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Trivia: Stations that close to passengers at times when they’d be most useful

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zwk500

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I therefore think the station was a waste of money then.
Many agree, although it does serve a substantial area of north Coventry in regular travel and especially the retail park around the ground. Does anybody know if the station closes for the smaller events at the Indoor Arena as well as the main stadium bowl?
Isn't overcrowding the reason the National Rail station at Manchester United Football Ground was shut.
Yes, there isn't space to hold the crowds as the station backs directly onto the ground's concourse. The tram being a bit further away and designed for today's capacity means there's space to hold the crowds safely. The trams also probably offer a better service to the crowds as it is more frequent and goes to Manchester Victoria and the north side of the city centre.
 
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TT-ONR-NRN

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Many agree, although it does serve a substantial area of north Coventry in regular travel and especially the retail park around the ground. Does anybody know if the station closes for the smaller events at the Indoor Arena as well as the main stadium bowl?
Then it should be called North Coventry. Calling it "Coventry Arena" and only opening it when Coventry Arena is closed or very quiet is grossly misleading.
 

zwk500

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Then it should be called North Coventry. Calling it "Coventry Arena" and only opening it when Coventry Arena is closed or very quiet is grossly misleading.
Perhaps it should have been. But when it opened the idea was to serve events (and I believe the Arena may have contributed funding) and now it'll cost too much money to bother changing the name. Also, it does accurately describe the location and the issue stopping them serving events (rolling stock) can be resolved.
 

Shimbleshanks

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In the past seven years they have always also shut, Berwick, Cooksbridge, Falmer, Glynde, London Road, Moulsecoomb, Plumpton, Southease, to prevent large amounts of people from getting off at one of these stations and walking in or cycling in to Lewes from there. The trains all run non stop from Brighton or Wivelsfield all the way to Newhaven Town or Polegate and skip out all of the other stations. So getting the train to Brighton and then taking the overcrowded buses is the only way to get there. Or otherwise you could get off at one of the Mid Sussex stations (eg, Hassocks, Burgess Hill, Wivelsfield, Haywards Heath, Balcombe, etc) and cycle in. Uckfield and then the bus is also a good option too and those buses are quieter (but still much busier than normal) than the Brighton ones.

It is only actually the past seven years (2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022) that Lewes has shut its rail service for the bonfire. In 2015 and all previous years Southern used to run extra trains all throughout the evening and night to get people to Lewes and back home again. There was a shuttle to and from Brighton at least every ten minutes. Plus extra trains to and from London and Eastbourne and Hastings and Seaford too. The trains would run all night long in to the early morning to get people home. They used to run a proper special increased service for Lewes on bonfire night.

By stopping the trains they have only made it worse. The buses now get extremely overcrowded. The buses have always been busy but with no trains they are even busier. Brighton & Hove used to use their bendy buses on the 28 and 29 every Bonfire Night but now those are gone so it is even worse with double deckers.

Lewes Bonfire does get dangerously overcrowded on the main roads. Last year was very quiet though (well at least compared to other years) probably due to the corona virus but this year was a lot busier (but still not as busy as the previous years) again. I can see why they want to stop the trains but in some ways it just makes it worse as the buses get even more overcrowded. I am not sure what the solution is. Lewes is a small town full of narrow roads and not really designed for such large crowds.
Very odd that they've gone from providing extra trains to closing all local stations on the night. But really all they're doing is penalising visitors by public transport while still making it possible to get reasonably near the town centre by car.
 

TheSel

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You can bet your bottom dollar that there will be restrictions on the use of Liverpool City Centre stations when Eurovision is held there next May, particularly at James Street.
 

Shimbleshanks

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When I was going every year (I grew up in Ringmer) the High Street has felt dangerously crowded at times, but then you get 2 steps down a side street and there's nobody about. I haven't been for about 7 or 8 years now, so can't say what it's like today. Its not so much the number of people but the relative behaviours. People who know what it's about generally just enjoy themselves but respect the event. Plenty of local teenagers get off their faces of course (fond memories!) but they're relatively easy to deal with. It's adults who come down with no intention other than getting bladdered, who usually come from further away (i.e. by train) who can be a real problem.

