Examination of Witnesses (Questions 1100
- 1119)
1100. Those are Mr Weiss' 3A and 3B, I think.
(Mr Spencer) Then we have another number which
is another huge flow, which is going to the Octagon Arcade. Funnily
enough, quite a lot of those people are going to shop and then
they come back, so the number of people who actually reach the
end of the arcade is only 15,000, so there is a 5,000 turnaround
that happens in there which is just one of many bits of detail
that I detect. Those are the headlines, but below that there is
a below grade underpass which goes into Bishop's Bridge which
avoids the need to cross Bishop's Bridge as a road, which is highly
beneficial. That is the bottom right corner. At the top left there
is a new arcade that has recently been constructed in partnership
between National Rail and British Land which takes you via a short
cut to the northern buildings in Broadgate, Exchange Square. The
question on those kinds of details is does Railplan know that
those exist, and the answer is probably not. Clearly there are
connections which are highly relevant because they provide easier
ways of getting in and out of the station without any level change
which need to be taken into account. If you could turn to the
next page very briefly.
1101. This is a Liverpool Street station survey.
(Mr Spencer) Exhibit 19.[6]
1102. Mezzanine level AM peak.
(Mr Spencer) You have been to the station and
you have seen that there is a world above the main concourse.
That world above the main concourse connects into lots of useful
places. There is another direct route on top of Broadgate. There
is an escalator connection in the top right-hand corner which
takes you round the back of the Broadgate buildings on Bishopsgate,
which is highly beneficial and makes it a lot easier for people
to make the journey into and out of the station. Clearly somewhere
along the line there is a capping out in terms of the congestion
and I am saying there is lots of complexity and detail which means
the station operates in an extremely efficient fashion at present.
1103. Mr Laurence: Did you want to go
to the photographs next?
1104. Sir Peter Soulsby: Just before
you go on, so we are keeping up with the changes of colours we
have here, just talk us through the different colours there. Obviously
we have got the green added. It would be helpful to have it made
clear to us what each set of numbers represents.
(Mr Spencer) The pink—if it does come
out as pink, it is pink on mine—is a whole raft of information
that was given to us by Network Rail. They did a huge survey at
Liverpool Street station in April because we were not on the job
in April. That was the survey that led to the calculation of 141
million. They gave us that information and we then supplemented
it with our own surveys which took place on 27 September. There
are two different types of movements. There are exit movements
and there are internal movements. They are just shown in slightly
different colours for no particular reason. Our objective on the
survey was to find everything that goes in and out of Liverpool
Street station but also to understand as best we can the things
that happen within the station.
1105. So the green is people who are effectively
moving along the passageway while the red are those who are exiting.
(Mr Spencer) Yes, so they would be double-counted
effectively.
1106. Mr Laurence: I mentioned the photographs,
are you happy to go to those next?
(Mr Spencer) Sure. They start at exhibit 14.
1107. Could I suggest that you start at 12 so
that the Committee can orientate themselves and see where the
photographs were taken from, 12 and 13, letters A to M.[7]
(Mr Spencer) We do get to M. It
is a great place to take photographs. The mezzanine is a great
vantage point because you are above everything that is happening
below you. A significant number of the photos that we present
here were taken at the mezzanine level. The bulk of them are taken
at eye level within the main concourse. This shows you where they
are and if there is a particular photograph that needs any explanation
I suggest if you turn back to the key it will tell you.
1108. Mr Laurence: I wish you had taken
one of the actual gates we have been talking about.
1109. Mr Binley: Just to orientate myself,
the hole in the wall famously alluded to earlier, can I ask whether
I am right in thinking that comes into the concourse just below
Octagon Arcade, Broadgate on 12?
(Mr Spencer) Yes, it does. The Sun Street passage
is shown on the plan.
1110. Sir Peter Soulsby: I think Mr Binley
is asking about the proposed Crossrail entrance into the complex,
which is on the level below, I think I am right in saying.
