Overview

Marylebone Station is one of London's main train terminuses. It is one of the smallest. Trains from there go to places such as Oxford, Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon and Kidderminster. I only used the station on my outward journey as I had already booked to travel back into another London terminus.

Transport & Parking

There is an entrance to Marylebone Tube Station in the railway station. Howev3er, the tube station is not step free. A number of buses stop close by on the Marylebone Road. From there it is a few minutes to the station and the road is just slightly uphill, but not steep. There is a taxi rank immediately outside the station.

Access

The station when open has its entrance gates wide open and people the entrance is step free and level with the street. There is no cobblestone on the floor just flat paving stones at the entrance. The station is step free throughout, with concourse, platforms, shops and all amenities on the ground floor. Compared to other London main line stations this one is relative compact. There is seating in the concourse. However, there is an issue with poor signage. On arrival I followed the sign, see photo, looking for the accessible toilet and special assistance meeting point. I found that the special assistance meeting point was pointing in the wrong direction. I had to go to the ticket office to find out where to go. The meeting point is at the ticket barriers but there is no sign there to tell you, you've found it. There was no further signage for the accessible toilets and I ended up walking the entire length of the concourse to find them.

Toilets

I am scoring the toilets as zero as I could not use the accessible toilet safely due to the lack of suitable grab rails. There is a lack of signage to direct you to the toilet. There are two accessible toilets. One next to the men's toilets and the other by the women's toilets. Both have manual door, require a RADAR key, have an emergency cord, are spacious and clean. After walking the entire length of the concourse I found the accessible toilet next to the men's toilet. I was unable to use this toilet as it was not safe. There were 2 horizontal grab rails by the toilet. One at the side and one at the back of the toilet, see photo. I would not be able to pull myself put. I then went looking to see if there was another accessible toilet. I ended up going to the ticket office for directions and she told me it was immediately opposite the ticket office by the women's toilets. This toilet had an out of order sign on it and no helpful information about where an alternative accessible toilet was. Although it was out of order I opened the door to see what the grab rails were like. This time there was a single horizontal grab rail and a vertical one. Again for safety reasons I was unable to use it. I then spoke to staff and the arrange to open my train doors early so I could use the accessible toilet on the train.

Staff

Staff were very friendly, helpful and supportive. At the information desk I was directed to the 2nd accessible toilet and the special assistance meeting point. I asked to speak to the station manager about the signage and accessible toilets. I spoke with Marie, who took notes about what I said, she looked at the photos which I had taken. She is going to report it and follow it up. She took my details so I could get notified of the decision. I also expressed my concern that there maybe other Chiltern Railways run station that have the same and she was going to raise this as well. She asked what could be done to resolve the problem immediately. She arranged for the train doors of the train I was going to be travelling on to be opened early so I could go to the toilet safely and she personally drove me in the buggy and checked that the toilet met my needs before she left. The staff, especially Marie, the station manager, are a credit to their company. They are solution focused and helpful. I felt heard and that this was going to be followed up. On the journey back I travelled into Paddington, so this was my only interaction with the station.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The accessible toilets are extremely disappointing. I see from the previous review photos from 2015 and 2017, that the accessible toilets did not have appropriately fitted grab rails back then. I am hoping this will now be addressed. Barring the accessible toilet situation, the station is a really good choice to use if you are looking for somewhere less busy and not too large or overwhelming. From here you can get to Oxford (which is where I went) instead of from Paddington and it also goes to Birmingham, instead of from Euston. It also goes to Stratford Upon Avon. On the train I travelled on it was one stop to Wembley, which provides an alternative to the underground. Staff were exceptional, so helpful and responsive. Huge thanks to them.

Photos