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Late LNR service 21/05/2022 from Milton Keynes to Euston after concert
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Recently they've been reducing or even totally bustituting (like yesterday) the Aylesbury via Amersham services to provide the weekend extras. This is far from ideal but faced with little other options it is probably the best plan.
Part of the problem being the weekend service is based around Oxford/Birmingham/Aylesbury services. Adding coaches to these to cater for short distance Wembley demand is very inefficient
Perhaps something similar could have been done last night- "delaying" in a revised timetable some southbound services to a time agreed with the organisers, if needs be thinning the service in the afternoon to accommodate the later finish for the staff.
Not dissimilar to what Chiltern does on a normal NYE, reduced afternoon services and the trains departing around midnight delayed by 30mins or so.
Yes even in London I have had friends that have needed to do this for particularly late gig starts to get back to the Home Counties.
4SubAsociation
Member
I was at said concert on the 19th. To give you some idea what it was like (i did not travel up on a train, i drove up as the hotels where quite expensive in town and i live out of area)
There was three supporting acts before the main act was on. In my opinion they could of got away with 2 and finished earlier (but it is up to the organisers to decide, not me).
From what i have read up said band had not been to the UK since 2011 (so 11 years ago).
This is something that had been delayed since June 2020 (because of obvious reasons). Said band split in 2013 and when it was annouced the band was getting back togther late 2019 and then UK dates where annouced in Feb 2020. Saturday was instantly sold out, so sunday was added and a similar story of instantly sold out. Then a thursday date was added and i put myself on the waiting list and got a ticket.
The expereince was unforgettable, it was excellent. The band put on a really good performance, i would like to do it again
The only slight down side was to do with parking in that when the show finished at 10:30 i got back to my car and for some reason directed to another car park and got stuck for 45mins and did not get back to the hotel until after midnight.
I know i might of gone Off Topic. But i felt it was worth adding as someone who attended the event.
There was three supporting acts before the main act was on. In my opinion they could of got away with 2 and finished earlier (but it is up to the organisers to decide, not me).
From what i have read up said band had not been to the UK since 2011 (so 11 years ago).
This is something that had been delayed since June 2020 (because of obvious reasons). Said band split in 2013 and when it was annouced the band was getting back togther late 2019 and then UK dates where annouced in Feb 2020. Saturday was instantly sold out, so sunday was added and a similar story of instantly sold out. Then a thursday date was added and i put myself on the waiting list and got a ticket.
The expereince was unforgettable, it was excellent. The band put on a really good performance, i would like to do it again
The only slight down side was to do with parking in that when the show finished at 10:30 i got back to my car and for some reason directed to another car park and got stuck for 45mins and did not get back to the hotel until after midnight.
I know i might of gone Off Topic. But i felt it was worth adding as someone who attended the event.
Class 170101
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VSTP Additional 2Z01 has appeared for tonight
www.realtimetrains.co.uk
Realtime Trains | 2Z01 0001 Milton Keynes Central to London Euston | 23/05/2022
Real-time train running information for 2Z01 0001 departure from Milton Keynes Central to London Euston on 23/05/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
MK has huge, huge numbers of hotel rooms due to business demand. I think those who thought planning to take that train was sensible probably need their head examining.
On the other hand, with these gigs well known about, that LNR didn't get another unit out and make it a 12 car is very, very poor.
Mike Redding
Member
With respect, hotels in MK were £200 a night when I looked a few months ago. They cashed in. That's why I stayed in Northampton (though that's because I was aware there was a depot there and the trains ran until very late in that direction).
Glad to hear LNR have put another relief on tonight. Its a shame last night played out the way it did. Though aside from the train last night, Milton Keynes as a whole seems to be getting a bashing on twitter for its general accessibility of public transport.
Travelling back to Cumbria today has been a nightmare too. With cancellations on both Avanti and Northern, and TPE strike action.
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Spent a miserable night at LHR after trying to get back to Egham from ELO concert at Wembley Arena, Dec 1981. No all night buses then and taxis too expensive for a poor student......seems as though nothing much has changed if you need to get away from London northbound on a Saturday night in particular.
Davester50
Member
I liked one of the tweeter's complaints about the busy train and there still being a pandemic after attending a packed gig...
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I was going to mention Northampton as a decent option due to the later trains off Euston making it easier to get there. Not surprised the hotels were charging what they liked, but this is all part of the decisions you make when deciding to go to a gig outside your home town.
FWIW I have done tight connections onto a train from a gig at Brum and it was fine, but the band had also played London so it was fairly easy to see that there wouldn't be excessive demand south.
The only way there will ever be even acceptable public transport in MK is if the UK's approach to it changes so it can be heavily subsidised. The low density development and no single obvious routes the grid gives you are just unsuitable for it and apart from a few routes mostly connecting up the rougher estates it is very hard to make a profit on it. Most people drive, and those who don't (and don't cycle) use the cheap, plentiful taxis, though there aren't enough of those to deal with a big event - 70K at a Bowl gig was even more fun...
I am surprised MCR didn't play a London venue to be honest.
