help.
You guys might like to pass that onto the powers above, might be helpful to see what another countries do.
I've always had the idea for a ramp that sits in the footplate of the train that the guard or driver can press a button to lower it for passengers on the outside, and on the inside there is a button as well for the passenger to press, there should also be a button on the outside that the passenger can press too just incase the guard or driver is doing something maybe it's at a terminus station or what ever
dan b Siemens makes low-floor trams (Model S70) in the USA that have the ability to spit out a ramp before opening it's doors. Mind you it does this only at one designated door which is well marked.
Erik Griswold that's the kinda thing I'd want, have the wheelchair allocated spot area have the ramp connected
The new trams in Toronto (a Bombardier Flexity Outlook) also have this.
Geoff. Vickster. I love you both, and I love this channel, and people have probably commented on this below but I am too lazy to check. I am sure it's pronounced ShrOwsbury though! Correct me if I am wrong. If I am right and you read this then you have to do dry January next year with tea instead of booze.
My local areas yay! epically Crewe Chester ect
to say it only has one train a day to Crewe 908 passengers used the station last year
I bet passenger numbers would increase if more trains stopped there.
some commuter rails have a mini high platform. wait there and the conductor help you on the train.
I hate Crewe. The number of times I had to run ACROSS to a platform on the other side of the bridge to get to an overpacked train for South Wales, because my train was late was no joke.
The new platforms at London Bridge station which will serve Thameslink will have raised platforms in the area where the Wheel chair accommodation on class 700 units are. Platforms 4,5&6?
When a cow can smell us and goes "mmm, humans" then I think we've had it.
Stone: another 2016 Olympic winner gold sign!
2:20 Thanks for my home town stafford goeff
Nice
the Glider man xD
Love the videos and wondering if you know yet when you'll be in West Yorkshire?
Classic end piece "hmm humans" lol
Can't they build an underpass at Polesworth? It is the TOCs woh forget to include integrated ramps or other accsesibility features in the tenders for new rolling stock.
Nice class 92 in the shot and think class 73
Smethwick Rolfe Street
Well that’s the nearest to dudley pretty sad for me really
YAY TRAINS
You will have to get the rail replacement coach to Norton Bridge to get an "all the STATIONS" tick as it is still an open station.....
Julie Aylward no we don't. as repeatedly and clearly started from the beginning we are doing the 2,563 stations that you can do by train, as published by the Office of Rail and Ross. Thanks!
Thanks for the clarification. Really enjoying the series. Many thanks.
But platforms have different heights so how will a ramp work?
So now we have All of the Stations, the Castles, the Canals and the Statues?
Some Salopians pronounce it as Shrews-bree, others as Shroze-bree. We still argue about it.
Both are correct, but I think the public school is always Shroze-bree School.
I have heard Shoes-bree, which is just odd.
I live only 5 minutes from Southwick rolfe street station
06:49 Merseyrail have done it with their 777s. So, maybe you did make it happen...
Other place names like this around the UK? Such as Rock, Tree, Lake etc
I think my train stopped at Polesworth... 0903 from Crewe.
the 09:03 from Crewe cannot stop at Polesworth, because trains no longer server the southbound platform
Maybe you could go to dudley port from where it starts but not birmingham new street use the other side of the route