Transport watchdog London TravelWatch has described a decision by the Office of Rail and Road as ‘incredible’, amid a new controversy which has flared up about the safety of London Euston. 

The station was at the centre of allegations during the summer that before rail minister Lord Hendy had joined the government and was chair of Network Rail, he had warned a company that it was risking future contracts unless it took action against an employee who had criticised the overcrowding at Euston as dangerous.

Guardian journalist Barney Ronay posted on X a few days ago that Euston is ‘easily, easily the worst main station in Western Europe’. He continued: ‘It’s like being taken away to be machine gunned in the woods by various mobile phone and soft drinks companies. Congrats to everyone involved.’

Now London TravelWatch has joined the fray, saying that ‘it is when train services are disrupted that the station really struggles to cope, with high levels of overcrowding putting passengers in danger’.

LTW has discussed its concerns with Network Rail, saying that ‘yet passengers are still having to rush to platforms due to last minute announcements, staff appear overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people involved and the recently-installed information screens seem to have done little if anything to make things better’.

In a statement, it continued: ‘It is almost a year since the Office of Rail and Road issued an improvement notice to Network Rail regarding the station, but it seems little has changed. We are also very concerned that the situation will only worsen if new operators are successful in their recent applications to run additional services.

’Incredibly, the ORR closed its improvement notice following actions taken and commitments made by Network Rail. In May, the Transport Select Committee asked Network Rail for further detail on these actions, which aim to improve the management of passenger flows at Euston. These details now need to be published and reviewed as a matter of urgency.’

Network Rail, which manages Euston as part of its portfolio of 19 larger stations, said: ’Euston was designed for a different era and we acknowledge that it is in need of major investment and modernisation.

‘However, safety is at the heart of our operation and something we would never compromise on in any of our stations.

’For the majority of the time the station works; however, during times of disruption, there simply isn’t enough room for passengers, and we know this can make for an uncomfortable and unpleasant environment.’

The first Euston was opened in 1837 as the terminus of the newly-built London and Birmingham Railway, but after being enlarged more than once it was demolished in the 1960s as part of the electrification and modernisation of the main line to Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

The new Euston was opened by the Queen in 1968, when British Rail said the terminus was ‘at your service with every modern amenity’.