With permission from Bozza, an idea I thought I'd float...

[Thunder Bolt]

stay in the concourse until its easier to get home - there's loads to do .... and a big shop

That's ok on a Saturday afternoon, but those games are going to be on a Tuesday evening finishing at 10pm. I would doubt that the shop will be open and trains are more limited after 6pm (hopefully it is agreed that more will be put on, just for a match night)

 

[darters74]

stay in the concourse until its easier to get home - there's loads to do .... and a big shop

Not for every game. There's only so many hot dogs/cokes my kids can eat/drink. I didnt see a bouncy castle!!!

 

[chucky1973]

I left Dicks bar at 6.40 on Saturday and there was still a big queue for the train into Brighton, and when we got into brighton there was no trains to Three Bridges for 35 minutes. Trying the Mill Road P&R tomorrow night, hope thats gonig to be ok. I like the idea of a seperate forum to dicsuss all possibilities and maybe options of car sharing as well

 

[darters74]

Not always practical to do this.

It's a great idea for the travel section Simster as like you Saturday was a one off as made a day of it and was in no hurry. I was in the Battle of Trafalgar too - nice pub!
Can't decide going forward if train all the way ( from Angmering) is best or park and bus or park in Coldean Lane and walk??

I think parking in Coldean Lane is the best option too, was gonna do this Saturday but my wife dropped me at ground......

 

[Notters]

My route works so well that I'm not sure I want to share it with everyone. Lingered around for a bit after the match and still back to 7 dials by 5.50. I have mentioned it on here before though.

 

[Simster]

[MENTION=17608]chucky1973[/MENTION] - Like your idea of car sharing, but IMO should be in a subforum of the main travel forum.

The way I see it, if people can't get away efficiently, then:
a) gates will dip badly next season, all things being equal. Season ticket holding needs to be convenient.
b) Planning permission for a 30,500 capacity is surely going to be harder to obtain

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

easy.
Before the match

get to the ground early
Drink in the bar

After the match
Drink in the bar
admire the queu waiting to get onto the staion
Have another drink in the bar
leave the ground late

Eeeeeees not complicated!

Quite right. For Saturdays generally that will be the plan.


However when its pissing down outside having been thumped 3 - 0 at Home to Millwall on a Tuesday in middle of Feb I think alot of people wont want to hang around after the game.

 

[Hotchilidog]

Good idea for a separate forum.

FWIW I got the 1.22 from brighton station and managed to get a seat at the front of the train and people could still squeeze in at London Rd and Moulsecomb. After the Spurs game I left the ground at 6.15 and was home by 6.30, saturday was there until I can't remember what the exact time was!

For the trains it seems to take up to an hour to clear the bulk of the crowd which is not too bad. I'd be interested in hearing how bus users got on as I would consider this mode of transport an alternative to the train.

 

[darters74]

My route works so well that I'm not sure I want to share it with everyone. Lingered around for a bit after the match and still back to 7 dials by 5.50. I have mentioned it on here before though.

Are you a Kenyan olympic runner?

 

[Arrid]

Is this thread for real! If so if we could have a separate forum for getting me the quickest route to my underpants draw on a Monday morning!

 

[Simster]

Quite right. For Saturdays generally that will be the plan.

No it won't. There is no way you will be happy to do your drinking at the stadium before the game, then again after the game on EVERY Saturday match. Maybe one or the other but not both, when there are PROPER pubs in central Brighton you could frequent.

 

[chucky1973]

I think parking in Coldean Lane is the best option too, was gonna do this Saturday but my wife dropped me at ground......

Would your wife be able to drop me and a few friends off as well,

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

It's going to take a while to bed down. I live in London and whilst generally I'm going to get to the Amex much earlier than Withdean for Saturday matches and then stay on for a pint or two after the game, I won't want to do this for evening games. Guess we'll see how it works tomorrow night although hard to guage how much we'll really learn as the attendance will be well short of capacity.

 

[Simster]

Is this thread for real! If so if we could have a separate forum for getting me the quickest route to my underpants draw on a Monday morning!

I'm curious. Do you have a family at home? Are you taking kids? Do you live in Brighton?

Clearly not everyone is going to have major transport issues, but others will.

 

[Betfair Bozo]

What was the cab rank situation? Any? Many? Would think there'd be hundreds willing to jump in a cab back into Brighton rather than wait an hour for a train. Many more so for the evening fixtures. Depends whether a fare from Falmer to Btn is worthwhile for the cabbies I suppose.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Surely it's impossible to work everything out until things have settled down and people have worked out their regular routines.

