[Travel] Train disruption Tonight (Cup versus Liverpool)

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

So at 6.49 last night I left Brighton station on an EMPTY 8 carriage train that went to Lewes and only stopped at Falmer.

All this whilst the huge crowds were being held outside.


The only way I was able to do this was by coming down from London and being ‘in front’ of the ticket barriers and on Platform 6 already, where the train left from.

When I asked if the train would be letting football fans on, the staff said they didn’t know, so we left empty with thousands waiting.

Totally inept.

This has got nothing to do with Rolling Stock, length of trains, which company is the current operator, just incompetent staff at Brighton station.

An empty train leaving Brighton station whilst thousands stand queing the other side of the barriers....

 

[Weststander]

I think (and my geography might be wrong here) that they'd have to exit the same way as the Bridge/BACA car park. Which is already chaos.

I'm lucky enough to be able to cycle most games and it's by far the best way. However it's now increasingly hard to find a a covered space to chain your bike within an hour of kickoff (I'm guessing lots have the same ideas), and on Weds I was caught for a good 25 mins trying to get through the train crowds.

Buses, cabs etc are only going to make a tiny dent in this. You need to be able to clear the stadium with trains. I've seen it done amazingly at the Allianz Arena in Munich, and as a regular NFL attendee I've seen Wembley get more efficient every year. I know both have bigger stations, more lines feeding in etc but they're also both 3x the size. For midweek games, they just need to make clearing the Amex the priority for an hour and adjust everything along the coast line geared towards that. Council/Government/whoever needs to step in and make this happen.

Bike storage covers - I might make my second ever email to the club/PBOBE and ask that they also cover the bike rack opposite.

 

[Weststander]

No joke I've just found this image hidden in the sauce code of the clubs website.

View attachment 191601

Our ever so lucky descendants.

 

[seagullwedgee]

Why does bike storage need covers? Surely bikes are waterproof? If you get on it and cycle when it’s raining, both you and the bike get wet, from rain coming down, and spray coming up. So why does bike storage need covers?

 

[Brovion]

At the risk of repeating earlier posts on this thread it all works perfectly fine at the weekend. Wolves was one of the easiest to/from train journeys I’ve done.

And it all goes to shit on weekday evening matches. Every. Single. Time. The rolling stock issues @jackalbion talks about are not getting solved, but they’re also not something Martin Perry, Connex or the late Lord B could have foreseen. It’s a product of rail privatisation still relying on a broke and useless government.

Well the railways had been privatised by then, so we did know what the future would hold (all costs cut to drive profits). The point I was making was that the whole 'travel by train' argument was glossed over, people just talked about 'getting to Falmer', the differences between weekend and midweek train services were hardly mentioned. (They were occasionally by rail insiders - who were told to sush as we needed to put out a united front. There will be no problems). And of course as you say even with the privatised trains to a large extent that's true, but the current weekday shitshow is the sound of chickens coming home to roost.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Why does bike storage need covers? Surely bikes are waterproof? If you get on it and cycle when it’s raining, both you and the bike get wet, from rain coming down, and spray coming up. So why does bike storage need covers?

Because it's nice to sit on a dry rather than wet saddle - especially if it's been raining but isn't massively heavy.

Most cyclists also leave their helmet etc chained to their bike, and I also change in and out of waterproof gear (it goes over my other clothes, not stripping down on the concourse) on rainy days under the shelter, which would be a bit tricky and defeat the object in the rain.

It's not essential but every cyclist is one less person squeezing onto a train, taking up a bus seat or a car parking space so makes sense for the club to make it as positive an experience as possible.

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Because it's nice to sit on a dry rather than wet saddle - especially if it's been raining but isn't massively heavy.

Most cyclists also leave their helmet etc chained to their bike, and I also change in and out of waterproof gear (it goes over my other clothes, not stripping down on the concourse) on rainy days under the shelter, which would be a bit tricky and defeat the object in the rain.

It's not essential but every cyclist is one less person squeezing onto a train, taking up a bus seat or a car parking space so makes sense for the club to make it as positive an experience as possible.

While i understand your gripe, the park and ride queue isn't covered, the train queue isn't covered, the walkway to the car parks isn't covered. Covering the bike racks isn't going to suddenly help clear a midweek train queue.

 

[crabface]

Most importantly, has everyone made it home yet?

 

[ATFC Seagull]

While i understand your gripe, the park and ride queue isn't covered, the train queue isn't covered, the walkway to the car parks isn't covered. Covering the bike racks isn't going to suddenly help clear a midweek train queue.

I don't have a gripe - I've never not got one of the covered spots.