It does cause all sorts of problems every year, but given that Lewes is very twee and respectable (in a slightly nutty sort of way) for the other 364 days most people don't mind one night of inconvenience.

Edenbridge and Lewes bonfire nights are not comparable in scale. When I went regularly the crowds would be estimated at 50K+ (the town's population was about 15k). Although I did notice that this year there were road closures in place for Barcombe.

This does seem ridiculous and over the top.
<<It's adults who come down with no intention other than getting bladdered, who usually come from further away (i.e. by train) who can be a real problem.>>
I suppose I could put myself in that category; well, a few pints of Harvey's Old. Perhaps only closing Lewes station would be enough to discourage the element who want to roll off the train and into the pub; I can't see those sort of people hiking from and to the other stations several miles away? That would still allow 'serious' spectators to visit without turning the whole of Sussex into a North Korean-style no go area.
 

zwk500

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<<It's adults who come down with no intention other than getting bladdered, who usually come from further away (i.e. by train) who can be a real problem.>>
I suppose I could put myself in that category; well, a few pints of Harvey's Old. Perhaps only closing Lewes station would be enough to discourage the element who want to roll off the train and into the pub; I can't see those sort of people hiking from and to the other stations several miles away? That would still allow 'serious' spectators to visit without turning the whole of Sussex into a North Korean-style no go area.
A few pints of Harveys is good local engagement. It's those who start tinnys on the train I've seen causing the most problems. And I agree, only Lewes station needs closing off.
 

busestrains

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Very odd that they've gone from providing extra trains to closing all local stations on the night. But really all they're doing is penalising visitors by public transport while still making it possible to get reasonably near the town centre by car.
Indeed they have gone from one extreme to the other here. I understand there was a big meeting between, East Sussex County Council, Lewes District Council, Lewes Town Council, the Ambulance Service, the Fire Service, the Police, the Bonfire Societies, which is when they decided to cut all trains to Lewes and surrounding stations as a solution to the dangerous overcrowding in previous years. So that is why they have done it.

Hundreds of people drive in and park in the surrounding villages causing absolute chaos and annoying the local residents. Kingston and Ringmer for examples are nightmares. They are easy place to get to with all the roads still open all night and less than thirty minutes walk in to Lewes from there. So people park in Kingston and Ringmer (which have free unrestricted parking) clogging up all the residential roads and annoying the local residents. Also in Hamsey and Offham it gets pretty bad to with the roads blocked up with parked cars.

Like you say it is penalising visitors who want to visit by public transport while still allowing those with cars easy access. If i was in charge i would go back to the days of when the trains called at Lewes and all the other stations and a special frequent increased service was run. Stopping the trains barely reduces the crowds. It just makes other methods of transport even worse.
 

The Planner

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I therefore think the station was a waste of money then.

Many agree, although it does serve a substantial area of north Coventry in regular travel and especially the retail park around the ground. Does anybody know if the station closes for the smaller events at the Indoor Arena as well as the main stadium bowl?
Its a victim of a larger project that has fell into oblivion, NUCKLE. It has a longer up platform than down and was meant to have a crossover to run shuttles from Coventry to the station, as well as a new bay platform. Neither have materialised, and I doubt they ever will.
 

zwk500

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Its a victim of a larger project that has fell into oblivion, NUCKLE. It has a longer up platform than down and was meant to have a crossover to run shuttles from Coventry to the station, as well as a new bay platform. Neither have materialised, and I doubt they ever will.
Ah, and presumably the bay at Coventry would be required for any such shuttle to come in.
 

Tetchytyke

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Isn't overcrowding the reason the National Rail station at Manchester United Football Ground was shut

My understanding is that it was more due to security concerns following the Manchester Arena terrorist attack. Either seems plausible.
 

ANDREW_D_WEBB

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Isn't overcrowding the reason the National Rail station at Manchester United Football Ground was shut.

In London many tube stations near the site of the fireworks and New Years Eve celebrations are closed or made exit only, with people made to walk some distance to stations that are still open.
Any large events in London will see certain Tube stations close. For example the Platinum Jubilee pageant and HM Queen's funeral both saw stations like Westminster shut. They simply would not be able to cope with the crowds leaving these events en masse at the same time. Stations are also sometimes operated as exit only, for example Green Park after HM Queen's death.
 

