Time-lapse à St Pancras International et Gare du Nord

There is an apparent choreographing of the people moving through the station spaces which encourages a smoothness of flow, a holding of people in certain spaces as certain times, and so an avoidance of crowding (where visibility may be reduced and in turn illicit activities such as pick-pocketing taking place). This becomes evident when looking at the time-lapse taken of the Midlands trains platforms. Here clear patterns or cycles form, with gathering to the left in front of the entry ticket gates and, once the disembarking passengers have moved through, this group being let through and the crowd dispersing. Equally, when it came to observing the underground entrance into the station, it was interesting how people rarely lingered or were stationary at this access point. People seemed to move relatively deliberately into/out of and through this point with limited congestion. This might be a product of the people taking this route routinely (so there's no need to stop) but equally could be a product of the view of signs, timetables, departure boards etc. provided by the accent up the escalator or the need to move away from there to actually be able to see them clearly. There was also no apparent central, congested area where people would all stand and wait. Again, there is potentially security produced in the smoothness of flow, not just in terms of crime, but also in terms of health and safety.