But covers for bike racks can be bought for a few hundred quid and installed in an afternoon. so it's quite an easy thing to do that has absolutely nothing to do with park and ride or train queues. Apart from it might keep people cycling and not using the above.

 

[Professor Plum]

Where would you suggest this shuttle starts and finishes, there is nowhere at Falmer to park say a dozen buses to pick up and where are these buses coming from when there are none spare

What is that big empty car park for, the one next to East Stand. There’s the bit at the front where possibly the players and officials park (I once noticed Pedro heading towards it anyway), then above that is quite a big empty space. Every time I glance out of the East Upper Windows I see this massive empty car park and wonder what it’s for.

 

[el punal]

What is that big empty car park for, the one next to East Stand. There’s the bit at the front where possibly the players and officials park (I once noticed Pedro heading towards it anyway), then above that is quite a big empty space. Every time I glance out of the East Upper Windows I see this massive empty car park and wonder what it’s for.

Bennett’s Field - suggest you look up previous posts regarding everything to do with it. You can spend the next three days engrossed in the goings on.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I don't have a gripe - I've never not got one of the covered spots.

But covers for bike racks can be bought for a few hundred quid and installed in an afternoon. so it's quite an easy thing to do that has absolutely nothing to do with park and ride or train queues. Apart from it might keep people cycling and not using the above.

Also beats having to chain it to a fence

 

[Professor Plum]

I don't have a gripe - I've never not got one of the covered spots.

But covers for bike racks can be bought for a few hundred quid and installed in an afternoon. so it's quite an easy thing to do that has absolutely nothing to do with park and ride or train queues. Apart from it might keep people cycling and not using the above.

I used to go to SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga nearly every fortnight when I lived in those parts. They have 4,000 fans who regularly cycle so there are big bike parks everywhere around the ground. For the rest of us there was a constant stream of trams from the station/city centre to outside the ground. These would be increased in frequency on match days. For some reason they were able to find a good, easy solution to the task of getting fans to and from a ground outside the city centre. For us Brits this remains a problem to be left in the "too hard, not my responsibility" file.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Why does bike storage need covers? Surely bikes are waterproof? If you get on it and cycle when it’s raining, both you and the bike get wet, from rain coming down, and spray coming up. So why does bike storage need covers?

Aye its a wonder why they put a roof on the stadium…after all we are waterproof

 

[Heffle Gull]

I tried that once, and yes it was raining, thinking this is a clever ploy. The result was two Brighton bound trains pulled in while I was still waiting for the Lewes train. Best laid plans and all that.

I wasnt thinking of those heading to Brighton, (although I have often wondered if it would be better to head to Brighton and then back to Lewes). More those who are headng to Eastbourne and Seaford who for some reason don't want to change at Lewes even though it can be quicker to do so (Eastbourne bound in particular).

 

[Professor Plum]

Bennett’s Field - suggest you look up previous posts regarding everything to do with it. You can spend the next three days engrossed in the goings on.

Ah so that’s Bennet's Field. I’ve often seen it mentioned here but didn’t know that was it. OK. Seems like a massive waste of useful space at the moment, regardless of future plans for it.

 

[Gazwag]

What is that big empty car park for, the one next to East Stand. There’s the bit at the front where possibly the players and officials park (I once noticed Pedro heading towards it anyway), then above that is quite a big empty space. Every time I glance out of the East Upper Windows I see this massive empty car park and wonder what it’s for.

Yes I imagine a load of buses somehow negotiating 1,000's of fans between the railway bridge where the players park and the exit would be simple and not unsafe at all, you may as well say there is a massive green area in the centre of the stadium to park buses or are you talking about Bennetts Field area, that doesn't belong the club

 

[Gazwag]

No joke I've just found this image hidden in the sauce code of the clubs website.



View attachment 191601

Looks like we are home to Leeds

 

[Dave the hatosaurus]

This has got nothing to do with Rolling Stock, length of trains, which company is the current operator, just incompetent staff at Brighton station.

An empty train leaving Brighton station whilst thousands stand queing the other side of the barriers....

I presume that platform 6 is not directly accessible from the gate where the queue is and it would have been problematic to direct people from the front of the queue round to that platform especially if it meant moving barriers. If that was the case it still beggars the question as to why the train was departing from that platform and not the end ones?
Maybe @jackalbion could help.

 

[Professor Plum]

Yes I imagine a load of buses somehow negotiating 1,000's of fans between the railway bridge where the players park and the exit would be simple and not unsafe at all, you may as well say there is a massive green area in the centre of the stadium to park buses or are you talking about Bennetts Field area, that doesn't belong the club

No need for such a snidey response.