Tens of thousands of fans are expected to use stations around Bramley-Moore Dock on Saturday
The new footbridge under construction at Sandhills Station,with the Hill Dickinson Stadium(far right).(Pic Andrew Teebay)
The new footbridge under construction at Sandhills Station,with the Hill Dickinson Stadium(far right).(Pic Andrew Teebay)
(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Merseyrail says it has a “robust plan” in place to deal with the largest number of fans travelling to Everton’s new stadium to date this weekend. This Saturday marks the first official men’s home game away from Goodison Park in 133 years as the Blues welcome AS Roma for their pre-season curtain raiser at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
It will also be the first time the 52,769-seater venue will be operating at near full capacity with tens of thousands of supporters expected to make use of the Merseyrail network. Ahead of the landmark fixture, the region’s rail operator has confirmed its service details for Saturday afternoon.
While the majority of fans are expected to use Sandhills, Merseytravel is keen to encourage supporters to use other locations to ensure they can get to and from the match quickly and efficiently.
Neil Grabham, Merseyrail managing director, said the station is expected to be extremely busy but plans are in place to manage the number of fans expected.
As the closest location, Sandhills will serve as the main hub for matchday travel. As the ECHO revealed last week, a new second entrance and pedestrian footbridge at the station has been constructed and will be open for the event to help manage the expected large crowds.
A 15-minute service will operate on the Southport, Ormskirk, Hunts Cross, and Headbolt Lane lines before and after the event.
All available four and eight-car trains will be in service to support increased demand.
Sandhills Station for the Hill Dickinson Stadium and Soccerbus to Anfield.(Pic Andrew Teebay)
Sandhills Station for the Hill Dickinson Stadium and Soccerbus to Anfield.(Pic Andrew Teebay)
Customers travelling on the Southport line will notice changes to the arrival and departure times of services. A revised timetable will also be in place for customers travelling to or from Cressington station.
Those travelling to the match are strongly encouraged to use the Merseyrail journey planner via the website or app to check updated train times and plan their journey. Moorfields and Bank Hall stations are also within a 25 walk of the stadium and offer alternatives to avoid congestion at Sandhills.
Both stations will also be used as part of Merseyrail’s contingency plans, should disruption occur at Sandhills station during the event. Wirral line services will run to a normal timetable, with additional services supporting the usual 30-minute frequency from 7.30pm onwards.
Fans making their way to Sandhills (David Humphreys)
Fans making their way to Sandhills (David Humphreys)
Neil Grabham, Managing Director at Merseyrail, said: “We look forward to welcoming Everton fans who choose to travel by Merseyrail to this weekend’s third test event at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. We’ve put in place a robust plan with extra services and staff across the network to support, but customers should expect the network to be very busy on Saturday.
“Like train stations near other major football stadiums across the UK, Sandhills station will be extremely busy on matchdays. Customers can help us, to help them, by planning ahead, allowing extra time for journeys, and considering alternative routes in case of unexpected disruption.”