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The boss of Network Rail says the company will scrap toilet charges at all of its stations from 2019.

Recent figures obtained by the BBC revealed Network Rail collected £4.8m in the last financial year, from people paying to use its toilets.

Chief executive Mark Carne said it was "quite wrong to penalise people when they are in discomfort".

Charges at stations in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh currently range from 30p to 50p.

Network Rail said there was no exact date as to when the charges will be ditched, but said it would be "at some point in 2019".

Mr Carne added Network Rail's job should be to make people's lives "easier, not more difficult".

"As a company we want to treat people with dignity and respect whether they work for us or use our services," he added.

Stations that charge for toilets include King's Cross, Euston, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Waterloo - all in London - as well as Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.

Network Rail also runs stations at Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, London Cannon Street, London Charing Cross, London Bridge, Reading, London St Pancras and London Victoria, where passengers are not charged.

The firm has also announced it intends to install drinking fountains at the stations it manages, starting with Charing Cross "by the end of March".

Chief executive Mark Carne said it was "quite wrong to penalise people when they are in discomfort".

Mr Carne added Network Rail's job should be to make people's lives "easier, not more difficult".

"As a company we want to treat people with dignity and respect whether they work for us or use our services," he added.

About time. Hopefully this will put pressure on the TOCs who charge at stations they manage.

Are there any stations where TOCs charge?

Are there any stations where TOCs charge?

Oooooooooooooo's gunna poo for it? (sorry!)  :)

Run down the existing contract(s) which includes turnstile 'take', and then re-tender.

SWR

Wimbledon
Guildford

There's probably others.

I'd forgotten about Clapham Junction. The toilet provision there is very poor. Just one small toilet for 17 platforms stuck at the end of the footbridge by the Brighton Yard entrance.

Secondly, it could be used to justify the removal of some toilets on existing trains in order to provide "thousands of extra seats" as an alternative to full length trains.

I'd forgotten about Clapham Junction. The toilet provision there is very poor. Just one small toilet for 17 platforms stuck at the end of the footbridge by the Brighton Yard entrance.

This has already happened on newer trains even in the later days of BR when you compare an HST set and a rake of Mk4 coaches with one toilet per carriage on a Mk4 compared to two per carriage on a Mk3. Though FGW removed two toilets from coaches A and H as was.

One toilet per carriage on a long distance train is usually adequate, as long as they are all in serviceable condition.  I think all new national rail stock should have to have at least one toilet, Crossrail trains should have two.

This has already happened on newer trains even in the later days of BR when you compare an HST set and a rake of Mk4 coaches with one toilet per carriage on a Mk4 compared to two per carriage on a Mk3. Though FGW removed two toilets from coaches A and H as was.

Rather alarmingly, Angel Trains' website appears to show no toilet on their 158s (http://www.angelrailway.com/class-158.html) (click the 'view carriage blueprints' button to view the full interior layout). Ditto the 153 page (which also has a rather strange looking photo of a 150).

153s in their present guise can run beyond 31st December 2019.

The same goes for any passenger rail vehicle that isn't Equality Act compliant.

All that's needed is an exemption to the Act, which can be granted by the Secretary of State. Section 183(1) of said Act permits this.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/183

I fully expect we'll see some exemptions granted.

As things stand, the 153s cannot run as single carriage trains beyond 2020, I don't think. That's because their present loos are not equality compliant.   A number of possible solutions including:
....
5. Couple them in permanent pairs with one of the pair having a big loo and the other no loo at all
..

As things stand, the 153s cannot run as single carriage trains beyond 2020, I don't think. That's because their present loos are not equality compliant.   A number of possible solutions including:
1. Fit a disabled loo (but you remove quite a number of seats from an already-tiny offering
2. Replace the loo with more seats (but you have problems of trains with no toilets)
3. Withdraw them from service (but will we ever have enough stock?)
4. Run them purely as strengtheners to other units which have disable loos.
5. Couple them in permanent pairs with one of the pair having a big loo and the other no loo at all
6. Provide a dispensation to allow them to continue as they are

Are there any stations where TOCs charge?

So, reading through the posts above, my understanding is that it will take Network Rail at least a year just to disable some existing toilet turnstiles and change machines at their stations -  but they intend to install new drinking fountains, 'starting with Charing Cross', within one month.

What am I missing?  ???

Chiltern - Marylebone


Who's going to pay for the security that will now be needed to keep out undesirables? And who know gets the cleaning costs unsubsidised?

Yup - NR. New budget starts next year....nothing in current budget.

......hark.....I hear the first "Oooooooooooooos gunna pay for it?" of Spring!  ;D

Are there any stations where TOCs charge?

SWR

Wimbledon
Guildford

There's probably others.

Oooooooooooooo's gunna pee for it?

The term "spend a penny" will need to be updated ...

It will be paid for out of the general farebox and other income of the station operator, as is the electricity used for lift rides up and down to footbridges.  Imagine if station lifts required 20p in the slot to make them work!

Oooooooooooooo's gunna pee for it?

Now if they could find a way to convert that waste to power.....
There have been trials and experiments before but I guess they couldn't be economically justified.

Meanwhile, in Gloucester we have five new toilets costing 20p.