Opinion : Re-open the subway at High Wycombe railway station!
A few Saturdays ago yours truly went to London with some friends. Naturally we all decided to travel to the metropolis by train.
Arriving a Wycombe railway station we were horrified to find that the trusty subway to platform 3 had been closed. A bridge was the only means to cross to the platform for trains to London.
It seems the magnificent subway was closed on Monday 13th July 2015 as part of a plan to improve the station.
If you ask me the closure of the subway is a major blow for the people of Wycombe and it has degraded the whole station.
The bridge in place at the moment is a temporary affair. A permanent construction is due to be made shortly which will supposedly make it easier for people who use the station car park to access the station.
When my good self crossed the temporary bridge it was a frightening experience. The wind was blowing and I felt very exposed walking over the railway lines to the furthest platform.
Coming down the stairs at the other side of the bridge was terrifying. Indeed several times my friends had to steady me otherwise my good self would have fallen to my demise down the steep staircase.
It seems I am not the only one who is unhappy with the new temporary bridge, others who are also unhappy have made their views clear on the High Wycombe Facebook page.
The old subway was far better than any bridge. By using the subway we could get to platform three safely, easily, quickly and without getting wet when it was raining.
Those who have difficulty climbing stairs (like my good self) and disabled people in wheel chairs could all use the subway with ease.
Improvements are supposed to make things better, sadly the demise of the subway is a step backwards.
I would be interested to know who the idiot was that came up with such a stupid plan to decommission the subway and build the footbridge.
If a footbridge had to be built then why not locate it near to the booking office on the car park side of platform 1, that way the subway could have remained giving two means to get to platform three.
I fear the powers that be running the railway are going off track with the newfangled footbridge. Indeed this is the latest bungle coming so soon after part of the magnificent Grade II listed goods shed was demolished because it blocked the view of the station for those approaching up Amersham Hill.
How long will it be before before someone is injured on the steep steps of the footbridge or before someone commits suicide by jumping over the side of the bridge on to the tracks when an express train is passing through at speed?
I think it’s time the plans for the bridge were scrapped and the subway was re-opened.
Getting rid of the subway at High Wycombe railway station was an act of complete madness that harks back to the daft things done during the darkest days of British Rail.
What do you think?
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Think it has been filled in
Hello Lorraine, it’s very nice to hear from you again and to know that you are still enjoying my blogs.
I’m sure the engineers can soon un-fill the subway, indeed the trusty subway was far better than any bridge not to mention safer too.
Ivor
The purpose of replacing the subway with a bridge is not just a bridge for the sake of a bridge it is so that the the platform can be extended to accommodate longer trains to reduce overcrowding (which has to be a positive thing) as has been taking place across a number of stations on the line (platform 3 at Wycombe you should notice has already been lengthened) Platform two can not be extended to the north due to the Amersham Hill road bridge. The current foot bridge is a temporary structure until the final bridge including lifts can be built. I would suggest that it always good to find out the full facts before posting such a blog.
Hello Graham,
Thank you for your valued comment.
But why do the platforms need to be extended? With the introduction of loco-hauled trains on the ‘Mainline’ service two whole carriage lengths of a train are just engine! Surely by using the trusty diesel multiple units instead the space wasted with the power cars could be replaced with carriages that could take passengers thus instantly increasing the carrying capacity of the train without any need to lengthen the platforms?
The subway could have been extended, underground, below the line coming into platform 1. A far easier option that would have retained the excellent subway rather than everyone having to endure the dreadful bridge.
Rather than running longer trains why not run more trains more frequently? Or make the express trains that pass through Wycombe at speed stop at the station so we can all use their services.
Besides how long are the trains going to be? This is the High Wycombe line, a suburban line with a London terminus of which it was once said that you can ‘hear the pigeons in the rush hour’….