Fan Management Zone in the works for Sandhills Station

Round objects! It's what happens after the game as well. Three-coach carriages (which is the norm) leaving Sandhills for Southport after the game are heaving much of the time. And that's before fans get on at Bank Hall.

Presumably the FMZ will be a similar experience to the less succinctly named “Man City Etihad post match tram queue”.

We rightly burst with pride when we see Everton Stadium rising from the ground. That's going to be ours!!! But look a little east and, quite frankly, the area is a bit of a shithole. The dock road often looks a little desolate. Don't get me wrong, I love the Victorian docks and their high walls. I used to love the old fella driving us along the dock road into town and the walls, railway lines, cobbles, majestic warehouses, glimpses of the river, a ship or three.

The walk from Sandhills to the dock is erm pretty shitty. Pubs? A chippy? Greggs? A newsagent? One reason I'm not unhappy that the opening has been pushed back is that it gives us more time to work on access etc. There must be some Scouse entrepreneurs seeing an opportunity for big sponds days with a nicely located new alehouse (mind you, once a fortnight?).

Can someone reassure me that I am wide of the mark here? I don't live in the city now and last saw the ground/area in 2022. I'm not thinking about bars and foody places in the stadium and its immediate surroundings inside the walls. Maybe that's enough for most of us? I've always loved the walk up County Road, turning right at The County, car parked, pointing back towards Crosby.

Sandhills station is a dump, although it does get trains on all routes. Surely, there would need to be a large-scale redevelopment of the station and the clock is ticking? How many extra trains are we talking about? Does Merseyrail actually have the stock? The dock road is not actually flush with buses, I assume more will be put on for the match. Walking from town is fine, but not everyone would or could do that.

A monorail? Trams?

Am I over-thinking this and creating issues where they do not exist?

Not sure what you expect the surrounding areas to be like when bmd opens?

I am hoping this will kickstart a regeneration of the area and cater for more than just fans arriving 20 odd times a year.

Wouldn't it be good for the city to attract new businesses and investment.

I would hate it to be just a football ground in the middle of nowhere not providing anything for the people of the city.

As regards Merseyrail, as Brent says, they can't provide sufficient trains to deal with the current match day numbers. The fact we are still waiting for the full roll-out of new trains due in 2020 suggests they will be unable to increase capacity without impacting other services across Merseyside. They make a special effort for the Aintree Grand National meeting but that is once a year.

The solution to transport access will need to come from a combination of buses, taxis and walking. Those with a death wish might try cycling.

However, it will probably be quicker to walk to town than queue. Better still, have an after-match pint at the ground and let the crowds disperse.

Those control systems at Wembley, the Emirates, the Tottenham Stadium and the London Stadium are an absolute nuisance.

Repeat warning (again). Build a monorail from Brunswick station to Sandhills. It won't just serve Everton but the City. And a modern tribute to the Overhead Railway; the Docker's Umbrella.

I don't think it's as bad for those on the coaches.

Just interested if anyone has any informaton on Safe Standing in the new stadium?

It seems that Liverpool FC are having problems with the new Anfield Road Stand with people being asked to leave for not sitting down.

With the south stand of the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock being the new home end, I can envisage problems… but at least there is time now to sort things out.

Supposedly the ground is being built to support safe standing so, in theory, we should be able to have it from Day 1.

“I have just learned that Liverpool City Region is supposedly working with Merseyrail to create a “fan management zone” at Sandhills for the new Everton Stadium, clearly a euphemism for queuing in the wind and rain.

I have used Kirkdale for many years to get to Goodison Park. On four match days this season a relief train to Ormskirk was commendably provided but otherwise there is frequent overcrowding and it is obvious that Sandhills, with its narrow island platform and the addition of Southport line passengers, will be hopelessly inadequate.

Why has the proposed station at Vauxhall been abandoned and why has nothing been planned at Sandhills until now?”

I will post Merseyrail's response on here as soon as it is received.

I suspect that many will give up on Merseyrail and walk to the city centre but I have no choice, travelling by car to Maghull North.

The new four-car trains have increased capacity with more standing space than the old three-car units and, after they are introduced onto the Southport Line this year, it will be possible to run eight cars at peak times, so the problem will simply be access to the platform at the station.

Incidentally, for anyone wondering about the walk from Sandhills to the stadium, it is slightly shorter than that from Kirkdale to Goodison and more agreeable than the rubbish-strewn streets of Kirkdale and Walton.

They work fine, but require trams coming every few minutes to clear the queues quickly. I doubt Merseyrail could manage that, but 8 car units would help.

How are fifty-odd thousand fans walking the same road, traffic both ways, especially at night… twice, and even walking from Sandhills across two major roads going to be safe?

When I saw where the new ground was going to be, I thought that's a bad location to get to safely. I don't think it's been taken into consideration the safety of the fans. If I was on the council and deciding if Bramley-Moore Dock was a good location for a new ground, my vote would be (for safety reasons) No.

The public purse for Liverpool City is empty.

The dock road is perfectly safe for pedestrians, don't be dramatic!

