With Everton set to move into their new Bramley Moore Dock stadium at the start of the 2025/26 season, fans are growing concerned at the lack of clear travel links to and from the stadium.
At present, Sandhills station is around a 20 minute walk from the new Bramley Moore Dock Stadium but is estimated to only have the capacity to deal with hundreds of people passing through the station at one time – on matchdays the number of people will be 3,000 an hour.
The problems are exacerbated by the fact that Mersey Rail is the only main travel option to the stadium – unlike Goodison, it is not an easy walk nor are the docks very accessible by car, with much of the surrounding area also being redeveloped as part of the regeneration project.
Everton promised to upgrade Sandhills station as a facility back in 2018 after a public survey was conducted, with 60% of fans saying that they would travel by public transport to and from the games.
The LJMU student website Merseyfocus spoke to Everton season ticket holder Sean Kenn about his thoughts on how it feels to move to a new stadium and on the club’s current situation.
He said: “I’ve been in the same seat for God knows how long, as soon as I was born my dad moved us into the Gwladys Street end. It’s a welcome change for me, but at the same time are we going to get too the game.
“The trains don’t even go their yet, I’ve heard they’re building something but we haven’t seen anything yet. Where we are going to get picked up from if we do go, though?”
He added: “It’s going to be like a new Baltic Market. The place is just going to be unbelievable.
“I cant wait to get there, I’m so excited just talking about it now – but I don’t know what the future is going to hold.”
The upgrades are planned to start later in 2024, but planning permission has yet to have been secured. These changes are part of a wider multi-billon pound redevelopment of the Vauxhall area of the city – known as the Liverpool Water project.
The club hope to implement a shuttle bus service
It is hoped that a fan management zone will be put in place by Sandhills Station, with the station itself being upgraded to support a greater number of people passing through it.
This will include the redevelopment of the Stanley Rail Dock access area and a potential extra footbridge to aid the flow of people coming and in out of the stadium, particularly on matchdays.
The club also hope to implement a shuttle bus service from the larger stations in town to the stadium. However, nothing has publicly been announced from the club since these pledges were made upon the announcement of the project.
Fans are also frustrated at the announcement of the new season ticket prices for the final season at Goodison Park that were released last week.
The majority of tickets received a 7% increase, above the 5.2% current inflation mark. Many fans can understand the change in prices due to the current economic climate, yet such an increase can hardly be justified considering the clubs flailing performances on the pitch.
Furthermore, the big increase in prices are seen by many as preparation for an even bigger increase when the club moves to their new stadium in 2025.