JD2168

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I think it's because the 'temporary' footbridge installed when they closed the level crossing is not strong enough to take that many people, and the PTE don't want us rowdy football fans walking through the Bus Station!
The problem with the footbridge will be solved next year when the new footbridge is built, currently under construction.
 

NSE

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After the recent rugby league game both Arsenal and Highbury and Islington underground stations were also closed.
That’s odd. Highbury and Islington isn’t closed after Arsenal games. I’ve used it on the occasion I’ve had other plans that aren’t just going home.
 

zwk500

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That’s odd. Highbury and Islington isn’t closed after Arsenal games. I’ve used it on the occasion I’ve had other plans that aren’t just going home.
Indeed, that's the station I'd have expected most fans to be directed to. Straight down the Holloway Road, lots of space to queue fans up and lots of high-frequency services to keep fans moving at a reasonable pace. Perhaps it being Rugby League there was a fear everybody would be heading back towards King's Cross and Euston to get home rather than dispersing across North London? Or was there some engineering works in the area that reduced train frequencies?
 

scrapy

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My understanding is that it was more due to security concerns following the Manchester Arena terrorist attack. Either seems plausible.
Yes as following the attack an outer cordon was set up around the stadium. Obviously this would be ineffective if trains were dropping people off inside the cordon.

There were plans to build a new station on the opposite side of Sir Matt Busby Way (named White City) as part of the original congestion charge idea. This would have had a regular daily service and provided park and ride utilising the stadium car parks on non match days. I assume this is no longer an aspiration of TFGM as have never heard it mentioned since.
 

nw1

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Beaulieu Road in the early-mid 80s. Completely closed on Sunday, according to the timetables I have access to. Given it's surrounded by the open New Forest, one could argue there is more demand at the weekends than weekdays.

Since about 1992 (ish) it's been the precise opposite, with an hourly service on Sundays only and less-frequent trains on other days.

In the past seven years they have always also shut, Berwick, Cooksbridge, Falmer, Glynde, London Road, Moulsecoomb, Plumpton, Southease, to prevent large amounts of people from getting off at one of these stations and walking in or cycling in to Lewes from there.
Dang! An avenue for the determined closed off. One would think that some of those stations are far enough away that the distance alone would put many off, except the most determined. I know even Glynde, perhaps the nearest of the lot, is a fair distance, the best part of an hour's walk over the hill if I remember right - I've done it.

Now the really determined will take the train to Eastbourne in the morning and walk along the South Downs Way, arriving just as it gets dark. ;) I know November is not the best time of year to do this walk (it's very nice in June though), but could still make a nice day out if the rain happens to hold off that day.
The trains all run non stop from Brighton or Wivelsfield all the way to Newhaven Town or Polegate and skip out all of the other stations. So getting the train to Brighton and then taking the overcrowded buses is the only way to get there. Or otherwise you could get off at one of the Mid Sussex stations (eg, Hassocks, Burgess Hill, Wivelsfield, Haywards Heath, Balcombe, etc) and cycle in. Uckfield and then the bus is also a good option too and those buses are quieter (but still much busier than normal) than the Brighton ones.

It is only actually the past seven years (2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022) that Lewes has shut its rail service for the bonfire. In 2015 and all previous years Southern used to run extra trains all throughout the evening and night to get people to Lewes and back home again. There was a shuttle to and from Brighton at least every ten minutes. Plus extra trains to and from London and Eastbourne and Hastings and Seaford too. The trains would run all night long in to the early morning to get people home. They used to run a proper special increased service for Lewes on bonfire night.

By stopping the trains they have only made it worse. The buses now get extremely overcrowded. The buses have always been busy but with no trains they are even busier. Brighton & Hove used to use their bendy buses on the 28 and 29 every Bonfire Night but now those are gone so it is even worse with double deckers.

Lewes Bonfire does get dangerously overcrowded on the main roads. Last year was very quiet though (well at least compared to other years) probably due to the corona virus but this year was a lot busier (but still not as busy as the previous years) again. I can see why they want to stop the trains but in some ways it just makes it worse as the buses get even more overcrowded. I am not sure what the solution is. Lewes is a small town full of narrow roads and not really designed for such large crowds.

