Excellent news! Thanks for the update.

I'd like to know when this sacred ritual of the 'Opening of the Gate' commences as when I came through this afternoon it was closed, so we had to go on to Sydenham.

And when we got to Sydenham we were told there was no access on the upside due to works to the barriers. The staff refused to offer help with getting the buggy over the bridge.

So we had to find a bus home. Taking into account the roadworks at Cobbs Corner we decided the most logical place to wait was Westwood Hill just after the Lawrie Park Road junction. However 30 minutes later it transpired after an expensive call to Tfl that the 176 was no longer coming down Lawrie Park Road and up Westwood but continuing up Crystal Palace Park Road to the Sydenham Hill junction. So we had to catch a bus to Crystal Palace, change and get another one to Forest Hill. Nice day out, much of which was spent trying to get from Sydenham to Forest Hill, a trip which alone took 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Just be aware, that if you have accessibility needs and decide to go out somewhere for the day, you may not be able to get back... Its ridiculous that they have made it impossible for people to use both the Perry Vale exit and the accessible route via Sydenham. Discriminatory or what.

I got a response yesterday to my email to Jim Dowd's office about the gate:

Mr Dowd is aware of the problems you have raised regarding the closure of the gate on platform 2 at Forest Hill station.

Further information received today suggests that this matter may have been resolved but Mr Dowd is requesting confirmation that this is the case.

When further information is received we will contact you again.

Excelent news - thanks Luja!

I caught the last train back last night and the side gate was closed. It was, however, unlocked and I was able open it and exit to Perry Vale - this was after midnight. Hopefully the locking of it today was a one-off mistake.

Another email from Jim Dowd's office:

"Further to my e-mail yesterday, Mr Dowd has been in contact with Yvonne Leslie of Southern Trains, who has confirmed the the gate on platform 2 will remain open whilst trains are running so it will not be closed at 8.00pm.

Mr Dowd hopes that this is helpful and he will monitor the situation. If you have any further concerns please do not hesitate to contact us again."

So if it's closed we now know to chase Yvonne Leslie at Southern!
Hopefully that's the end of the saga now...

It was open am today at 8.58.

Hopefully they will care more about Public Attitude as they have retained their franchise.

Nice new gates. Could not help thinking quite easy for fare crims evaders to jump over.

Very anoyed open as I said at 9am yesterday went for 9.27 am today and missed it because gate closed.
Noticed closed on my returne at 12.15 ish.

Can we have from Southern times they will keep to.

I can of course mail Mr Dowd but does anyone know the e mail address of this Yvonne at Southern??

020 8929 8674
yvonne.leslie@southernrailway.com

I found it open at around 7pm this evening... very strange.

Yes it is not knowing that is part of the problem. This more of a problem catching a train as one does not know whether to risk going to the No 2 entrance or not.
I have mailed Yvonne and will advise reply

Brian,

My apologies to you for the gate being closed and you missing your train yesterday.

To confirm, the gate will be open at all times and this will now include weekends ? both Saturday and Sunday.

Do let me know if you think this is not happening or if you hear of others in the community who believe it is not the case and I can confirm to them also.



Regards,

Reply recd from Yvonne at Southern



Yvonne

If you use Twitter, please find below a link which tells you how to receive Tweets for real time train-running information from any (or all) of 25 train operating companies and also from Tweeting travellers.

http://uktrains.pbworks.com/FrontPage

And you can Tweet if you ever find the Perry Vale gate shut during operating hours and Southern Railways (and others) will know!

I got a note from Yvonne today to let me know that from Thursday the gates on the Perry Vale entrance will be fully operational, meaning you will have to swipe or insert tickets to get through the gates.

When the gates are not manned they should be left open to provide unhindered access to and from the platform.

I have been concerned about queues backing up the stairs when these gates begin operating. Hopefully everybody will go through efficiently, using all gates available. Please be aware of others, especially if it is raining and dark. I hope that my worries are unnecessary, but please post if you experience any problems.

I still think that the only way this exit can handle the numbers of people using it is to add another entrance to the Perry Vale car park.

It's going to be carnage. It's bad enough while the gates are open.

I can forsee queues up the steps. Eventually, one day, someone will trip, fall or push from behind resulting in a domino effect and some serious injuries.

To say that implementation of this gated complex is short sighted is not being derisive enough.

Please don't tell me they havent thought of lighting the steps?!!!! Can't believe it if thats the case. I suppose we can only watch and monitor the situation a la health and safety.

I hope they sort out the wheelchair/buggy exit and make sure that is working to allow two way traffic. I stood for a long time at the main entrance the other day waiting for a member of the counter staff to let me through to the platform as the wider gate was only enabled to let people pass from the platform to the street. I can't see why it can't be programmed to allow two way access.

I was wondering what's the point of the barriers on Platform 2 since they are always open. When I go to work in the morning at 9am they are open and when I come back at 7 or 8pm they are open again.

Not that I care about it, since for me it was fine even before when we didn't have barriers at all, but since I guess they have spent a lot of money to install them, why not keeping them closed?

Does anybody know when the new footbridge over the tracks will be built - the one with the lifts? Or is this yet another promise that has been forgotten about?

I see they are finally starting to install a ticket machine on the Perry Vale entrance. Workmen are placing the concrete footing today, so hopefully we can avoid having to go around to the front of the station each time.

Hurrah!

New bridge?? Must have missed this somewhere!