Saturday was a one off because the vast majority of people were in the stadium long before kick off (Richard Hebberd said there were 8 and 12 people on the last trains arriving at Falmer before 3pm). I arrived about 1:15, and didn't leave until about 2100. There were loads of people drinking in the West and North stand bars for hours after the game, so hopefully that will make things easier for those who do want/need to get away sharpish, but clearly with an evening game they'll be making other arrangements.

Other than that, I don't see what you can do. We've all known all along that there will be a bottleneck around the station. That's not unique to us. There are queues at every railway station that directly serves a reasonably large football stadium. You queue at Fratton. You queue at Upton Park. You queue at Charlton...all of those are stations about the same size or marginally bigger than Falmer.

I get the distinct impression that some people feel the Albion should be able to wave a magic wand and spirit everyone away from the Amex instantly....IMHO a little dose of realism is required here, whether you're travelling with kids or with your 90 year old granny. Sometimes in life, we have to wait a little while for things we want. 20,000 people leaving a small area at once are unavoidably going to generate delays to some extent, so plan your days accordingly, and have a spoonful of patience.

 

[Arrid]

I'm curious. Do you have a family at home? Are you taking kids? Do you live in Brighton?

Clearly not everyone is going to have major transport issues, but others will.

Yes I do have a family.
I'm taking 2 young kids.
No I don't live in Brighton.

 

[Brovion]

The only downer on the whole Amex experience is the suck it and see approach to travel arrangements. I still don't know what my standard routine ought to be, and there must be a ton of people in this position.

So could we have a separate "Amex travel" forum? Strictly moderated, I'd suggest each thread details a specific route and people write their own experiences of that route in the thread.

So for example, "train to and from Brighton", "Mill Road park and ride" or "park and cycle to and from Stanmer Park" (I did notice the cycle spaces were underused, and so am considering a ten minute cycle to and from the ground if I can find a place to park)

Are most people already happy with their travel arrangements or are you still exploring alternatives? And if so, would this travel forum be worth having?

I'm opposed to separate forums - but actually I think that is a great idea. (After all we have got separate a forum for tickets).

And yes, I'm still looking at different ways, especially homewards, be good to hear other people's experiences and suggestions.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

No it won't. There is no way you will be happy to do your drinking at the stadium before the game, then again after the game on EVERY Saturday match. Maybe one or the other but not both, when there are PROPER pubs in central Brighton you could frequent.

With all due respect, how on earth do you know what he will or will not want to do?

If it means avoiding standing around at Falmer station for 45 minutes, then yes, I am quite happy to have another drink at the Amex, and I'm sure that's what TMLS is getting at too. You can then jump on a train an hour or so later, and go to all the pubs you want to in town.

 

[Hotchilidog]

Surely it's impossible to work everything out until things have settled down and people have worked out their regular routines.

Saturday was a one off because the vast majority of people were in the stadium long before kick off (Richard Hebberd said there were 8 and 12 people on the last trains arriving at Falmer before 3pm). I arrived about 1:15, and didn't leave until about 2100. There were loads of people drinking in the West and North stand bars for hours after the game, so hopefully that will make things easier for those who do want/need to get away sharpish, but clearly with an evening game they'll be making other arrangements.

Other than that, I don't see what you can do. We've all known all along that there will be a bottleneck around the station. That's not unique to us. There are queues at every railway station that directly serves a reasonably large football stadium. You queue at Fratton. You queue at Upton Park. You queue at Charlton...all of those are stations about the same size or marginally bigger than Falmer.

I get the distinct impression that some people feel the Albion should be able to wave a magic wand and spirit everyone away from the Amex instantly....IMHO a little dose of realism is required here, whether you're travelling with kids or with your 90 year old granny. Sometimes in life, we have to wait a little while for things we want. 20,000 people leaving a small area at once are unavoidably going to generate delays to some extent, so plan your days accordingly, and have a spoonful of patience.

Totally agree with this. To be honest I was actually expecting loads more travel horror stories from the last two weeks given the endless discussions on here re: the transport. It does seem that immediate post match crowd gets dispersed within the hour which is not too bad really. I suppose tomorrow will generate some tales of woe as it is the first evening game, but overall we seem to be coping okish at the moment.

And as for all the concerns about high profile games, it's not as if Leeds, West ham, Millwall etc have never travelled in large numbers to other games. I expect the police to do what they feel is necessary to make these games run as smoothly as possible.