Running a shuttle train from Brighton to Falmer

[beorhthelm]

Looking at the stadium expansion scenario ... Since there is no extra parking or extra train capacity available to accommodate 7,500 extra spectators and a big bus can carry about 90 passengers, you'd need about 80 extra buses per game. £300 x 80 = £24,000 per game = £600,000 per season.

hmm, alot cheaper than the rail shuttle. maybe Bloom should start a coach business

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I still cannot see the point of the two carriage diesels that go to and from Ashford, as the line beyond Ore is not electrified why don't they terminate it there or Hastings and use a longer electric from there?

They already do (although at Eastbourne, not Hastings) for Saturday games.

But that was in the good old days when we had Saturday games. Remember them?

 

[Matrix10]

We need an eccentric billionaire to step up, either for a dedicated train line, or for a underground metro system to be built around Brighton, with the first route being a Falmer special

Good idea:
http://youtu.be/7yOqU4-zE5w

 

[Hunting 784561]

Brighton needs these

I'd like to see light rail or a tram run over the existing train lines, but :

"it'll never happen"

"who is going to pay for it"

blah blah blah.......

Am looking forward to seeing the clubs transport plan supporting the application for the extra seats - should make very interesting reading.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Seems to me the trains to/from Falmer are running at near capacity already, and fair play to them for going the extra mile to squeeze in a few footbal specials. IMHO buses should play much more of a part. Kick the private motorist out of Bennetts Fields and fill it with buses doing a constant shuttle Brighton - Falmer - Lewes - Falmer - Brighton for a couple of hours before and after matches. Those for intermediate stations i.e. Moulsecoombe and London Road could take the train in the normal way, as could those who need the speed of the train to Brighton or Lewes. Price it so the bus is cheaper than the train, or possibly free. Job done!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

What we need is:

"Well sir, there's nothing on earth like a genuine, bona fide, electrified six car monorail. What'd I say?"

"MONORAIL!"

 

[Mr Burns]

What we need to do, is get the council to sell us the field on Village Way South, and build a f***ing massive big carpark there. That land all the way round is ear marked for some sort of development I beleive (West of Falmer Road), so let get the ball rolling, and start with making a three thousand car car park.

Sure there will be delays getting away, but get some decent stewarding (not the human traffic cones we have at present directing traffic) and Bobs your uncle.

Problem is, whenever you get 30000 people leaving somewhere at the same time, you will have problems wioth delays for an hour afterwards. People just have to accept, this is Brighton, and land nearer the city centre is not there for a stadium, so deal with it!

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

OK. There are no spare buses.

We've already seen games where buses are having to be brought down from London to meet the requirements for transport to and from the Amex. At a guess (and it's an informed guess btw), this must be costing at least £300 a vehicle per game.

Looking at the stadium expansion scenario ... Since there is no extra parking or extra train capacity available to accommodate 7,500 extra spectators and a big bus can carry about 90 passengers, you'd need about 80 extra buses per game. £300 x 80 = £24,000 per game = £600,000 per season.

I won't go into the other problems, such as the fact that there is nowhere to park the extra buses and that bus drivers don't grow on trees. But it's a challenge. In my view, the only practical way to achieve good transport arrangements for an expanded stadium is to find extra parking capacity. And that may be a bigger challenge.

I heard yesterday that the overall train usage on wednesday evening was approx 45% of the gate (ie 10,000) - the "flawed" STH travel survey earlier this year indicated 30% and the figure quoted in the original planning application was 16/17%.

 

[The Large One]

What we need to do, is get the council to sell us the field on Village Way South, and build a f***ing massive big carpark there. That land all the way round is ear marked for some sort of development I beleive (West of Falmer Road), so let get the ball rolling, and start with making a three thousand car car park.

Sure there will be delays getting away, but get some decent stewarding (not the human traffic cones we have at present directing traffic) and Bobs your uncle.

Problem is, whenever you get 30000 people leaving somewhere at the same time, you will have problems wioth delays for an hour afterwards. People just have to accept, this is Brighton, and land nearer the city centre is not there for a stadium, so deal with it!

Two minor problems...

1. I'm pretty certain he council doesn't own the land on Village Way South.
2. Irrespective of who owns it, because it's a major development, the council wouldn't have planning authority for the land on Village Way South.

 

[DerbyGull]

I'd like to see light rail or a tram run over the existing train lines, but :

"it'll never happen"

"who is going to pay for it"

blah blah blah.......

Am looking forward to seeing the clubs transport plan supporting the application for the extra seats - should make very interesting reading.

