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Extra service for special events (like Liverpool FC parade)?

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Typewind

Typewind

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Last Sunday (2nd June, 2019) numerous fans came back to Liverpool for the UCL champion parade. When I rush to Liverpool Lime Street at 8pm, there were thousands of passengers (I guess 20,000 ish) outside the station and not allowed to enter due to safety issue. I haven't catch-up my train to London Euston on 20:47 because of this, and that train was the scheduled last one.

Fortunately Network Rail and Virgin Trains added an extra service (thank you both!)and I arrived London at midnight. Data shows there were 30 more trains on that day than previous Sunday (26th May).

So I have several questions from this experience:
1. Is there any other event request a lot of extra train like this in UK railway history? If so, what was it?
2. How hard is it to add an extra train? And what's the general process?
3. How does TOC or station plan for potential super peak time due to a major event?
4. How to organize drivers for extra train? Do they get extra fee?
5. If a train should terminates at London Euston through the night but run to Liverpool Lime Street as an extra service, will it go back to London or just stay in Liverpool?

Thank you in advance
 
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cuccir

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To answer a few

Typewind said:
1. Is there any other event request a lot of extra train like this in UK railway history? If so, what was it?
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The extra 30 is quite a lot but there will have been many comparable events. The biggest in recent years was the London Olympics and Paralympics which had an extra 4000 services in total, albeit over several weeks, as well as many extra Underground services.

Typewind said:
3. How does TOC or station plan for potential super peak time due to a major event?
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This will vary on the TOC and the station size. For very large events TOCs will follow the advice of police, and most cities will have emergency plans that are used as the basis for what to do, particularly for events which happen at short notice. Often this will mean TOCs closing some stations or stopping some services to make sure that passengers only use the largest stations, to reduce the number of travelers who are using the trains not connected to the event, and to allow staff to be moved to the biggest stations. For example, many of the stations around Liverpool were closed on the day of the parade, or had limited services. The town of Lewes in Sussex has a popular Bonfire Night parade every year during which its station, and several other local stations, are (controversially) closed. In terms of staffing, TOCs will draft people from other stations and will often use agency staff or contractors to provide extra support.

Typewind said:
4. How to organize drivers for extra train? Do they get extra fee?
Click to expand...

Again this will depend on the TOC, the number of extra trains, and how long in advance the TOC knows about the event, but yes it's likely that overtime payments are involved particularly when arranged at short notice.
 
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Jamiescott1

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The difference between this and the Olympics/ commonwealth games is the notice period.
I think 4.5 weeks prior liverpool were confirmed finalists and 18 hours prior they were confirmed winners.

There was also a potential parade 3 weeks prior if they won the league
 
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bionic

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Typewind said:
Last Sunday (2nd June, 2019) numerous fans came back to Liverpool for the UCL champion parade. When I rush to Liverpool Lime Street at 8pm, there were thousands of passengers (I guess 20,000 ish) outside the station and not allowed to enter due to safety issue. I haven't catch-up my train to London Euston on 20:47 because of this, and that train was the scheduled last one.

Fortunately Network Rail and Virgin Trains added an extra service (thank you both!)and I arrived London at midnight. Data shows there were 30 more trains on that day than previous Sunday (26th May).

So I have several questions from this experience:
1. Is there any other event request a lot of extra train like this in UK railway history? If so, what was it?
2. How hard is it to add an extra train? And what's the general process?
3. How does TOC or station plan for potential super peak time due to a major event?
4. How to organize drivers for extra train? Do they get extra fee?
5. If a train should terminates at London Euston through the night but run to Liverpool Lime Street as an extra service, will it go back to London or just stay in Liverpool?

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...

London Euston? Last time I checked, Liverpool FC played in Liverpool. Would people on Mesreyside have expected extra trains home from the Tottenham parade if the match had gone the other way? :rolleyes:
 
Typewind

Typewind

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cuccir said:
To answer a few
Again this will depend on the TOC, the number of extra trains, and how long in advance the TOC knows about the event, but yes it's likely that overtime payments are involved particularly when arranged at short notice.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your detailed reply.

Funny to see how MerseyRail try to reject drunk fans to get the train :D
 
Typewind

Typewind

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bionic said:
London Euston? Last time I checked, Liverpool FC played in Liverpool. Would people on Mesreyside have expected extra trains home from the Tottenham parade if the match had gone the other way? :rolleyes:
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Spurs parade would start from 12:00 on Sunday if they win. Compare with Liverpool's 4 pm, it's easier for fans to back to home indeed but might cause chaos at the Whtie Hart Lane in the morning.
 
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Matt_pool

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I turned up at Lime Street on Sunday 2nd June for the 20.26 to Man Oxford Road. I saw the massive queue, which I was half expecting, but my jaw still dropped!

There was actually a Merseyrail guy hanging about in front of St George's Hall, and he just said "you've got at least a one and a half hour wait, get the bus!"

So I went for a pint and, fortunately, I could actually get a bus home; unlike several hundred other people who had no option but to get a train home.

But I reckon a lot of people ended up having an expensive taxi ride home that evening!

