50,000 fans take public transport to Grand Final
NRL fans took to public transport in their thousands to get to and from the NRL Grand Final on Sunday, a Department of Transport spokesman said today.
“This represents a massive single movement of people and I would like to thank all of the drivers, station attendants and staff who worked hard to ensure people got to the game on time,” he said.
The spokesman said of the 83,000 fans that traveled to Olympic Park to watch the Manly Sea Eagles play the New Zealand Warriors, 36,000 used trains, while 14,000 people used the Major Event Bus service.
“This demonstrates that when there is a big event, game, or celebration using public transport is the way to go.
“CityRail provided special event trains direct to Olympic Park from Central and Blacktown every 7-10 minutes from midday to ensure thousands of fans who chose to catch the train didn’t miss a minute of the action.
“Getting fans home safely and quickly is always the biggest challenge for large events and that’s when the months of behind-the-scenes planning, coordination and extra staff make the biggest difference.
“Unlike arrivals which are usually dispersed across the afternoon, when the final whistle blows suddenly you have more than 36,000 people all wanting to catch the train home at the same time.
“It’s great to see people taking advantage of the travel included in their Grand Final ticket to get to and from the game on the CityRail network, Sydney Olympic Park Major Event Buses, regular Sydney Buses, Liverpool to Parramatta T-way buses and Sydney Ferries.
“On top of this STA buses and special event shuttle bus services helped more than 7,000 people travelling to and from the Parklife music festival and more than 3,700 going to the Randwick Races on Saturday - it was a big weekend for transport,” he said.
Transport for NSW regularly provides special event transport to and from special events such as the NRL Grand Final, with public transport options often included in the ticketing arrangements for the events.
Department of Transport Public Information Unit (02) 8202 3760
5 October 2011
