Wembley Stadium after football matches

[gazthomas]

Get to the station first but the stewards insist we go down the platform not to the front. Where is the sense in that? Particularly given Marylebone is a terminus!

 

[telstarbox]

Maybe to spread people along the platform so that when the train comes in, it is loaded to capacity and evenly along its length?

 

[gazthomas]

I agree with you, but not fair if you get there early. Entrance is half way down the platform so that's not the issue

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Depends on what train is arriving at the station. The 2/3/4 car stop is at the bottom of the stairs.

 

[barrykas]

It's Chiltern's standard Wembley event plan, and is indeed to spread the load evenly through the length of the train.

One queue for Marylebone, with platform staff encouraging people to spread out, two for Northbound passengers (exact split depends on the event) and two for charter passengers (one Northbound, one Southbound) when they run.

 

[Flamingo]

Get to the station first but the stewards insist we go down the platform not to the front. Where is the sense in that? Particularly given Marylebone is a terminus!

It's crowd management.

I agree with you, but not fair if you get there early. Entrance is half way down the platform so that's not the issue

Life is not fair.

 

[ushawk]

It's Chiltern's standard Wembley event plan, and is indeed to spread the load evenly through the length of the train.

One queue for Marylebone, with platform staff encouraging people to spread out, two for Northbound passengers (exact split depends on the event) and two for charter passengers (one Northbound, one Southbound) when they run.

Its management for any station to do with high passenger volumes, thats why there is announcements of "Please use the full length of the platform".

The exact same happens at Falmer station after football at the stadium there - though its a bit more varied as 3, 4, 6 and 8 car trains stop there, though the station can only hold 7 coaches.

 

[RichmondCommu]

It's crowd management.

Life is not fair.

When it comes to fare paying customers it could be argued that response is not particularly appropriate.

 

[Flamingo]

When it comes to fare paying customers it could be argued that response is not particularly appropriate.

Ok, life's not fare, then!

 

[A-driver]

When it comes to fare paying customers it could be argued that response is not particularly appropriate.

So its better that compsnies leave the crowds to it and when they cause huge delays as everyone is piling on at the front set if doors or when someone gets caught in the crowd and goes under a train the company can say 'well at least it was fair'?!

You probably had to que for the football match and had paid for that to-is that also wrong?

Silly thing to say there. What would you prefer? An apology for making people spread along the platform?!

 

[87 027]

I think the OP is saying why is the platform filled up from the rear towards the front and not the other way round - so if you get there first you end up at the back of the train?

 

[Flamingo]

Because otherwise you get 80000 people trying to get into the front carriage...

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I think the OP is saying why is the platform filled up from the rear towards the front and not the other way round - so if you get there first you end up at the back of the train?

And it's been answered. The 2/3/4 car stop is at the bottom of the stairs on the up platform at Wembley. If the first people who arrived at the station got to wait there (for the front of the train) then everybody else would have to squeeze past them to get to other parts of the platform. It would create more problems than it solves.

 

[NSEFAN]

Either way it doesn't really matter. You'll get to your destination regardless of what part of the train you're in (in this case, at least. AFAIK Chiltern don't have any short platforms?)

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Getting to the ticket barrier 30 seconds before everybody else seems incredibly important to some people though. I'm not sure why, but almost every train heading towards a London terminal (and not just following football matches) will see the front coach of a train very overcrowded compared to the rest of it.

 

[Flamingo]

Getting to the ticket barrier 30 seconds before everybody else seems incredibly important to some people though. I'm not sure why, but almost every train heading towards a London terminal (and not just following football matches) will see the front coach of a train very overcrowded compared to the rest of it.

Not my First Class The few seconds they think they will save are more than taken up by the conversation with the RPI's charging a penalty fare for travelling in 1st on a STD ticket...

(Judicious use of a catering trolley helps as well)

 

[Statto]

Either way it doesn't really matter. You'll get to your destination regardless of what part of the train you're in (in this case, at least. AFAIK Chiltern don't have any short platforms?)

Agreed, some people really need to get a sense of perspective, is it really that hard after a 10-15 min journey to go the almost full length of the train from the platform to the ticket hall when the train arrives at it's terminous?

 

[gazthomas]

You're all too aggressive quite frankly...

 

[A-driver]

You're all too aggressive quite frankly...

Why out of interest? You wanted to know why you were not allowed to stand at the front and we told you why-because of crowd control. If they let everyone choose where to stand then it would quickly block up the platform entrance with lots of empty space further up. Plus it could lead to dangerous overcrowding which ultimately may lead to people falling onto the track, possibly infront of a train.

