Rail season ticket re-launch bid to ease strain for train travellers to Norwich City FC games

By Alex Hurrell , Reporter Friday, February 3, 2012
5:49 PM

The strain of packed match-day trains is set to be eased with the re-launch of rail season tickets for Norwich City FC fans.

James Steward, area manager for National Express East Anglia’s rural routes, said they were planning to promote the train travel football season ticket in readiness for the 2012/13 football season.

Chiefs hope it will cut long waiting times for fans from across the region arriving and leaving Norwich rail station for home games.

The move coincides with a plea for action by the Canaries’ supporters’ trust which has written to the club about the problem, according to trustee Phil Harris.

Mr Harris, who does not usually take the train to matches, recalled his experience when he travelled on a two-coach Bittern Line train from his home in Cromer to watch the pre-season game against Parma last August.

“It was packed. The guard physically couldn’t get from one end of the train to the other to collect fares and by the time we left North Walsham it was heaving,” said Mr Harris, 57, of Bernard Road.

At Norwich all those who had not been able to buy a ticket on board had to join a long queue to pay two members of rail staff manning the barriers.

Mr Harris said it had taken him 45 minutes to get out of the station and he had arrived at the ground just five or 10 minutes before kick-off.

“I’m fit, but anyone with a disability could have missed the start of the match,” he added.

“There were people in the queue saying: ‘If it’s going to be like this, I’m not catching the train again’ and I’ve heard people say since that it’s usually like that.”

He was surprised to learn that season tickets already existed and urged rail chiefs to promote them far more effectively, including pre-season posters on prominent display at all stations serving Norwich.

A spokesman for National Express East Anglia said they had been offering football season tickets for a number of years, covering all their lines.

They were available to Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester and Tottenham fans for their teams’ home games but take-up had been “relatively low” and there would be a re-launch in the summer.

They tried very hard to ensure that any outstanding fares were sold at the ticket barrier in Norwich as quickly as possible to ensure that passengers were not unnecessarily delayed.

The company did its best to run enough trains and with enough carriages within available resources and operating requirements.

“With this season in particular seeing a number of variances of kick-off times this is something that we keep under review and for example, for a recent Sunday match we operated an additional service to North Walsham because of a different kick-off time,” said the spokesman.

He expected the season tickets initiative to continue with Sunday’s switch of the East Anglia rail franchise to new operators, Abellio.

Joe Ferrari, for NCFC, said with 27,000 people descending on the same place at the same time for home matches, they were always keen to encourage fans to use public transport where possible.

“The club is committed to working with all the relevant transport agencies and local authorities to continue to look at ways of getting supporters to and from our games,” he said. “It’s an important issue which we are working hard on with our partners.”

● Are you travelling to tomorrow’s match by train? Send us your photos and videos. Visit www.edp24.co.uk and click on the iwitness24 link.

6 comments

Is the picture from Middle Earth? Troll on!

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Mad Brewer

Saturday, February 4, 2012
It's been like that for decades! When it was Anglian Railways, you had the added problem of when it so much as drizzled, the train was delayed because of bad weather! (yet the Central Trains seemed to be able to get down from Liverpool ok) This season I've used Railways, Busses and Trams to get to Old Trafford, Villa Park and the Hawthorns. None of them are as shambolic as Norfolk. In the midlands, every station has a ticket machine and you cannot board a train without a ticket. The barriers at the stations are therefore quick because they're only checking tickets not selling them too. If you can get to and from Old Trafford which sees three times more fans arriving each match, and Villa Park, which is double, easier than Norwich then something is very wrong. But like I said, it was like it ten years ago do I doubt anything will change soon.

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Dan

Saturday, February 4, 2012
I'm afraid that this is symptomatic of the National Express attitude to it's customers. Wymondham, Attleborough, Brundall and North Walsham stations were staffed part time on weekdays and match Satudays to address this problem, firstly on a trial basis and then permanently for over 5 years. This unusual initiative, restoring staffing to stations that had lost their ticket office staff back in the Beeching era, won Natiinal Express a number of industry awards - quite apart from the benefits for customers of not missing the start of a match by being forced to queue for 30 minutes to buy tickets on arrival at Norwich! Unfortunately, during 2010 staffing became problematic as staff numbers were reduced to save money (or make more profit for shareholders, depending on your political viewpoint) and the staff concerned were utilised in what were then percieved as more important locations. The the final, by then irregular, staffing of Wymondham took place in March 2011. At the same time, the number of staff manning the barriers at Norwich was also reduced. The match day season ticket scheme received little or no publicity for the current season with National Express losing interest just as they lost out on their renewal bid for the local rail operating franchise. New incumbents Greater Anglia (an Abellio company) take over on Sunday, and I think they may well be far more customer focussed than their predecessors, although the issue of overcrowding on pre and post match services is not solvable without resources for additional rolling stock - and that is entirely in the hands of the Department for Transport - not the local train operator.

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redrovrtvl

Friday, February 3, 2012
They need to change the times or throw extra trains on. I sprinted from Carrow road to the station in time to watch an almost EMPTY train leave then had to wait an hour for the next one which was absolutely packed, felt sorry for the non-footy fans trying to get home. Bit stupid really going to promote these football tickets if they don't alter timings, put more trains on or put more carriages on. 2 car sprinters are not enough on match days. Hopefully our new Dutch train overlords will have more of a clue than NXEA

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Richard_Waugh

Friday, February 3, 2012
I no longer bother about the train, as most game dont finish untill 4.50, there is no chance in catching the 4.58 and then wait another hour to stand all the way home.

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Adrian Ward

Friday, February 3, 2012
I always go by train,luckily i get on at sheringham,i always manage to get a seat and a ticket.Its normally standing room only after north walsham.Then they have to cue at the barriers to get a ticket,this takes quite a while.On the way home i have managed to get a seat once this season.Its a joke service but you expect that from national express

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ncfc

Friday, February 3, 2012

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