Murrayfield match-day station

[dcsprior]

Recent discussion on the "Edinburgh Tram developments" thread has made me wonder: could/should there be a station on the main railway line that goes past Murrayfield Stadium, served only during rugby matches and other large events?

 

[Topological]

Is there space?

From what I can see the tram line covers any spare land between the railway and the stadium. I remember going past 15 years ago and thinking there was space, but now there does not look to be much room.

IF a platform could be created that could operate an electric shuttle to Waverley then I could see the sense. The platform capacity at Waverley must be there by the time evening events finish, even if it is a struggle for afternoon games.

I assume it would have to be off the line to the south with an extra span on the bridge that goes under the railway. Looks like some building up of the land would be needed and there would also have to be a new entry point for maintenance vehicles as they currently have an access road there.

I do not know if all of the work would pay for itself, but the case for crowd management must be strong.

 

[dcsprior]

Is there space?

From what I can see the tram line covers any spare land between the railway and the stadium. I remember going past 15 years ago and thinking there was space, but now there does not look to be much room.

I was thinking there'd be room enough for a railway platform between the tram line and the railway line?

IF a platform could be created that could operate an electric shuttle to Waverley then I could see the sense. The platform capacity at Waverley must be there by the time evening events finish, even if it is a struggle for afternoon games.

Ah, I was meaning more so that people could go direct to other cities without having to change from Tram/Bus to train at Waverley. If they'd have to change from one train to another anyway, I'm not sure there's as much benefit

 

[Topological]

A bigger station would presumably need 4 platform faces (to serve all 4 lines) and therefore be quite an undertaking.

I must confess I read that it was taking too long for the trams to get people to Edinburgh and that the capacity was not really there to handle a big event. Edinburgh seemed like the one destination that would be useful to everyone. People going West could presumably change at Haymarket (if they were time sensitive, I would go to Waverley for a seat)

 

[zwk500]

I was thinking there'd be room enough for a railway platform between the tram line and the railway line?

Murrayfield's seating capacity is c.67,000 people. Concert attendances can be higher due to using the pitch. You not only need room for the platform, but also the people. Compare the Murrayfield tram stop to a more normal suburban one. There might be space - but remember you'd probably need all 4 lines to have platform faces due to events taking place when engineering work is likely on one pair or the other.

Ah, I was meaning more so that people could go direct to other cities without having to change from Tram/Bus to train at Waverley. If they'd have to change from one train to another anyway, I'm not sure there's as much benefit

The stadium is slightly under 1 mile from Haymarket station on foot. Services via the WCML and from Glasgow will already call here. You are looking at easily £50m for a new station in that location, likely more (current costs are £10-20m for a 2-platform station in a relatively simple constructable location). Stopping trains twice on this section will eat into capacity. Murrayfield hosts somewhere between 7 and 10 rugby matches a year normally. I would have thought that strengthening local services between Haymarket and Waverley (length & frequency) would be a far more effective way of serving the demand.

 

[dcsprior]

You are looking at easily £50m for a new station in that location, likely more (current costs are £10-20m for a 2-platform station in a relatively simple constructable location).

Ah, I think I'd underestimated cost by a factor of about 100!

At that kind of price, I doubt it'd be worth it.

 

[HSTEd]

The fundamental problem event stations like this have is they have to have enormous capacity to soak up passengers, otherwise you just end up with the station having to close due to overcrowding.

 

[6Gman]

The fundamental problem event stations like this have is they have to have enormous capacity to soak up passengers, otherwise you just end up with the station having to close due to overcrowding.

On the one occasion I attended a match at Murrayfield (many years ago, when you could pay on the gate and the capacity was however many could cram in) the mass walk back to Haymarket and the city centre was an effective way of spreading out the crowds. Expecting a station alongside to cope with many thousands just wouldn't work.

 

[greyman42]

The fundamental problem event stations like this have is they have to have enormous capacity to soak up passengers, otherwise you just end up with the station having to close due to overcrowding.

This is one of the problems they had with the station at Manchester United FC which is no longer in use.

 

[The exile]

The fundamental problem event stations like this have is they have to have enormous capacity to soak up passengers, otherwise you just end up with the station having to close due to overcrowding.

There is at least one photo of trams (pre-1956 ones) lined up west of Murrayfield waiting for a march to finish. Stretches out of the field of vision…

 

[mangyiscute]

Yeah it's just overall going to be way better to have everyone walk to Haymarket, since this already serves all of the trains that would stop at Murrayfield. Furthermore, it's in some ways better to have the stadium a mile walk away, as that isn't really too far for most people, but it gives opportunity for the crowd to separate out a bit and makes sure people don't all arrive at once.

 

[Hadders]

Yeah it's just overall going to be way better to have everyone walk to Haymarket, since this already serves all of the trains that would stop at Murrayfield. Furthermore, it's in some ways better to have the stadium a mile walk away, as that isn't really too far for most people, but it gives opportunity for the crowd to separate out a bit and makes sure people don't all arrive at once.

I absolutely agree with this. Having the station a short walk away is far better than having it 'on-site' as it allows the crowd to disperse. This is especially important post-match as everyone leaves at the same time.

 

[MarkyT]

I absolutely agree with this. Having the station a short walk away is far better than having it 'on-site' as it allows the crowd to disperse. This is especially important post-match as everyone leaves at the same time.

Wharfside, the new Metrolink station serving Old Trafford, is about 400m from the stadium. They built wide side platforms rather than a typical island, no doubt for capacity, and there are queuing pens on either sides for crowd control.

 

[chiltern trev]

Yeah it's just overall going to be way better to have everyone walk to Haymarket, since this already serves all of the trains that would stop at Murrayfield. Furthermore, it's in some ways better to have the stadium a mile walk away, as that isn't really too far for most people, but it gives opportunity for the crowd to separate out a bit and makes sure people don't all arrive at once.

Incorrect. Trains to Glasgow via Shorts, Carstairs and WCML to Carlisle and south all branch off before Murrayfield.

I agree, walking to Haymarket spread out the crowds and helps with separating rail users from others attending Murrayfield events.

 

[HSTEd]

Yeah it's just overall going to be way better to have everyone walk to Haymarket, since this already serves all of the trains that would stop at Murrayfield. Furthermore, it's in some ways better to have the stadium a mile walk away, as that isn't really too far for most people, but it gives opportunity for the crowd to separate out a bit and makes sure people don't all arrive at once.

I do like the idea of in-stadium stations and believe they could be made to work, but they would not be cheap stations.

You would probably need to have one enormous platform on a reversible line, with the other tracks bypassing the station in some way.

That platform line would probably have to be barred to other traffic and built with as near to level-boarding as possible.

 

[mangyiscute]

Incorrect. Trains to Glasgow via Shorts, Carstairs and WCML to Carlisle and south all branch off before Murrayfield.

I agree, walking to Haymarket spread out the crowds and helps with separating rail users from others attending Murrayfield events.

I mean every train that would stop at a potential murrayfield station also always stops at Haymarket, not the other way round.