Gazwag
5 millionth post poster
With the increase in capacity at the Amex this of course increases the load on Falmer station. The Brighton side seems to clear fairly quickly however the Lewes side takes much longer than it did last season.
It was clear that at the final whistle last Friday a very large % of supporters had left the ground and when we arrived in the queue for the Lewes platform this was longer than it had ever been, of course this is not unexpected as it was a record attendance.
The problem however on the Lewes side is there are three different train services.
1 to Eastbourne
1 to Seaford
1 to Lewes only
What happens is many fans on the platform will only catch the train that is relevant to them. They seem ignorant of the fact that all trains stop at Lewes so they can then change there to catch another train for the rest of their journey, still arriving home at the same time, or if they are lucky with a connection, earlier.
The station staff, understandably, only allow the number of passengers through the gate for the capacity of the train that is due. What therefore happens is a large number are allowed on the platform for the eight car Eastbourne train but few of the fans wanting to go back to Seaford will catch this train, therefore the Eastbourne train leaves possibly 70% full and a large number of fans wait on the platform. This means only a small number of fans waiting outside can then be allowed on the platform to catch the smaller four car Seaford train 15 minutes later.
The solution is easy, the station staff need to ensure the fans on the platform catch the first available train and change at Lewes. This would clear Falmer station of fans twice as quickly and lead to less frustration for fans outside the station seeing half empty, and in some cases completely empty carriages when the trains leave Falmer.
It was clear that at the final whistle last Friday a very large % of supporters had left the ground and when we arrived in the queue for the Lewes platform this was longer than it had ever been, of course this is not unexpected as it was a record attendance.
The problem however on the Lewes side is there are three different train services.
1 to Eastbourne
1 to Seaford
1 to Lewes only
What happens is many fans on the platform will only catch the train that is relevant to them. They seem ignorant of the fact that all trains stop at Lewes so they can then change there to catch another train for the rest of their journey, still arriving home at the same time, or if they are lucky with a connection, earlier.
The station staff, understandably, only allow the number of passengers through the gate for the capacity of the train that is due. What therefore happens is a large number are allowed on the platform for the eight car Eastbourne train but few of the fans wanting to go back to Seaford will catch this train, therefore the Eastbourne train leaves possibly 70% full and a large number of fans wait on the platform. This means only a small number of fans waiting outside can then be allowed on the platform to catch the smaller four car Seaford train 15 minutes later.
The solution is easy, the station staff need to ensure the fans on the platform catch the first available train and change at Lewes. This would clear Falmer station of fans twice as quickly and lead to less frustration for fans outside the station seeing half empty, and in some cases completely empty carriages when the trains leave Falmer.