Great Western Coffee Shop

Morning,

I was planning on writing to FGW with a question that I had but as I imagine that they will have their hands full replying to all the complaints from last week for the next decade I thought I'd try my luck here first.

The back-door to Maidenhead station gets locked at 11pm each night, at about the same time as the front gates get left open and the staff diappear for the night.

This means that a) if I have my car parked on Shoppenhangers Road I have to walk all the way around the station to get to it; or b) if I'm going home by cab I have to pay extra to travel around the one-way system as opposed to getting a cab from the Shoppenhangers entrance.

I was wondering whether anyone could explain why the back door gets locked to prevent entry/exit, when the front gates are left wide open.

Thanks

Vandalism or undesirables at some point in the past, I suspect

I would agree vandals. Which prob explains why those TVMs are in credit card only mode.

Thanks.
But the machines are outside the station so can get vandalised whatever, and there is nothing that can be vandalised when the rear gate is open that cannot be vandalised by closing it.

Still rather perplexed.

I agree with you NickB.. There is nowhere within the station that you can get from that entrance that you can't get a few seconds slower from the front one.. Also it gets closed earlier sometimes (I've seen  it happen) and then the "this entrance closes at 11pm sign" gets moved so no one can see it.. very clever (not).. ::)

Does platform 1 remain open all night from the main entrance? Maybe thats why it's closed people have to walk further to get onto Platform 1.

Isn't this just standard practice to assist policing? Cops attend following report of kids* causing trouble or being vandals, come in the front door and kids scarper out the back without the cops even getting close enough to ID, let alone grab, them. So you only leave one door open out of staffed hours.

*Other age-groups of miscreant are available.

The (much) younger Mr James and his companion on a night out once got chased by the stereotypical "gang of youths" all the way from a town centre, through the front entrance of the station, over the footbridge, out the back entrance and some way beyond.

The fact the back entrance was open didn't really help all that much, as we still got our heads kicked in when they caught up with us.

I suspect, and may be completely wrong, that it's to avoid the risk of the passageway becoming a public right of way.

There are signs at the front and rear of the entrances stating in old Rail Alphabet text.


"Highways Act 1980

The British Railways Board hereby give notice that this way is not dedicated to the public"


This is to prevent access rights being eroded over time. If a right is not asserted then it may be eroded over time if the owner has not asserted their right. Thus if the sign was not there then after a certain time period then the right of way exists and thus planning permissions and other legal issues then come into effect. Effectively the sign says ^We retain the right to prevent anyone walking on our land at any time and it doesn^t matter how long this access is open to the public it does not become a public right of way through usage. [So there!]

wasn't the British Railways Board abolished in 2013? In which case, how can a no longer extant organisation assert any legal status of a right of way (or not)?

BRB was turned into Liartrack, Liartrack in turn NeR.

BRB residual which was in turn carved/flogged/sold off to the relevant people.

I would guess that if someone made a big enough fuss, that the sign as it is would be enough to protect the rights. There's also another one above it in more threatening language saying "only open to people on railway business, breach of this is against bye law 14" or similar.

This sign is probably from before the station was last upgraded and you could get through that tunnel without a ticket as the barriers were in a different place.. It was kind of a public right of way then as there was no way of stopping it being one...

So I asked FGW why the back door gets closed...

"After speaking to staff at Maidenhead station it is apparent that the exit is closed after 23:00 due to 1 staff member being at the station.  As there is only one staff member after 23:00 at maidenhead it is difficult to maintain the safety and security of both exits so the side exit is closed.  We take the dafty and security of our customers very seriously and I'm really sorry that you felt there was cause for concern.  Your comments have been logged and will be passed on to the station manager at Maidenhead".

Not a lot of news there.

Love the typo 'dafty' for safety ! So who do all the sane customers travel with ??

Defo not FGW it seems. Private Helicopter?

So before Maidenhead station's last "upgrade" there must have been at least 3 staff members there all night since that was a public right of way... For daft and non daft people alike ;-)

No, its not a public right of way....hence the signage referred to earlier

I just don't see how one person concealed in a back-room (presumably watching the world on CCTV) is any less able to ensure dafty (sic) and security at two doors rather than one.

A lot of these CCTV cameras are record only, and may not be monitored live 24/7

It is not a public right of way and never has been. Staff are within their rights to refuse people "just to walk through to the other side".

Well yes.. but it was used as if it was one for many years

If something is used as a right of way then doesn't it eventually get classed as such?

I don't think you mean right of way. That would mean legal action could be taken against anyone blocking it.

The traditional way to prevent a route becoming a right of way is to close it once a year - Christmas day is a popular choice. That asserts the right to obstruct it, against the public's right to use it.

Yes I do believe that after a certain passage of time an implied right of way becomes a public right of way, unless signage is there to stop it. I think thats why you also see signs saying "Highways Act (1980?) This is not a designated public right of way"
s31. Highways Act 1980
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/31