Stratford Regional station and Stratford International to a lesser extent are the main transport hubs for spectators at the London Stadium. Even outside of match days, Stratford Regional can be operating at capacity with the number of passengers that it can handle and then additional operational measures need to be implemented. As well as people entering and exiting the station, due to it having 8 different rail lines, it is also a major inter-change station for passengers transferring to another line.

New entrance at Gibbons Road / Carpenters Estate

The new entrance/exit at Stratford station by the Jubilee Line to Gibbons Road and the Carpenters estate has recently opened. WHUST have been following the development of the new Gibbons Road/Carpenters Estate entrance since our meeting with Newham SAG members in 2020.

Unfortunately, on event days (including when West Ham United are playing at home) the exit is closed. This is partly due to Newham Council and local police being unwilling to fund the extra staffing needed outside the station.

The planning application for this new entrance was first submitted in March 2016 with completion esitmated for 2018. Initial delays concerned the funding of the new entrance which was finally approved in 2019. The pandemic and problems with underground utilities that weren’t expected to be there, meant construction didn’t commence until 2023.

The new entrance was never designed to be used for events. There are 4 ticket barriers at this gateline at the entrance - 2 for entry and 2 for exit. They simply could not cope with the volumes of people on an event day. The pinch points in Stratford station are the stairs and escalators inside the station and not the gatelines - there is spare capacity at the other entrances.

It is not just TfL staff having to man the barriers but all the additional LS185 staff that would be needed to manage all the extra stop/go holding points through Carpenters Estate. This would also mean closing roads on the Estate.

Many people already use the Carpenters Estate to avoid the stop/go boards - to then go over the really old footbridge there to the Great Eastern Road entrance. Having this entrance operational would cause an increase which would simply be unmanageable.

Also the justification for funding the entrance was for the redevelopment of Carpenters Estate which will see an additional 1,300 homes in the next 5+ years.

I think that we would be raising considerable safety concerns at the first sign of overcrowding in the narrow confines on the pathway leading up to the entrance especially for infirm and disabled passengers.

It would have been nice for a supporter representative to be involved with Newham Council’s Safety Advisory Group so that these issues can be discussed and understand the reasoning behind some of their decisions.

The Stop / Go Boards

We have previously sat down with some members of Newham’s Safety Advisory Group to discuss the reasons for the Stop / Go boards, their implementation and what could be done to improve supporters’ frustrations in the walk back to the Stratford stations.
Contrary to many fans’ beliefs, the Stop / Go boards are not there just to antagonise the supporters, but are a vital part of ensuring the safety and effective crowd management during the egress from the Stadium after a match. Spectator safety remains a key focal point for park operations management; this is in relation to stadium football matches and the ingress/egress route, security, safety and spectator flows.

Stratford station layout is complicated following a history of ad hoc expansion over the years. The real issue of capacity is at pinch-points occurring within the pedestrian tunnels and stairs. The train capacity and frequency (195 trains per hour) is not currently a factor in potential overcrowding.

Whenever the pinch-points reach their capacity, there has to be a temporary hold on further passengers entering that point. To stop any further build-up of people, waiting passengers are stopped at holding points. These holding points have to be in safe unconfined areas where the crowd can easily be managed. The immediate holding points are at the entrance to the station, typically the Northern Ticket Hall and sometimes at the Mezzanine Ticket Hall. To further ease congestion on the Northern Ticket Hall, passengers for the Jubilee and DLR are directed over the Town Centre Link Bridge towards the Mezzanine Ticket Hall. To stop further flows of supporters into the holding points, then additional holding points are enacted further back on Montfichet Road and at The Stich by Westfield Road.

Holding points at The Stich and Montfichet Road

So when there is a potential for overcrowding within the station, an instruction is sent out by London Underground staff to the Park Operations Centre (POC). They in turn instruct the stewards at the various holding points to stop the flow of supporters. So whilst there may be no apparent reason why supporters are being held at The Stich with the way ahead appearing perfectly clear, it’s actually the subsequent holding points that are not moving.

Why are supporters prevented from using Westfield to access the station?

Part of the planning approval for the use of the Stadium going back to The Olympics, is that there should be no real detrimental effect on other residents and businesses of Newham: therefore Westfield passengers have priority in use of the station. It is also unsafe to attempt to implement a holding point within the confines of Westfield. That means supporter egress through Westfield has to be stopped and supporters directed to use alternative routes.

What are the plans to improve passenger flow and the impact of the proposed increase in capacity of the Stadium to 62,500 and beyond?

LLDC has established the Last Mile Strategic Group with LB Newham, LS185, Westfield and TfL. This is a strategic group at a senior level looking at crowd movements on the Park and between the Stadium and the stations, and at long term improvements to arrangements. It is proposed that this forum will also provide oversight to the plans for improvements to Stratford Station which LLDC is working with TfL to progress.

It is not just the use of the Stadium that the station infrastructure is being considered. Stratford is at the centre of London’s rapid growth eastward. It is emerging as a regionally and nationally significant innovation and business district and by 2050 it is anticipated 25 per cent of London’s population will be housed in the area.

Key to the success of Stratford is its National Rail and Underground station. Passenger activity has tripled at the station over the last ten years and demand is forecast to increase further with the introduction of new and more frequent rail services.

Successful regeneration and commercial growth in Stratford is dependent on the station being able to operate efficiently and with sufficient capacity. The station is now at a point where lack of capacity and indirect connections to neighbouring areas risk inhibiting growth in Stratford.