Sandhills station travel experiences

[Old Yard Dog]

Serious problems for passengers on the Southport line today which was closed between Hall Road and Liverpool before the game. It had reopened by the end.

Trains from the Wirral line were very busy before and after - I have seldom seen so many passengers on the Ellesmere Port branch.

The queueing system at Sandhills worked well after the game and the frequent services soon cleared the queues. But I could have done without having to navigate the steps up to a high footbridge having earlier had to climb large numbers to get to the back of the East stand. Goodison had escalators!

 

[MR-507508]

The first night game took place at the new Everton stadium last night. Looking at socials there is a lot of praise for Merseyrail, mentioning the quick move of passengers onto trains to their various destinations and the excellent crowd control at the station.

Additional services were provided across the network to help with the event. Great to see things seemed to have settled down and hopefully can be sustained for the rest of the season.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Interestingly, Liverpool bound trains were leaving Sandhills less than half full after today’s game at Bramley Moor Dock. The 8-car working I was on to Liverpool Central could have taken three or four times the numbers it actually carried, even though there was a long queue.

I’m guessing the station staff can’t get people on to the narrow platform fast enough to fill a train without disrupting the timetable. The 65-step climb on to the footbridge doesn’t help speedy boarding. Or could it be to spread out loadings on Wirral line connections? A 15 min service was running to Ellesmere Port with bus connections from Hooton to Chester. These 4-car trains were standing room only.

Sending unfilled trains from Sandhills was no big deal as services were frequent and the well organised queues moved quickly.

When the halt at Old Trafford was open, trains were likewise often despatched half empty which was far more serious as these were irregularly timed and far less frequent.

 

[Pegpilot]

Judging by the result, most of the blues fans were on trains home before 4.30 ! Not surprised the later trains were half empty.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Every time I have used Sandhills after Everton games, many Liverpool bound workings have left half empty. The staff simply can't get people queueing on the footbridge down to the narrow platforms quickly enough. The numbers have to be managed as Sandhills only has an island platform with waiting rooms etc in the middle and this has to be shared by passengers going both north and south.

But one contributory factor is where southbound (i.e. Liverpool Central) trains actually pull in. 4-car workings stop at the far north of the platform meaning there are no coaches next to the bottom of the footbridge and the quite lengthy part of the platform south of the footbridge is totally unused. Instead people trying to get to the back of the train have to force their way down a crowded platform. This is often congested by people wanting through Hunts Cross workings who wait outside the waiting room for their train (1 in 3), the narrowest part of the platform.

So my question is this. What don't southbound trains stop at the south end of the platform instead of the north end? Is it a signalling issue?