Footage appears to show crowds clamouring for the last train from Manchester to Liverpool on Saturday night as the city was clearing out after multiple major events.
Huge crowds appeared to form on platform 14 at Manchester Piccadilly train station as the 11.28pm service was due to depart for Liverpool Lime Street. The city had just seen Manchester City win the Champions League final, which saw hundreds celebrating in town.
The Etihad was filled with crowds watching The Weeknd’s performance, while the AO was packed with Roger Waters-watchers.
But the last train to Liverpool looked heaving in videos from the night, with one passenger claiming he had to ‘walk home to Eccles’ as taxi prices skyrocketed. The station was chaos, he says, as people desperate to get home tried to cram on the final service.
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“It was awful, it was just packed,” said Eccles resident Ricardo Mendonca. “I had just gone for a couple of drinks with friends in town, I knew about Parklife but had forgotten completely about the football. 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.”
“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 42-year-old told the M.E.N. “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.”
Northern and Transport for Greater Manchester have been contacted for comment.
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