how was your travel tonight?

[Ernest]

A common theme I'm seeing is something I said on Saturday:

Albion fans have to help other Albion fans - move all the way down each and every carriage on every train to give others a chance to get on.

Exactly. No point having room inside the train if the doorways are packed and nobody can get on

 

[Ernest]

One thing I noticed was we were on a 8 carriage train from Falmer to Lewes, but only the front 5 Carriage's had access to Lewes Platform, luckily we were in the 2nd carriage so we got off no trouble. While we were waiting for the Newhaven train the stream of people coming off the 5th carriage was endless! Must of been there for 8-10 minutes waiting for everyone to get off the end carriages. Surely they could let all people of from carriages 1-5 shut the doors, move forward to allow carriages 6-8 access to the platform for a much quicker stop and not hold up trains that would be coming behind from Falmer?

Can't be done, doors are computer controlled by GPS and will only open for the front 5 coaches at Lewes. Needs to be marshalled at Falmer and people need to learn to walk to the front or be ready to walk through and alight at Lewes from the front 5.

 

[APACHE]

Why were carriages leaving empty to Lewes? at the spurs game they were counting the numbers of people onto the platform to fill the trains. if the train takes 300, let 300 onto the platform.Also why is the Southern website not telling us the no. of trains leaving after the game, yesterday before the game it showed only 2 in the 1st hour going to Eastbourne and 1 of those had a very tight chang e at Lewes.

 

[Thimble Keegan]

I do not want to come across like I am complaining and I appreciate that t is still very early days but the trains need looking at . I am pretty sure the whole thing can be made a hell of a lot easier by just adding a few more carriages onto services.

Coming over on Saturday, by the time we left Worthing the train was pretty much full of Albion and after Shoreham the thing was completely rammed…This meant no one could get on at either Portslade or Hove. If they just chucked on a couple more carriages it would have been fine. Getting home afterwards is not so much of a problem as, although the majority will head straight for the station, there are plenty of people who hang around for a drink therefore it is a little easier. Also, there is the bonus that being a Saturday afternoon, there is plenty of time to get trains into Brighton and then a connection to the Worthing/Littlehampton area.

However, evening games are a different kettle of fish entirely as unfortunately, trains do not through the night! I left on the final whistle and taking the northern stairs from the West Stand Upper the exit is one of the closest to the station. But even by the time we got there the que was immense. As we ambled slowly forward I started to get slightly apprehensive that I would miss my final connection back to Angmering. On the whole though, I think the staff at the station do a decent job of the crowd control and manage access onto the platforms quite well.

As we approached the turn to head under the bridge, I looked onto the platform to find the end closest Brighton deserted. I then saw that the front of the train was further back so that must have been a 3 coach service. It would appear that once again, just a couple of extra coaches per train would shift people quicker and that should have been longer train. Had it been bigger service I probably would have made it on board, it would have been a squeeze, but I would have got on. Thankfully we went onto the platform and straight down the front and boarded the next train, where unbelievably there was plenty of room. People were running down and making onto the train at last minute and were able to sit down…All this when there were still hundred’s of people queing outside the station.

I made the penultimate connection home getting back to Angmering Station at about 11:15pm…God knows what happens if we ever run into extra-time at the end of a cup game. Now, I am not moaning at the club as, essentially it is not there responsibility but it would be nice if representation could be made to Southern on our behalf. The vast majority of those travelling by train will be heading back into Brighton because a) they live there, and; b) to get a connection west-wards. I know they are using the scheduled services but surely they can put on a couple of extra trains or even just one…Failing that just chuck on a few more carriages.

Also I am all for cramming people on in the style of the Japanese Metro as it is only for about an 8 minute journey…The aim should be to get the site cleared as soon possible….Obviously, they will not all travel by train but the extra 8,000 that we will have in a couple of seasons or so will only add to the issue.