I went to the Lewes fireworks in 2005 (via car, not train) and at that time, there seemed to be no restrictions on travel there of any form, and while it was busy, it was not silly-busy. We arrived when it was still daylight though, perhaps 3 or 4pm (there were various "pre-events" to keep you entertained if I remember right, like a barrel-rolling at the bottom over the river) and I don't remember that much of a problem with parking. We parked on the west side of the town, up the hill, in a leafy residential area, I think only 5-10 mins from the top of the high street.
 
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Amos

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That’s odd. Highbury and Islington isn’t closed after Arsenal games. I’ve used it on the occasion I’ve had other plans that aren’t just going home.
Was only a temporary thing,and I believe that you could exit the station.Probably due to the amount of people trying to get access.
 

Old Yard Dog

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Ince & Elton - no trains in either direction between 0640 and 1857 (M-F)
 

MrPosh

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I went to see Primal Scream at Alexandra Palace and that was closed after the gig.

It was the weekend before the heatwave (so still close to 30c at 10.30pm) and nobody seemed to know it would be closed.

Which meant a lot of hot/bothered/drunk/stoned people struggling.

The walk to Wood Green was horrible.
 

Taunton

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For all that the railway is meant to have the capacity to handle large additional crowds, in actual fact this comes at a considerable cost, necessarily all at overtime rates, for both the additional traincrew and also the station staff, and even BTP needed to manage it all, let alone some events having "difficult" passengers. Add in that some longer events need different shifts for inwards and outwards demand, and the additional just revenue doesn't cover it.
 

AM9

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Any large events in London will see certain Tube stations close. For example the Platinum Jubilee pageant and HM Queen's funeral both saw stations like Westminster shut. They simply would not be able to cope with the crowds leaving these events en masse at the same time. Stations are also sometimes operated as exit only, for example Green Park after HM Queen's death.
That's a standard way of diffusing a peak demand in London at a major event. Typically with a Hyde Park event, Hyde Park Corner and marble Arch will close first, then moving outwards, next it is Green Park, maybe Lancaster Gate and Kinghtsbridge. Those stations are built for steady high volumes of entries/exits, not sudden rushes of maybe 10000 turning up in 20 minutes. For that sort of demand, facilities like Wembly Park are needed, or a major station like Victoria or Paddington.
This is why Stratford does better at very large events: 2 tube lines, HS1 and now the Lizzie, as well as intermediates to Liverpool St - all towards central London, plus the DLR to link into the C2C services. Then heading out of London, there's tubes to Woodford Loughton, and Hainault, fast trains to Kent on HS2 and fast, intermediate and slow services onto the GEML and services up the Lea Valley line to Harlow, Cambridge etc.. It's all about distribution rather than pumping herds of passenbgers down a single line however big it is, and rendering the subsequent stations unusable to all passengers.
 

greyman42

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I went to see Primal Scream at Alexandra Palace and that was closed after the gig.

It was the weekend before the heatwave (so still close to 30c at 10.30pm) and nobody seemed to know it would be closed.

Which meant a lot of hot/bothered/drunk/stoned people struggling.

The walk to Wood Green was horrible.
Why would Wood Green be more suitable than Ally Pally?
 

AM9

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Why shut Ally Pally and leave Wood Green open?
Because Alexandre Palace is too near to the event. It's the extended walking distance that presents stations with a steadier stream of passengers that the crush that would result if the nearest staton was open. See my post #54 above. TfL here been managing large event flows this way for years, generally improving the situation for event attendees, other members of the public travelling and staff.
 

Dave W

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Because Alexandre Palace is too near to the event. It's the extended walking distance that presents stations with a steadier stream of passengers that the crush that would result if the nearest staton was open. See my post #54 above. TfL here been managing large event flows this way for years, generally improving the situation for event attendees, other members of the public travelling and staff.

Frequencies might also have something to do it.

The extra walk to Wood Green isn't too bad. It's certainly not the roughest corner of N22.
 

CaptainHaddock

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When the Tramlines Music Festival takes place in Hillsborough Park in Sheffield the Supertram stops at and near Hillsborough Park are all closed immediately after the event!
 
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