Looking at the first image: OK, who parked the ferry in our stadium? More pertintently, can we have a station beside St Marys. It seems stupid to have a length of railway track running right by the ground and not to make of use it.
How many Saints fans come to games by train? Would having a station next to the ground increase those numbers from just having to walk a mile from central station? The days of "football specials" are long gone, so having a train just for away fans is a non-starter too. The station couldn't be down the line behind the Kingsland as that would mean dedicated trains just for football, that won't happen. If it was to be anywhere closer, then on the mainline next to the Siemens railway works, but still don't think it would be anywhere cost effective. I'm sure the city council would also argue that having fans walking through town increases the likelyhood of them shopping, eating and drinking in the city centre.
And the obligitary smash things up, shout obscenities at passers by and the like..........Football is great
I very much doubt even if there was a station right outside SMS that away fans would all herd like sheep straight inside. They'd still go looking around for nearby pubs.
It's way out of scale, but it could be the new hotel being constructed at ocean village which is shaped like a ship.
There used to be a station at Northam not too long ago which if it existed today would have been just outside the Northam end. I really cannot see in this day and age that a station is needed. At best you might maybe 50 or sixty fans come via train once a fortnight?
Even if you couldn't exploit both lines, it can't be that hard to build a station and run trains from St Denys to St Marys on match days, especially given that St Denys is a junction and would make a good interchange as is. You could also run works trains from St Marys to St Denys on Monday - Friday. If Exeter City can afford to run the stop at St James Park, we should be able to handle a new station at St Marys.
SMS isn't an out of town venue. It has a buslink from the station and ferries and is within walking distance of both. The station idea was looked at by Lowe when SMS was built and shown to be very expensive. Hardly worth it for only 38+ times a year.
Not just 38+days a year. There will be thousands wanting to do Stadium tours of the unbeatable Premier League champions and the 5 times Champions League winners
Apparently, Barcelona (who seek to emulate Saints) call their ground Camp Nou...only the British refer to it as Nou Camp. I am, in deference to Mauricio, trying to speak Spanish as she is spoke.