(Mr Spencer) It is on exhibit 12. It would
be where "ticket hall" is referred to on exhibit 12.
"Ticket hall" refers to ticket hall B which is the sub-surface
line ticket hall. It does not show you exactly where the connection
would be, there are other figures that show you where the hole
in the wall would be that are earlier in this proof. You have
been shown that by Mr Weiss before.
1111. Mr Binley: I just needed that for
orientation.
(Mr Spencer) Absolutely. Moving to the pictures,
I apologise if I digress occasionally but you pick things up on
a daily basis when you travel around London.[8]
The first picture shows you what is a pretty miniscule connection
to the Central line. This is the connection, I am pretty certain,
the western—
1112. Mr Laurence: I think that is entrance
F on Mr Weiss' plan.
(Mr Spencer) Yes. You then see the escalators
up to street level which are crowded. You then see the kinds of
flows you get out of National Rail, this is platforms four and
five disgorging trains, and you can see the people coming out
in the sorts of numbers that we are referring to. This is a key
escalator which is running up towards Bishopsgate, which is an
escalator and stairs, and no-one uses the stairs, everyone gets
on the escalator. I observed that superbly this morning. Clearly
that is very congested. A lot of the major train services into
Liverpool Street, the really busy services, do come into platforms
11-18, which is the very congested part of the station.
1113. Mr Laurence: Take that a little
slowly so the Committee can orientate themselves by reference
to exhibit 12 to see where the direction is.
1114. Sir Peter Soulsby: We will look
at the photos on the screens and Members can turn back to exhibit
12 without having to keep switching back to it on the screen.
1115. Mr Laurence: Mr Spencer, I think
it would aid elucidation if when you were dealing with a photograph
you just mentioned whether the indicative letter was on exhibit
12 or 13.
(Mr Spencer) As I said, the majority of them
are on 12 at main concourse level. Certainly photograph E is the
same image as photograph D except it is a few seconds later basically,
about eight minutes later. Clearly that escalator and those stairs
are inundated when a major service comes into that end of Liverpool
Street. The other photograph I would point out is H which is showing
you what should be two-way stairs, in other words one up and one
down, but is almost exclusively used to go up, and it is possible
even that they prevent people coming down the stairs. It is so
busy going up the stairs that it is virtually impossible for anyone
to come down.
1116. For those who are just a bit behind, exhibit
13 shows the position from which photograph H was taken in a broadly
westerly direction downwards on to the main concourse, is that
correct?
(Mr Spencer) That is correct.
1117. What about M for Mary?
(Mr Spencer) We were not allowed in the LUL
world so we had to take a picture of the concourse which is not
very helpful, I am afraid. That was as close as we could get to
it so we could not show any congestion at the gatelines, we could
not go into the Central line because LUL would not permit us access
whereas National Rail were perfectly happy for us to be doing
photography on their main concourse.
1118. You see some of the pillars anyway, do
you not?
(Mr Spencer) You do, yes. In the long distance
there is the gateline. It is not really telling you a great deal
at all. I would point out photograph L which is the gateline,
turning back to the photograph reference in figure 12, at the
very eastern side of the entrance to ticket hall B. That is one
of these rutted areas. This is where people go. If you see the
two next to each other, L and M, they are basically side by side.
Everybody is a crow's flight walk through from L into ticket hall
east. They are all concentrated in a very tight flow of people
which continues through to the gateline.
1119. What are those gates that one can see
on the left-hand side of photograph L?
(Mr Spencer) They are shutters, so when they
close the station those are shut.
6 Committee Ref: A16, Liverpool Street Station Survey
Data: Crossrail-Mezzanine Level AM Peak (0700-1000) (SCN-20060125-004). Back
7
Committee Ref: A16, Liverpool Street Station Photographs-Concourse
level Field of Vision Plan (SCN-20060125-005). Back
8
Committee Ref: A16, Liverpool Street Station Photographs- (SCN-20060125-006). Back
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