What the heck? Richmond Station after an MCG game

[Glenhope]

Went to my one game of the year yesterday @ the MCG via Richmond station. Ok arriving but it was a disaster trying to leave. There was a crush of fans trying to reenter the station from Batman Avenue. The entire area around the entrance was packed and unmoving. Metro staff were, of course, requiring everyone to touch-on which is a very slow process with limited touch-pads. 20 years ago they would have just opened the barriers and it would not have been a problem. In this age of "taking it very seriously" this is embarrassing and incompetent.

They need to rebuild that entrance and put lines of touch-on points along the approaches to the entrance and have no barriers at all there when the footy's on.

Is this the normal experience nowadays at this station?

 

[rdhopkins2]

Went to my one game of the year yesterday @ the MCG via Richmond station. Ok arriving but it was a disaster trying to leave. There was a crush of fans trying to reenter the station from Batman Avenue. The entire area around the entrance was packed and unmoving. Metro staff were, of course, requiring everyone to touch-on which is a very slow process with limited touch-pads. 20 years ago they would have just opened the barriers and it would not have been a problem. In this age of "taking it very seriously" this is embarrassing and incompetent.

They need to rebuild that entrance and put lines of touch-on points along the approaches to the entrance and have no barriers at all there when the footy's on.

Is this the normal experience nowadays at this station?

Totally the norm. It’s an absolute hazard.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Went to my one game of the year yesterday @ the MCG via Richmond station. Ok arriving but it was a disaster trying to leave. There was a crush of fans trying to reenter the station from Batman Avenue. The entire area around the entrance was packed and unmoving. Metro staff were, of course, requiring everyone to touch-on which is a very slow process with limited touch-pads. 20 years ago they would have just opened the barriers and it would not have been a problem. In this age of "taking it very seriously" this is embarrassing and incompetent.

They need to rebuild that entrance and put lines of touch-on points along the approaches to the entrance and have no barriers at all there when the footy's on.

Is this the normal experience nowadays at this station?

1) this is situation normal, and to be honest has been improved since they stopped cars on brunton

2) they will never open the gates. Thats effectively giving 30k-50k people a free ride 2-3 times a week (and pressure would mount to do that same at southern cross. This could cost Metro over $1m a week.

3) there is already a plan to link the mcg to the station direct via a bridge. Doing this will still have queues, but hopefully not in the bottleneck currently created by the old design of this entrance

 

[GreyCrow]

Adelaide and Port Adelaide fans have the option of free train and bus travel to the games. Trains are free and the barriers are open at Adelaide train station and there are certified Footy Express buses for free.

This is said to be added to the membership/ticket to cover costs. Not sure it could work in Melbourne. Maybe for certain games a directive could come down that once a crowd gets to a certain amount then the gates are opened

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Totally the norm. It’s an absolute hazard.

This.

Richmond Station is in need for a long overdue rebuild.

 

[captain cotch 9]

Its definatley a situation where an accident is waiting to happen

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Can’t believe it’s never been upgraded. It’s incredibly unsatisfactory for the job it needs to do.

 

[Chuckie357]

How is this a scandal?

 

[TigerTime_89]

Was there last night, embarrassing as always.

 

[sprockets]

Metro Trains board.

 

[BG32]

We have a Port player assaulting a young lady and you post this?

 

[justlookingaround]

Catching the train home from Richmond after the footy is one of the worst things to do in Melbourne. Add in a winter night with a complaining girlfriend and it's hell on earth.
Usually I'd walk to Flinders get something to eat then leave, it's a little more bearable that way.

I actually moved to the inner suburbs recently purely because I work in the CBD and despise the metro train network as a whole, it was (usually) the shittiest 2 hours of my day.

 

[Aramis]

What I find incredible about situations where a lot of people get bottlenecked for "security" or "business" purposes is that it makes the situation completely unsafe.

A different but relevant scenario is the bottlenecking of fans at the MCC gate so they can be wanded. I can tell you right now if someone is going to the footy to take lives or create an act of terrorism that they will be doing it outside in the middle 1500 odd lined up waiting to get wanded for "security".

Im not sure if this is happening at other gates or not.

 

[Black Panther]

Adelaide and Port Adelaide fans have the option of free train and bus travel to the games. Trains are free and the barriers are open at Adelaide train station and there are certified Footy Express buses for free.

This is said to be added to the membership/ticket to cover costs. Not sure it could work in Melbourne. Maybe for certain games a directive could come down that once a crowd gets to a certain amount then the gates are opened

It can be done

Melbourne 2006 Comm Games had free public transport if you had a ticket

But that was before the days of the touch-on/touch-off myki

 

[GreyCrow]

It can be done

Melbourne 2006 Comm Games had free public transport if you had a ticket

But that was before the days of the touch-on/touch-off myki

We also have a touch on the train and touch out at certain stations. On football days the barriers are opened

 

[R_Grunter]

The fact that it takes 5 full seconds for those POS myki cards to actually register is a big part of the problem. It’s creates bottle necks on near empty trams. Whoever signed off on that should’ve been punted from politics before they were made accountable for sexual assault/their part in a paedophile ring/taking bribes from Chinese businessmen.

 

[bilston]

We have a Port player assaulting a young lady and you post this?

I don't believe it was a choice of reading one over the other

 

[djspank]

Great OP, I fully agree. I was at the same game trying to leave and we got to the station and saw the crush of people and decided it was too unsafe, especially with our 2 little kids.
Walked to Richmond proper for a drink instead.

 

[Numtums]

Caroline Wilson: "There is going to be a major announcement by the Victorian Government about all the major Victorian Stadiums. Every AFL President will be summoned to a phone hook up in the next 10 minutes. I know that one of the big winners will be Carlton and Ikon Park"

???????

 

[juss]

Its a shit experience. Platforms and thus trains are packed like sardines, the trains dont come often enough, getting into the station takes an eternity.

 

[captain cotch 9]

Correct me if im wrong but didnt Adelaide go back to back?
Didnt the Lions win 3 in a row?
Didnt the Swans & Eagles dominate for nearly a decade?

 

[bgt2110]

Metro staff also just standing around doing nothing except chatting to themselves.

 

[Gydafud]

I always cross Punt Rd and just use the entrance at the other end of the stadium. No crowds and lots of space. Sure it's a bit longer walk, but it circumvents the crush.

 

[Glenhope]

I always cross Punt Rd and just use the entrance at the other end of the stadium. No crowds and lots of space. Sure it's a bit longer walk, but it circumvents the crush.

Good idea. We were hemmed in on the south side of Punt Road and the crush was right up against the Punt Road Oval fence so it would have been a tricky move. By the time I finally got into the station I'd lost the family. I then heard the tannoy suggesting your trick but it was 45 minutes late.

 

[Gydafud]

Good idea. We were hemmed in on the south side of Punt Road and the crush was right up against the Punt Road Oval fence so it would have been a tricky move. By the time I finally got into the station I'd lost the family. I then heard the tannoy suggesting your trick but it was 45 minutes late.

Ah ok, I have also used the bridge over Brunton to get on to Swan street and enter from that side as well. I know the Brunton entrance is always a shit show, so I do my best to avoid it.