Northern rarely put on extra trains when a big event is on; but Merseyrail do, for example, when the Grand National is on.
 
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Statto

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Matt_pool said:
I turned up at Lime Street on Sunday 2nd June for the 20.26 to Man Oxford Road. I saw the massive queue, which I was half expecting, but my jaw still dropped!

There was actually a Merseyrail guy hanging about in front of St George's Hall, and he just said "you've got at least a one and a half hour wait, get the bus!"

So I went for a pint and, fortunately, I could actually get a bus home; unlike several hundred other people who had no option but to get a train home.

But I reckon a lot of people ended up having an expensive taxi ride home that evening!

Northern rarely put on extra trains when a big event is on; but Merseyrail do, for example, when the Grand National is on.
Click to expand...

Difference is, as mentioned events like The Grand National are known well in advance, so extra services can be added, same with The Open Golf, things like trophy parade aren't[it was only just before 10pm the night before when it was known the parade was on] so a lot harder to provide extra services.
 
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ivanhoe

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Correct Statto. You can't plan for events that have s 50/50 chance of taking place. You can organise better, the flow of people into the station, but it's not easy when the number of people exceed what could be guessed beforehand. Just learn for the future.
 
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LowLevel

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Depends what goes on and where. EMT are quite good at running direct football trains either with 15x or HST sets. Take That were also playing in Norwich the other evening so they ran a 2330ish additional out to Ely.
 
Marton

Marton

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Matt_pool said:
Northern rarely put on extra trains when a big event is on; but Merseyrail do, for example, when the Grand National is on.
Click to expand...
gazzaa2 said:
Northern can't even run their normal service on a Sunday.
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Rather surprised when I saw Northern did put on special on Saturday and Sunday of the May Bank holiday for the BBC R1Big Weekend.

No idea how well patronised they were.
 
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Statto

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LowLevel said:
Depends what goes on and where. EMT are quite good at running direct football trains either with 15x or HST sets. Take That were also playing in Norwich the other evening so they ran a 2330ish additional out to Ely.
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It depends how much notice you get, something like playoff final you get a couple of weeks after the semis to plan for extra services, concert you get plenty of notice, something like a trophy parade, is 50/50 whether it'll take place, local authorities will announce the route in advance for a potential parade, but most of the time known only after the final whistle the night/day before, whether the trophy parade will take place or not.
 
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87015

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ivanhoe said:
Correct Statto. You can't plan for events that have s 50/50 chance of taking place. You can organise better, the flow of people into the station, but it's not easy when the number of people exceed what could be guessed beforehand. Just learn for the future.
Click to expand...
You certainly can - just plan as if it will go ahead. Just a bigger version of extra time/penalties. Can always take it, or bits out if you have to on the day depending on how you set it up but generally just take the hit.
 
CosherB

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I’d assume that PRM changes at the end of the year will kill off all extra LHCS service trains, unless someone can cunningly call them “charter” trains.
 
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87015 said:
You certainly can - just plan as if it will go ahead. Just a bigger version of extra time/penalties. Can always take it, or bits out if you have to on the day depending on how you set it up but generally just take the hit.
Click to expand...

Very expensive option however.
 
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ivanhoe

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87015 said:
You certainly can - just plan as if it will go ahead. Just a bigger version of extra time/penalties. Can always take it, or bits out if you have to on the day depending on how you set it up but generally just take the hit.
Click to expand...
There will always be complaints after such events. They are notoriously difficult to handle anyway, Sunday not helping, either. As long as lessons are learnt for the future. There's a difference between planning for say a stadium of upto 100k all coming out and converging on a station to an unknown number of fans turning out for an event. Sometimes, people don't help themselves either. A bit of nous such as not expecting a fast getaway would have helped some to make a decision to watch the parade along Queens Drive or West Derby Road . Anyway, the next day is another day and you're still on a high after winning number 6.
 
dk1

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In the last week or so GA have run extra late night trains for Rod Stewart in Ipswich & particually for Take That who where in Norwich. The latter had later last trains on all routes along with later relief services to Lowestoft, Sheringham, Ipswich & Yarmouth. East Midlands also ran a relief stopper to Ely.
 
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frediculous

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Southeastern ran an almost peak time service along the North Kent line for the start of the London Marathon, including free travel for runners.
 
Starmill

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A number of additional Northern services were run from Liverpool Lime Street on the night of Sunday 2nd June! Mainly in the Wigan direction.
 
Typewind

Typewind

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ivanhoe said:
There will always be complaints after such events. They are notoriously difficult to handle anyway, Sunday not helping, either. As long as lessons are learnt for the future. There's a difference between planning for say a stadium of upto 100k all coming out and converging on a station to an unknown number of fans turning out for an event. Sometimes, people don't help themselves either. A bit of nous such as not expecting a fast getaway would have helped some to make a decision to watch the parade along Queens Drive or West Derby Road . Anyway, the next day is another day and you're still on a high after winning number 6.
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But for people who are not a Liverpool fan or even never watch football, it is a disaster to evolved in the surge of passengers and no planned reliefs to get them home.
 
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