There are thousands walking down Walton Lane after every home game, with cars, lorries and buses going in both directions. I've yet to see anyone injured or in any kind of accident in all the years I've made that walk down to Queen's Drive, which, funnily enough, is also busy with cars, lorries and buses, and I've yet to see any kind of accident there either.

As for it being too far to walk from town to Bram;ey-Moore Dock, well I suppose it depends on whereabouts in town you are?

If you're at the top end of Bold Street, then yes, maybe it is a bit far to walk, but if you're somewhere around the Pier Head or Albert Dock area, then it's probably about a 15- to 20-minute walk, 30 minutes tops, probably about the same time it takes to walk from where my mate parks his car to Goodison.

I don't know if you've ever made the walk from Spurs to Seven Sisters tube station. There are literally thousands walking down Seven Sisters Road, for a walk that can take upto 45 minutes. Now that can be a nightmare!!

I've walked it numerous times and it's perfectly safe, and there won't be 50k walking to the stadium from town – that's for sure.
In fact there'll be plenty, I'm guessing, who will park where they park now, and walk it.

That's what we're considering, and drinking in the same pub as we do now.

The fabulous Cardiff dome is also riverside but three of its sides are city-central, leaving but a relative few to gaze upon the Taff as they walk to hit the city and its many bars just across the street after full-time.

By the time those relative few get to them they're stuffed full of fans though, who were able to get there five minutes earlier.

Maybe the venerable but bog-standard Bramley Moore pub can somehow acquire funds for a thousand-folk extension on match-days though.

Here's hoping!

It makes sense what you say about controlling the numbers on the platform at any one time, but is the platform long enough to take 8 cars?

As for safe walking, would it be possible to close the Dock Road to traffic say 1 hour prior to and after a match?

The end cars of the new 777s only have one set of doors, set back from the cab, so an 8 car set will overhang the platforms at either end, but the doors will be at the platform.

I believe only the Southport line will see 8 car trains. By the time BMD is ready, the full fleet of 777s will be operational, and all of the 507s and 508s will have gone to Sims in Newport, to be turned into cutlery.

Maybe build a new station between Moorfields and Sandhills? Bramley Moore?

It has been mentioned before. How about a ferry terminal by the stadium.

Transport for London has its River Service as part of the London transport system and the Ferries as well as being a tourist attraction, sit under Merseytravel.

Pier Head and the Wirral to Bramley Moore Dock.

Just ban any Gerry Marsden songs when Everton are at home.

Were right next to an empty dock but I suppose the cost of it being used every couple of weeks is probably prohibitive but it would be a great help for the thousands who travel over from the Wirral.

I know there's been some mention about the crowd dispersing from Goodison. The difference with Bramley-Moore Dock is that everyone will be exiting onto the Dock Road as that is the only place to exit.

A monorail would be great and a chance to build something iconic. I remember reading about a specific Monorail in Germany where the carriages 'hang down' from the rail in a city centre location...

Express trains to Sandhills would be very helpful.

I'm sure at some stage there will some kind of barge service operating from the Pier Head (similar to what they have at Old Trafford) but this can only transport a minimal amount of people.

Goodison was a stadium of so many 'firsts'. Why couldn't the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock be the first football stadium with its own ferry landing stage?

A monorail and the additional ferry terminal wouldn't just serve Everton. Part of the wider picture as I understand is to regenerate the northern docks, so it serves the city and improves the transport infrastructure.

Yes, the platform at Sandhills is long enough for 8-car trains.

Danny @31,

A Monorail is a non-starter – not just on infrastructure cost but also capacity.

Monorails can have similar capacities to any other mass transit system. The key factor is the segregated track, allowing it to avoid all congestion, meaning just a few trainsets can provide headways of just minutes, giving good line capacity.

A system running along the waterfront from Sandhills to Brunswick would serve all developments along that route and relieve some of the pressure on existing city centre Northern line stations, giving greater coverage. It also has the historical context of the overhead railway.

Liverpool waters, Ten Streets, Liverpool One, Albert and Kings Dock, Arena/Convention centre, Baltic Triangle, Pier Head and the new Everton Stadium all combined could merit a dedicated system pulling it altogether into the city centre.

Monorail could certainly work, the tram system they have in Manchester works well for trams to Old Trafford. I always thought a similar idea was possible by a tram system from near Lime Street, down to the Pier Head and then on to Bramley-Moore Dock.

However, Liverpool has just completed a major revamp on pedestrian and cycling lanes, so I doubt the City Council will look at that option now.

It doesn't help to have only 180 degrees of the circle to approach from though. Nor does going anti-car.

I'm on the monorail dreamers list, but a dream it will likely remain.

The stadium would require its own tidal landing stage for a ferry service.

That would be even less realistic than a monorail.

Link

These trams could be used on other routes on non match days.

The tracks can be laid quickly with minimum disruption.

They look like a low cost solution to me.

One way or another they are going to have to get this sorted out before Euro 2028. The Liverpool City council have a vested interest in coming up with a good solution.