Commuters 'put off' unmanned stations

Wednesday, 20 July 2005 12:00 AM

Passengers are increasingly refusing to use unmanned railway stations as they perceive them to be unsafe, the National Audit Office (NAO) finds in a new report.

Although commuters are happier with larger stations, the watchdog finds concerns about cleanliness, car parking, personal security and vandalism and graffiti are putting them off small and medium-sized stations.

NAO head Sir John Bourn said: "While most of Britain's largest stations provide excellent facilities, many other stations do not.

"The government, the industry and other interested parties must work together in a more concerted fashion to tackle the financial and other barriers to improvement so that more of our stations provide the facilities and services that rail passengers deserve."

A stations code due to be implemented by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in 2006 aims to encourage better management and improve the state of repair of stations across Britain.

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