Members of the Everton Fan Advisory Board met with city region leaders and Merseyrail officials to discuss transport matters
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
View 3 Images
There is no "magic wand solution" to issues at the Merseyrail station serving Evertonians on matchdays, according to Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram. Everton’s Fan Advisory Board (FAB) met with city region leaders, transport providers and club representatives to discuss supporter experiences travelling to and from Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The meeting was convened by the Liverpool City Region Mayor following a public letter from the FAB raising concerns about matchday transport, particularly the experience of supporters using Sandhills station. Mr Rotheram was joined by Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, and Cllr Carl Cashman, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group.
Officials also acknowledged the political reaction surrounding the planning application to expand the queuing area. While Merseyrail operates services through the station and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has a key role in the wider transport network, the station itself is owned by Network Rail.
Rob Galkoff, FAB secretary, presented findings from its most recent supporter transport survey, which received 656 completed responses. The research highlighted a number of recurring concerns around the post-match experience, including queues and rail capacity, crowd management, accessibility, perceptions of safety, the lack of shelter and toilet facilities, and the availability of clear real-time travel information.
Around half of those surveyed reported a poor experience at Sandhills, while approximately 30% said they had felt vulnerable or unsafe when travelling on a matchday. The FAB stressed that concerns were principally focused on the station infrastructure and the experience of leaving the stadium, while Merseyrail staff working at Sandhills received considerable praise from supporters.
Sandhills Station
Sandhills Station.(Pic Andrew Teebay).
View 3 Images
The discussion recognised the challenge is not simply the length of time supporters are waiting, but how that wait is experienced and managed - including crowd density, weather protection, accessibility, communication, queue management and perceptions of safety. These factors will all form part of the next phase of planning and development for the Sandhills queuing area.
Around 20,000 matchday rail journeys currently pass through Sandhills for Everton home fixtures, with up to 11,000 passengers travelling through the station before games and between 6,000 and 8,000 afterwards. Officials from Merseyrail said Network Rail's current signalling infrastructure limits the ability to increase services beyond the 24-28 trains per hour currently operating.
Every available eight-car unit will be made available for Everton home games officials said. The group discussed the significant investment required to increase capacity, with Mr Rotheram and the combined authority working to secure funding and accelerate infrastructure improvements that had “not previously been anticipated” in the foreseeable future.
There was agreement that further consideration should be given to providing supporters with credible alternatives to Sandhills, reducing the concentration of passengers attempting to use one station immediately after an event. These included matchday bus services and express or shuttle routes connecting supporters with other railway stations, park and rides and transport hubs, potentially including Bank Hall, Kirkdale, Liverpool Lime Street and Hamilton Square, as well as services aimed at areas currently less well served by the existing matchday transport offer.
Further information was provided on the issues that left supporters stuck at Sandhills following Everton’s home match last Wednesday. A number of disgruntled Blues reported being left waiting for up to an hour to get home after issues emerged with an onboard train monitoring camera.
Queues at Sandhills on Wednesday evening (Tony Scott)
Queues at Sandhills on Wednesday evening (Tony Scott)
View 3 Images
The meeting was told how supporters who had boarded a train were required to disembark after the service developed a fault, by which point the next group of passengers had already been released onto the platform in anticipation of the following service. This placed additional pressure on an area the managed queuing system is specifically designed to protect.
Officials acknowledged that lessons should be taken from the incident, including around the timing and control of supporter movements onto the platform, the management of boarding during disruption and the speed and clarity of information provided to those waiting. Mr Rotheram told BBC Radio Merseyside fans groups had recognised “we are currently doing everything we can do” in relation to the railway and power to change particular elements were out of local hands.
The mayor said it had been a “really good” discussion with fan representatives but was at pains to stress Sandhills is “not our station.” He added how there wasn’t a “magic wand solution” to the station issues. He said: “I feel we’re moving to a better understanding…we will continue to squeeze as much capacity out of what we’ve currently got and if there’s things that we can do that will improve it even further then we will.”