James90012
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Train operator's obligations are not limited to running the advertised timetable on any given day. They do need to take account and plan for spikes in demand - an indeed franchise agreements used to hold them accountable to DfT. Clearly there has been a failure from LNWR and the event promoters to identify this issue and to plan accordingly leaving them to scramble on the night itself. Even if LNWR had not spoken to the organisers, they seemed to only realise there was a problem at the last minute - despite the fact that ticket sales would be well up for trains to Milton Keynes that day and trains/gate lines would have been much busier all day.
Compare this to GWR for the same band in Cardiff on Saturday - there are 3 '1Z' trains in the timetable for Bristol, and those have been in for weeks.
www.realtimetrains.co.uk
Compare this to GWR for the same band in Cardiff on Saturday - there are 3 '1Z' trains in the timetable for Bristol, and those have been in for weeks.
Realtime Trains | Departures from Cardiff Central all day on 28/05/2022
Train information at Cardiff Central all day on 28/05/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.
www.realtimetrains.co.uk
InTheEastMids
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Have to admit to being a bit surprised by some of the comments on this thread.
3 facts that I expect a lot of people were not aware of:
1. These concert dates were announced in April 2021
2. The band are not playing any venues closer to London
3. The same band played the same venue on 19th May
So they weren't announced at short notice, but well ahead of timetables;
the high flows of passengers to London after the show could have been foreseen;
finally the concert 48h earlier should have given LNWR a feel for how many people would be travelling, and when.
The sudden appearance of an 0045 service to London does suggest that operations responded quite effectively.
The additional service after the Sunday night show is also an admission that the timetable was wrong.
So the question for the post-mortem that I hope LNWR are doing now is to looking at what they knew, when they knew it, and what decisions were taken (or perhaps not taken).
(It could be that venue liason was poor or absent, so it might not be LNWR fault)
The railway has a serious problem if people who know/understand it say "You'd be a fool to catch the train", but this is what I think you're saying?
Other posters have - in my reading of their posts - argued that the night-time economy should be much better organised around the needs of the railway. If so, that's a heroic level of industry exceptionalism.
Final thought - there are important health & safety considerations
- Potentially unsafe levels of crush-loading (I can't judge, but that is what has been claimed on Twitter)
- were (young) people were (at risk of being) abandoned late at night, far from home,
- did the situation lead to (risk of) threats/abuse to LNWR's own team.
3 facts that I expect a lot of people were not aware of:
1. These concert dates were announced in April 2021
2. The band are not playing any venues closer to London
3. The same band played the same venue on 19th May
So they weren't announced at short notice, but well ahead of timetables;
the high flows of passengers to London after the show could have been foreseen;
finally the concert 48h earlier should have given LNWR a feel for how many people would be travelling, and when.
Exactly.
The sudden appearance of an 0045 service to London does suggest that operations responded quite effectively.
The additional service after the Sunday night show is also an admission that the timetable was wrong.
So the question for the post-mortem that I hope LNWR are doing now is to looking at what they knew, when they knew it, and what decisions were taken (or perhaps not taken).
(It could be that venue liason was poor or absent, so it might not be LNWR fault)
The past is another country. I caught trains south from MK after concerts at the Bowl and it it all worked fine (They would have been Cl321s, to give you a feel for dates).
The railway has a serious problem if people who know/understand it say "You'd be a fool to catch the train", but this is what I think you're saying?
Other posters have - in my reading of their posts - argued that the night-time economy should be much better organised around the needs of the railway. If so, that's a heroic level of industry exceptionalism.
Final thought - there are important health & safety considerations
- Potentially unsafe levels of crush-loading (I can't judge, but that is what has been claimed on Twitter)
- were (young) people were (at risk of being) abandoned late at night, far from home,
- did the situation lead to (risk of) threats/abuse to LNWR's own team.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
it cant have been a great concert as I couldn't hear it at home on Saturday! Not like the Swedish House Mafia or the Foo fighters 
This "travel chaos" chat comes up every time the Estadio della Dongs or the Bowl are used for big concerts. The sensible promoters put on buses to MKC
Hotel wise MKC is chock full of them. In fairness the hotels were busy on Thursday judging by the number of young people I saw in goth style dress towing wheelie cases. There is, of course, a hotel at the stadium itself
This "travel chaos" chat comes up every time the Estadio della Dongs or the Bowl are used for big concerts. The sensible promoters put on buses to MKC
Hotel wise MKC is chock full of them. In fairness the hotels were busy on Thursday judging by the number of young people I saw in goth style dress towing wheelie cases. There is, of course, a hotel at the stadium itself
Norm_D_Ploom
Member
I can assure you that MCR were fantastic. I was quite impressed with the stadium, padded seats, not the normal plastic rubbish.it cant have been a great concert as I couldn't hear it at home on Saturday! Not like the Swedish House Mafia or the Foo fighters
This "travel chaos" chat comes up every time the Estadio della Dongs or the Bowl are used for big concerts. The sensible promoters put on buses to MKC
Hotel wise MKC is chock full of them. In fairness the hotels were busy on Thursday judging by the number of young people I saw in goth style dress towing wheelie cases. There is, of course, a hotel at the stadium itself
I was less impressed with MK itself, the journey back to pick up the car felt like performing in my own version of The Warriors!