Now, having read this all back it sounds like a right rant, but it is not intended to be, I just believe extra carriages and even maybe an extra or 2 will make things a whole lot easier. The whole experience is new to everyone but I am confident it will all get ironed out in due course.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Rustington BHA

 

[adrian29uk]

Can't be done, doors are computer controlled by GPS and will only open for the front 5 coaches at Lewes. Needs to be marshalled at Falmer and people need to learn to walk to the front or be ready to walk through and alight at Lewes from the front 5.

I got caught out last week. Ended up in bloody Polegate. Nobody told me we had to be in the first five carriages for Lewes.

 

[Notters]

Why were carriages leaving empty to Lewes? at the spurs game they were counting the numbers of people onto the platform to fill the trains. if the train takes 300, let 300 onto the platform.Also why is the Southern website not telling us the no. of trains leaving after the game, yesterday before the game it showed only 2 in the 1st hour going to Eastbourne and 1 of those had a very tight chang e at Lewes.

The amount the train holds depends on how many people are already on the train and they don't know that, do they?

 

[gjh1971]

An hour for me too.

The car park is an utter shambles. A complete free for all, with not ONE steward anywhere to be seen, until you got to the exit barrier, where EIGHT of them were stood chatting and joking. Piss take.

If they don't find a way of improving it, it will cause real issues with the genuine corporate clientele. How can somebody invite a business guest to an event, then sit there embarrassed in their car for over an hour afterwards, whilst utter anarchy reigns all around them. If they do nothing to control the egress of traffic then there will be violence in that car park, guaranteed.

Totally agree, no one was following the arrows, cars were cutting diagonally across the car park rather than follow the correct route, and no stewards until the exit. Took an hour to get out last night, Lua Lua was in front of me in the queue and looked like he was really frustrated. Bennetts Field needs to be sorted quick, Ive got home quicker from some London games. Bizarelly, left on the final whistle after Donny and got straight out, home in 20 minutes

 

[gjh1971]

Holding the cars in the Bennetts Field C/P is deliberate and designed to enable the buses/coaches etc to get away first. This is to minimise the post-match congestion in Village Way etc; it was all indicated in the planning application.
Bennetts Field C/P is not a permanent feature either, the club has approval for three years only, after which the area has to be returned to its original state.

They were certainly not held back after the Doncaster game, maybe I just got lucky

 

[eastlondonseagull]

Left on the full time whistle, got the 22:15 Brighton train, back in LA by 11ish. Long queues behind me at Falmer station, you need to be quick off the mark when leaving the stadium.

Interesting, that. According to Trainline etc, that's the only train that'll connect with services that'll get me back to south east London after evening games.
Didn't go last night, but fear I may have to miss final whistle in future, if that's the case. Or sprint like crazy!

 

[brakespear]

Got to West Worthing station about 23:10 - 45 minute queue at Falmer after leaving the East Stand. Not particular upset about that but if it had got much later it could've got worrying.

 

[Mendoza]

From reading this thread post match
Trains: Shambles
Buses: Shambes
Car Park: Shambles
P&R Mithras: Shambles
P&R Racecourse: Works Well
Private Coaches/Mini Buses: Works Well

this is for a crowd of 16,200...

 

[Storer 68]

i don't think the trains were a shambles at all (can't speak for the buses, the p&r or the car parks), It was pretty well organised and stewarded, from my experience. I put a watch on it, and from leaving the club shop I was home in Hassocks (change of trains at Brighton) in 47 minutes. So its about the same as the Goldstone and Withdean, and considerably better than the 3 hours on a cold leaky double decker to get back from Priestfield.

I think people have just got to chill and just be sensible and safe

 

[Sheebo]

SIGNS are needed.

I was on the same train as you lord B - about a 50 min wait which wasn't good. I usually get the coach so rather than trawl through these 10 pages can somebody tell me simply are Saturday games seemingly easier - are there more trains and is / was the wait shorter?

