A weekend of major events in Greater Manchester was marred by transport chaos, as public transport passengers were forced to pay inflated taxi prices or even walk hours to get home.
This weekend saw residents and tourists alike pile into the city for as host of huge events. Friday night saw the Parklife weekender kick off with a homecoming gig by The Courteeners at Heaton Park.
Saturday and Sunday followed as the park was packed out once the festival got into full swing. Saturday evening was marked by football madness as Manchester City secured an historic treble with their Champions League final win - while the team’s home at the Etihad was leant out for a performance by pop star The Weeknd, the AO filled with Roger Water fans.
But the nights ended in disaster for some, say gig-goers and City-watchers. They have slammed public transport operators for ‘chaos’, even saying they felt unsafe as they were trying to make their way home.
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A number of ticket-holders for the final train on Saturday evening from Manchester to Liverpool have told the Manchester Evening News about how they faced pandemonium on Piccadilly’s platform 14. The 11.28pm Northern service was the last to go from Manchester to Liverpool Lime Street, connecting a vast swathe of the Greater Manchester area and Merseyside region.
Footage has emerged of the train completely packed, with police officers and station staff pleading with people to get off carriages so the doors could close and the train could depart.
By the time the train left, it was running 30 minutes behind. Those who could not get on it were left facing costly taxi fares – or even walking.
“It was awful, it was just packed. I had just gone for a couple of drinks with friends in town, I knew about Parklife but had forgotten completely about the football,” explained Eccles resident Ricardo Mendonca. “Lots of people were trying to get back home, especially on that train to Liverpool Lime Street - it was the last chance to get home until 8am.
“Before we got to platform 14, there were members of staff bringing a barrier to the platform where the screens at the top of the stairs tell you to wait before your train is there. But there were so many people going past the barriers or jumping over them.
“I went past because I was worried my train was about to leave – I never imagined I would walk down to see these crowds at the platform”.
He considered getting an Uber back home, until finding that the six mile journey would cost £50 instead of its usual £12, as the price inflated while demand grew.
“One of the doors on the train wouldn’t close because there were too many people near the door so the sensors kept being triggered to open. The train left around half an hour late.
“Lots of people just gave up immediately but there were so many people who were still trying, because they didn’t have another option, or couldn’t afford a taxi or hotel. The police were there asking people to get off the train so it could depart, but some people were still trying to get on.
“I had to walk back - I spoke to a police officer who said that’s what I’d probably have to do, the last tram had already gone by the time I left the platform.
“Uber was costing £50 at least, and that was just to get to Eccles - it’s only six miles and would usually cost £12. Imagine if you had to go all the way to Liverpool.
“I walked almost all the way home, I stumbled across a scooter with around a mile to go and used that to finish off.
“It was about two hours of walking, I arrived back home at about 3am. I can definitely feel my legs today.”
The last train confusion came after an afternoon of mayhem for Piccadilly. A fire between London and Manchester caused a slew of cancellations, leaving many passengers complaining that they were stuck for a way home as the city was far busier than usual.
“It was total chaos and so predictable as you got to the platform. Hundreds of people, with numerous prior train cancellations,” said another passenger, who had to get an ‘£100 Uber home’.
“The poor police and staff had no idea what was going on and were doing their best to calm people down. There were young people clearly upset talking to platform staff, because they didn't have the funds to find alternative transport at that time in the morning.
“People had left gigs early, to avoid the last train scenario, only to see earlier trains cancelled. There were no senior staff with radios anywhere.
“The poor teenagers… were left to fend for themselves.”
Jack Rawling, 19, was another passenger attempting to travel on that last train – he said the situation was unsafe. He told the Manchester Evening News: “Me and my mate went to see The Weeknd and had booked tickets for that specific train home.
“We got to Piccadilly around five minutes before the train was supposed to depart back to Lime Street. They started to block off the stairs to get down to the platform, which eventually people pushed through, and we followed as we wanted to get home.