As has been said, what reason, apart from not wanting to walk at marylebone, is there not to stand where told to by staff who are not being awkward but trying to ensure that the maximum amount if people can get on the trains safely?

 

[IanD]

Agreed, some people really need to get a sense of perspective, is it really that hard after a 10-15 min journey to go the almost full length of the train from the platform to the ticket hall when the train arrives at it's terminous?

If the match finishes later than expected and you end up with a tight onward connection then being at the front of the train at Marylebone can be crucial, particularly if your train is parked a long way from the barriers and have a train load of doddering fans in front of you. Having made the effort to get to Wembley Stadium station early to increase your chance of making your connection it would be quite frustrating.

That's seems like a perfectly reasonable perspective to me.

 

[gazzak]

Slightly off topic, but I regularly go to the Isle of Wight to visit my folks, and I use the Red Funnel ferry service from Southampton. If you're there early, you are always put on the upper decks, (which are let off last), but if you get there late, you usually get put on the lower decks with the bigger vehicles, trucks and coaches. The lower decks are disembarked first and usually very quickly so that they can get the next load of big stuff on, whilst the upper decks are disembarked last and take an absolute age to leave.

So I always arrive at Southampton, (and East Cowes), as late as humanly possible, and it means I have a good 15 minutes time saved at the other end compared to being first in the queue to board.

That can't be right.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

If you fill up a cup with water then the water which you pour in first is the last to come out. Sometimes things just have to be that way. It seems odd that people get upset about such trivial matters.

 

[RPM]

I guess people just aren't used to being told where to stand on platforms. Imagine if the morning commuters at Beaconsfield and Gerrards X were told which end of the platform they had to stand at -there'd be a riot!
However WCX on match days is an exceptional situation and without preplanned systems in place that are rigidly enforced, things could quickly go seriously awry. It is not just the number of people there but the type of people that make this necessary - football fans are often drunk and rowdy so clear, firm & consistent instructions are important. This might deviate from what you would consider to be the normal rules of customer care but it is absolutely necessary and it has been proven to work.

 

[NSEFAN]

If the match finishes later than expected and you end up with a tight onward connection then being at the front of the train at Marylebone can be crucial, particularly if your train is parked a long way from the barriers and have a train load of doddering fans in front of you. Having made the effort to get to Wembley Stadium station early to increase your chance of making your connection it would be quite frustrating.

That's seems like a perfectly reasonable perspective to me.

Most lines in London will have at least a half hourly service throughout the day, so it's not that big a problem if you miss the connection. If you have advance tickets on an Intercity train, then the smart thing to do is to allow for the extra time / delays that might occur when you book the fares.

 

[Statto]

Most lines in London will have at least a half hourly service throughout the day, so it's not that big a problem if you miss the connection. If you have advance tickets on an Intercity train, then the smart thing to do is to allow for the extra time / delays that might occur when you book the fares.

Exactly, i was at Wembley with a couple of friends for the FA Vase final last Saturday, we didn't use AP tickets, but bought tickets that required to book seats on outward train, however we knew there could be extra time & penalties so didn't plan or book seats on any trains back which was to Wolverhampton.

Although we did use the tube to/from Wembley Park to Central London rather than the Chiltern Line.

 

[hilly]

Just be glad they let you on the platform - at cardiff central during millennium stadium events they have queues outside separated by destination, and only let the capacity of the train up to the platform when the train is ready

 

[IanD]

Most lines in London will have at least a half hourly service throughout the day, so it's not that big a problem if you miss the connection. If you have advance tickets on an Intercity train, then the smart thing to do is to allow for the extra time / delays that might occur when you book the fares.

Not everyone lives in London and as proved by the thread about the lack of return services on offer this weekend after the FA Cup final, for some destinations it's not alway possible to leave enough time to cover for every eventuality.

The smart thing to do would be to not use the railways at all to get to Wembley. I know my family, who will be travelling from Bradford for the play-off finals, will just drive to Stanmore and take the Jubilee line.

 

[Flamingo]

Just be glad they let you on the platform - at cardiff central during millennium stadium events they have queues outside separated by destination, and only let the capacity of the train up to the platform when the train is ready

:roll:
But then let them all get into the three carriages nearest the steps

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Just be glad they let you on the platform - at cardiff central during millennium stadium events they have queues outside separated by destination, and only let the capacity of the train up to the platform when the train is ready

They do that at Wembley Stadium too, although White Horse Bridge which spans the platforms at the station is where passengers will get sorted and held.