 

[ROSM]

From reading this thread post match
Trains: Shambles
Buses: Shambes
Car Park: Shambles
P&R Mithras: Shambles
P&R Racecourse: Works Well
Private Coaches/Mini Buses: Works Well

this is for a crowd of 16,200...

think that's a bit harsh. More like;

Trains - mixed view on way there (for example I was on an additional direct service from Brighton at 6.28 and it was good), crowded on way home with delays and poor queue management/ expectations of lead times

Buses - mixed experience with services cancelled

Car park - uni worked well but bennets field, by design, has problems that need ironing out/ expectations managed

P&r Mithras - okay there, mixed feedback back. Early ones worked well but later ones a problem caused by getting onto a27

P&r racecourse -good

Private buses and coaches - good

P&r mill road - shambles both ways in terms of time taken and queue management

Special buses - okay

And this for a 16,200 crowd at a first evening game with double the planned for gate and without the added benefit of staying and staggering journeys

 

[BensGrandad]

I don't think that the trains were 'a shambles' but certainly could have been a lot better. I know virtually nothing about trains so perhaps somebody who does know like Ernest can explain why they cannot have a train sitting at Falmer for when the match finishes that can leave immediately it is full, as there are not that many trains on that line: that would ease the initial surge and then rely on the normal timetable thereafter.

 

[BensGrandad]

This is what amazes me the estimation of the gate as I would have thought that anybody would have realized the crowd would have been well over the 10k figure and as it happened it was about what I expected, in fact slightly lower as I predicted 17k.

 

[CHAPPERS]

From reading this thread post match
Trains: Shambles
Buses: Shambes
Car Park: Shambles
P&R Mithras: Shambles
P&R Racecourse: Works Well
Private Coaches/Mini Buses: Works Well

this is for a crowd of 16,200...

Shambles, at the moment.

I don't think anyone can predict what the movements of that amount of people that given evening will be. When more non sths go it'll confuse things more.

After a few games I think people using Mill Road will move to Mithras or Racecourse and alleviate that issue, some may start to walk and some train users will use buses. I reckon it'll be fine after a few games, it just all needs to bed in.

Of course, loads of people will soon start driving and parking in Coldean too.

22,500 people getting away from one place at the same tim is hard and there will always be queues, we must learn patience for now.

 

[Falmer Flutter ©]

Interesting, that. According to Trainline etc, that's the only train that'll connect with services that'll get me back to south east London after evening games.
Didn't go last night, but fear I may have to miss final whistle in future, if that's the case. Or sprint like crazy!

There were definitely a couple of trains, possibly unscheduled, that came in quick succession after that 22:15 one. We got on a train at around 22:27. Had a bit of a wait at Brighton for a London Bridge train, then had a 30-minute wait there for my final train back to Petts Wood near Bromley. Finally got in at 1.30. Funnily enough, despite it taking almost four hours to get home after the final whistle, I thought the operation around the station was pretty slick and it was the annoying waits for further connections that drained the morale. Nothing the club can do about that.

 

[Hotchilidog]

think that's a bit harsh. More like;

Trains - mixed view on way there (for example I was on an additional direct service from Brighton at 6.28 and it was good), crowded on way home with delays and poor queue management/ expectations of lead times

Buses - mixed experience with services cancelled

Car park - uni worked well but bennets field, by design, has problems that need ironing out/ expectations managed

P&r Mithras - okay there, mixed feedback back. Early ones worked well but later ones a problem caused by getting onto a27

P&r racecourse -good

Private buses and coaches - good

P&r mill road - shambles both ways in terms of time taken and queue management

Special buses - okay

And this for a 16,200 crowd at a first evening game with double the planned for gate and without the added benefit of staying and staggering journeys

Agree with this. Going through all the posts re travel last night there seem to be a fair few people who had little or no problems, myself included.

Also I think that a lot of the problems experienced by those who had a bad time could be addressed with better planning and crowd management by the club.

It is also clear that further discussions with Southern Trains and B&H buses are neccessary. I sincerely hope that the constructive criticism posted here will be read by the club, as I do not think the problems are insurmountable.

 

[Surrey Phil]

My mate didn't get back to Seaford until 12:30 because of the trains but it is strange that the trains worked very well for Tottenham & Doncaster games on a Saturday but clearly something was amiss last night. So is this just a midweek issue with the trains?