“A lot of people were on the platform waiting for the train, then when it arrived it was absolute havoc. Me and my friend hung back for a while and just watched it happen.
“Little to no staff until things started getting serious. We spoke to a National Rail manager and explained we had tickets for this specific train and had no other way of getting home.
“This was the most baffling part for me – he said “99 per cent of people on the platform have tickets mate, you’ll have to find another way”. I’m not sure how they’ve allowed for all these tickets to be bought for this one train or even so, why only one train back to Lime Street after such a busy night was allowed.”
“One of the doors on the train broke and there was someone hurting on the inside of the train… people were and more could have been seriously hurt,” he added, eventually having to also get an ‘£100 Uber back home’.
Again, down on platform 14 at 11.30pm, Ricardo shares more of the ‘extreme’ scenes. “It was the most extreme scene I’ve ever seen,” he told the M.E.N. “People started to get off the train because they were afraid, a girl was crying, a dad and his son almost got split up because one couldn’t get on the train while the other had. Staff at the station were saying that there was nothing they could do.
“The city wasn’t ready or prepared to receive that amount of people. 11.30pm being the last train home isn’t good enough for the number of people trying to get between two huge cities.
“I’m from Brazil and I’ve been living here for seven years. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“In Brazil, public transport isn’t very good and I’m used to seeing people squeeze on busy trains. But I’ve never seen the authorities having to intervene at all.”
Craig Harrop, regional director at Northern, said: “I am extremely sorry that passengers experienced difficult travelling conditions on Saturday.
“Additional carriages were added to our trains to allow extra space for passengers and buses were also made available. However as a result of signalling issues near Chester and services by other operators being cancelled, the station and trains were extremely busy."
Less than a day later, fans at the Parklife festival and Soccer Aid were facing travel chaos again after Transport for Greater Manchester announced three major tram lines would remain shut overnight – including the Bury, Ashton and Rochdale lines. Revellers hoping to travel through Manchester using the tram after Parklife festival, using the Heaton Park stop, were told the Bury line will remain suspended for the rest of the day due to damage to the overhead line at Victoria.
The lines were suspended for several hours from 3.30pm, but it was hoped that repairs could be completed to allow the line to re-open in time for the end of the festival on Sunday evening. Instead, people were advised to walk back to Manchester city centre from the festival or get a shuttle bus.
The incident at Victoria also caused problems on other lines on the Metrolink network, with the Oldham/Rochdale line currently suspended between the city centre and Newton Heath and Moston.
TfGM’s Interim Chief Operating Officer, Alex Cropper, said last night: “We apologise for the disruption to Metrolink services this evening and in particular, to those passengers attending Parklife and Soccer Aid who are affected. We are working hard to resolve the issues as quickly as possible and to minimise disruption to passengers.
"Additional staff will be on hand to support passengers across the network. Passengers are advised to check TfGM’s website for the latest travel updates for Sunday evening and Monday morning."
Today (June 12), work to repair damage to Metrolink overhead line equipment has continued - and is expected to carry on throughout the night and into tomorrow.
All lines are currently operating, but trams have been unable to pass through Victoria tram stop since yesterday, due to severe damage to the equipment that is used to power the trams. Engineers have been on site for more than 24 hours and work is ongoing to replace around 100metre of cabling and other equipment. The extensive repairs will continue throughout the night and is expected to carry on into tomorrow.
Progress could also be impacted by the high temperatures and potential storms, said TfGM. TfGM’s Head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan, said: “The damage to the overhead lines is severe, but my thanks to passengers for their understanding while engineers work tirelessly in some challenging circumstances to get the repairs done.
“My thanks also to other partners, including bus operators and staff out across the network, who have been working really hard to get people where they need to go and limit disruption.
“We’re expecting lots of people to come into the city centre for the parade and I’d encourage people to please plan their journeys in advance, allow extra time for their journey and to take precautions due to the weather, such as making sure you stay hydrated.”
An investigation is underway into the cause of the damage to overhead line equipment.
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