AlterEgo
Veteran Member
This. There are loads of hotels, although granted not many are walkable from Stadium:MK. There would still be some sort of transport bottleneck.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
The area around the stadium (and the walking route between it and the Bowl parking) is somewhere between "scabby" and "manky" so you aren't going to get a good impression of MK if you go to an event there, to be fair. This is probably true of out of town faclities in most towns.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
Where did you park????????
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
As @DarloRich mentioned, some promoters contract shuttle buses to CMK, while you do need a big operation this does help a lot. The Bowl is slightly better than the stadium in this regard because it's walkable to MKC station in about half an hour through pleasant parkland. Though there are hotels within (slightly long) walking distance, e.g. the Furzton and Caldecotte Lake Premier Inns and the Formula 1 (I think) opposite Pink Punters plus a few small above-a-pub type ones. Also there is a better train service north than south though Bletchley station is a reasonable walk.
The Stadium is really one of those things that if it was designed for good public transport connectivity it'd not have been built where it was. It's a bit American style - "strip mall" and stadium designed really for driving to, though plenty of Bletchley residents do walk. There is a bus route goes past it (the 1 I think) but only half hourly and not in the late evening.
AlterEgo
Veteran Member
Probably the same place the gig was, Bletchley!
DarloRich
Veteran Member
The one opposite Pinks is a Campanile now. it is a bit basic but is only 25 minutes from the Stadium.
Should have parked in Fenny Stratford thenProbably the same place the gig was, Bletchley!
Closest Railway station to the stadium as well!Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Probably the same place the gig was, Bletchley!
To be fair to both me and @DarloRich, the stadium is on the edge of Bletchley, surrounded by a load of industrial estates in various states of run-down-ness and the worst sink estate in the whole of MK, Granby.
Over the "dodgy bridge" over the railway you'll find pleasant, leafy West Bletchley but it's not great for parking so I'd always be loathe to recommend parking there too widely, though I did suggest a friend who went to it parked in Mellish Court shops and walked over said bridge (don't spread that too widely as there are only about 20-30 spaces)
Norm_D_Ploom
Member
Holiday Inn
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Up Saxon St past Netherfield etc - not the worst walk through MK along that Redway but they aren't the best estates! Also quite a long way - about 5 miles?
I think people tend to expect more public transport of something that is now a city, but it is very much "the city of the car" and so public transport is poorer than most small towns and taxis the norm for most non-car-users. That said, that walk is along the route of one of the few viable bus routes - the 5/6 - which conveniently passes through most of the places of lowest car ownership.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
The same issues with public transport are always in the local media after a concert at the stadium. The promoters need to be forced to provide buses to MKC and work with the train companies to understand what is/ is not possible service wise.
I guess the issue with that is the cost impact on tickets
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Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Exactly this. The Bowl is perhaps better in some ways because it's half an hour's walk to MKC and it has a strict 2230 curfew due to noise abatement (you can hear it all over MK).
In places like Germany promoters, venues and the public transport operations work together to ensure things are served properly, often including the event ticket being a free public transport ticket to/from the event. Neither of the other options - "just put your event on as you like and watch the mess unfold" nor "the railway must be subservient to all transport needs" really works.
If for instance these gigs finished slightly earlier, say 2200, you'd have had four possible trains to Euston from Bletchley, the 2226 probably reachable only by fast walkers but the other three (2244/2301/2351) fairly easily reached. And being on a weekend most people wouldn't have had an issue with arriving an hour earlier. Gigs are a different game to a night out in a pub/club where most people are locals and will take a taxi or walk home, and so an earlier finish does make more sense, not to mention the noise issues (large crowds and the gig itself) which are reduced by an earlier finish. It would probably also help road safety as the drivers would be less tired, and anyone wanting to stay out later could go to the pub for a post-gig pint.
There is always the risk of a disconnect between the promoter's responsibilities and the venue's. I have worked in the music business and would hope that an experienced promoter would have this in hand but staff turnover in arts admin is very high and a lot ends up in inexperienced hands.
The railway should have been aware of the event but unless somebody had explicitly advised them they would not know that a much larger proportion of the audience than normal would want a London train.
Perhaps that's because it's Bletchley rather than Milton Keynes.....
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Like any town Bletchley has nice parts (leafy West Bletchley and traditional Fenny Stratford, for example) and scabby parts (the Lakes Estate, Granby and all the industrial parts around the stadium, plus the centre itself). There is a far higher proportion of "sink estate" in MK itself than in Bletchley, it's just that the stadium is right in the middle of most of it, which is probably why the land was cheap enough to build it there!
AlterEgo
Veteran Member
I know the area, I walk to the stadium from Furzton about twice a month.
There are plenty of good parking opportunities up near the Islamic Centre and some of the better industrial estates, but football fans tend to have the gen. and I rather suspect that didn't filter down to fans of the emo band!
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