It probably wouldn't even get past planning application, look how much hassle to get Falmer sorted. But it cost Nottingham a fortune and Edinburgh have almost given up theirs. Though it is worth it in the end.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Two minor problems...

1. I'm pretty certain he council doesn't own the land on Village Way South.
2. Irrespective of who owns it, because it's a major development, the council wouldn't have planning authority for the land on Village Way South.

Couldn't the club pay the Uni to lease every single parking space they own for a few hours 20-odd days a year? Maybe even offer to build them a new lecture hall or something as a sweetener? I'm sure in these cost-conscious days it would be possible to make the Uni an offer they'd find hard to refuse?

 

[Tooting Gull]

It is pretty clear from this thread and some of the posts on the Brighton station queues thread that while there can be some better utilisation of the trains, there is no way they can cope with an extra 8,000 without £100m-plus being spent (unlikely).

Even now, the emphasis on buses is not what it should be to pick up its share of the slack, let alone in the future.

Having seen it for a few games, it strikes me the club can help itself. There could be ads in the programme promoting use of buses, emails/texts/letters to STHs and other ticket buyers along the lines of 'Have you considered all the bus options, it can be quicker etc..', and making sure the away team's web site have all the details. To date the buses have been presented as one of several options, it needs to be pushed more as some will always assume the train is quicker.

It's a culture change that won't happen overnight. Take a big event like the Cheltenham Festival, with 55,000. Getting the bus 2/3 miles back to the station is the best option, you learn that over a year or two, and then it's second nature.

Certainly looks like it's going to have to be this and more parking.

 

[adrian29uk]

If I had the money I would a buy a field up from the stadium. Bribe the Councillors with money and free tickets to the Oympics for the 100m final so I could get planning permission.

I would then build a car park for 6 thousand cars. It could also be used for Brighton park and Ride system. The car park would be dug in to the hillside so you could not see it. I would build a tunnel that joins the A27 between Falmer and the junction for the A23 both sides.

The tunnel would be about a mile long.

Seriously we could get rid of 30,000 people easily. Why can't they put a match on the big screen after the match, keep people in the stadium, and then invite people to their buses at set times. They could then utilise all the buses for a particular route. I just cant see it working any other way.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

It probably wouldn't even get past planning application, look how much hassle to get Falmer sorted. But it cost Nottingham a fortune and Edinburgh have almost given up theirs. Though it is worth it in the end.

There is a question of where the lines would go. I was living in Manchester when they built their system in the early 1990s and with the exception of a small part of the city centre the bulk of the route followed former branch railways. Not only that I remember a number of complaints, particularly regarding the Altrincham line, about how the change to smaller trams from larger rail carriages had actually reduced the maximum volume of people that could be carried in a particular time span.

 

[southwickseagull]

What we need to do, is get the council to sell us the field on Village Way South, and build a f***ing massive big carpark there. That land all the way round is ear marked for some sort of development I beleive (West of Falmer Road), so let get the ball rolling, and start with making a three thousand car car park.

Sure there will be delays getting away, but get some decent stewarding (not the human traffic cones we have at present directing traffic) and Bobs your uncle.

Problem is, whenever you get 30000 people leaving somewhere at the same time, you will have problems wioth delays for an hour afterwards. People just have to accept, this is Brighton, and land nearer the city centre is not there for a stadium, so deal with it!

. But doesn't the Village Way south land fall into the National Park thingy?

 

[Mr Burns]

. But doesn't the Village Way south land fall into the National Park thingy?

No, I don't think it does. West of the Falmer Road is outside the park I beleive, and has been earmarked for development for years. The other side of Falmer Road, is an AONB and is in the park.

 

[Doc Lynam]

What about a tunnel

 

[Robot Chicken]

I suggested running a park and ride site from Brighton Marina/Black Rock. There is a scheduled bus service from there anyway to the stadium. Black Rock is unused at the moment and the Brighton Marina car park has free parking for 4 hours, maybe this could be extended for a couple of hours with a special token in the window, or special arrangement with the car park owners. Or even the Asda car park.

 

[Captain Sensible]

I suggested running a park and ride site from Brighton Marina/Black Rock. There is a scheduled bus service from there anyway to the stadium. Black Rock is unused at the moment and the Brighton Marina car park has free parking for 4 hours, maybe this could be extended for a couple of hours with a special token in the window, or special arrangement with the car park owners. Or even the Asda car park.

Now that is a good idea!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

No offence like, but there are people who work at the Uni who need spaces to park in as well!

Totally agree. But Saturday afternoons and weekday evenings must be off-peak times for the Uni shirley? How many people would actually be affected? A couple of dozen?