Eccles Road/Snetterton

[90sWereBetter]

I was at Snetterton race circuit yesterday watching the British Touring Car Championship, and whilst waiting for my lift home in the late afternoon, I pondered about Eccles Road station, which is only a mile or so away from the circuit. It's normally closed on Sundays, but I wondered if it would be feasible to be open on weekends when there are busy events taking place at Snetterton. The BTCC pulls about 30,000 to 40,000 spectators on the Sunday, so there could be a decent footfall if a couple of trains were scheduled to stop at the station during the day. The A11 and the local roads to the south are very busy in the morning and evening with spectators.

The issue I see is that the BTCC weekend is by some considerable distance the busiest and most important weekend the circuit sees (I think British GT and British Superbikes can pull five-figure crowds, but I'm not certain), so really it would only be one weekend out of 52 where it would be feasible to be open.

 

[jimm]

I was at Snetterton race circuit yesterday watching the British Touring Car Championship, and whilst waiting for my lift home in the late afternoon, I pondered about Eccles Road station, which is only a mile or so away from the circuit. It's normally closed on Sundays, but I wondered if it would be feasible to be open on weekends when there are busy events taking place at Snetterton. The BTCC pulls about 30,000 to 40,000 spectators on the Sunday, so there could be a decent footfall if a couple of trains were scheduled to stop at the station during the day. The A11 and the local roads to the south are very busy in the morning and evening with spectators.

The issue I see is that the BTCC weekend is by some considerable distance the busiest and most important weekend the circuit sees (I think British GT and British Superbikes can pull five-figure crowds, but I'm not certain), so really it would only be one weekend out of 52 where it would be feasible to be open.

If a couple of trains were scheduled to stop, they would probably be grossly overloaded. As soon as you gave people the impression that the train was an option, then a fair few would be likely to take it. And then get angry if the railway was not able to deliver.

You would need to bring in a lot of expensive extra stock from somewhere to make sure you could shift people, given that the AGA and EMT dmus used on the line aren't over-blessed with spare seats as things stand. And it's out in East Anglia, where spare stock is pretty much non-existent at any time of the week, not like a Cardiff or Twickenham situation where there is the ability to mobilise units that would otherwise be spending the weekend in the sidings to lengthen trains and work extras.

Nor is Eccles Road station set up for handling lots of people, with short, narrow platforms, so you would need somewhere to hold them to queue for the journey home, plus provide a safe walking route to and from the circuit to keep people separated from the traffic.

As you observe, the number of events at Snetterton where really big numbers attend is small, so I'd have to say it would probably be a lot more trouble than it was worth in terms of any potential extra income for the railway and with a good chance of getting on the wrong side of a lot of people if you messed up.

Plus the opening of the Elveden bypass has made a big difference in terms of keeping traffic moving on the A11.

 

[Donny Dave]

The issue I see is that the BTCC weekend is by some considerable distance the busiest and most important weekend the circuit sees (I think British GT and British Superbikes can pull five-figure crowds, but I'm not certain), so really it would only be one weekend out of 52 where it would be feasible to be open.

The British Superbike Championship pulls roughly the same amount of people through the gates as well, if not more*. To be fair though, from Eccles Road station, to the bridge that crosses the Bentley Straight at Snetterton, is roughly a 2 and a half mile walk. Unless there was a footpath built from the station to the circuit (who pays and who maintains?) which would reduce the distance considerably, then the train really isn't a viable option.

* Unconfirmed numbers suggest that the BSB has been attracting 43000+ fans each season since the circuit was rebuilt, similar to what the BTCC has been attracting.

 

[70014IronDuke]

I was at Snetterton race circuit yesterday watching the British Touring Car Championship, and whilst waiting for my lift home in the late afternoon, I pondered about Eccles Road station, which is only a mile or so away from the circuit. It's normally closed on Sundays, but I wondered if it would be feasible to be open on weekends when there are busy events taking place at Snetterton. The BTCC pulls about 30,000 to 40,000 spectators on the Sunday, so there could be a decent footfall if a couple of trains were scheduled to stop at the station during the day. The A11 and the local roads to the south are very busy in the morning and evening with spectators.

The issue I see is that the BTCC weekend is by some considerable distance the busiest and most important weekend the circuit sees (I think British GT and British Superbikes can pull five-figure crowds, but I'm not certain), so really it would only be one weekend out of 52 where it would be feasible to be open.

Of course. Why on earth not?

I'm sure someone in here can find a ministerial quote from the John Major government along the lines of: "By opening up the railways to private enterprise, we shall unleash the innovative skills of modern management willing to spot and respond to the public demand, with the end result being a superior rail service available to the British people, and at a cheaper cost."

So if Snetterton races on a Sunday could lead to a veritable boom in demand for trains at Eccles Road, it shall surely transpire.

Except, er .... there aren't any available, or not enough. Nor enough crews - can't guarantee they'll turn up for work on a Sunday, neither.

So, let them go by road. It's all a damned sight easier.

 

[dk1]

From a drivers perspective, oh dear! We have enough trouble remembering to stop there now. This sounds like a 'fail to call' waiting to happen

If you can sort out a half decent shuttle bus it's a good idea though. Not sure if Abellio or stagecoach would take the risk without support.