Public transport adds to smile on the face of Coldplay fans
Coldplay fans had an ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ under a ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ with one of Sydney’s biggest public transport operations helping tens of thousands of ticketholders make their way to and from four ‘Magic’ sold out shows.
Transport for NSW data shows 60% of the near-340,000 attendees used a train or bus to get to and from Accor Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park.
Coldplay got into the spirit by using social media to direct fans to Transport for NSW’s dedicated events page before the run of shows, encouraging more than 404,000 single train and bus trips to and from Sydney Olympic Park – putting the 1231 extra services laid on to the best possible use.
Fans who caught the train were rewarded with the Coldplay Express experience, with Central Station Grand Concourse lit up in a bold range of colours and decorations complimenting the band’s tour theme.
Trains to the event proudly displayed ‘Coldplay Music of the Spheres’ on the destination board and played onboard tracks including Higher Power, Something Just Like This, Sky Full of Stars, Good Feelings, Viva La Vida and Clocks.
The proportion of concertgoers using public transport was close to the numbers we saw when Taylor Swift fans travelled to four massive gigs at Accor Stadium in February. Significant demand was accommodated across the network once again with no delays affecting bump-in or bump-out for the four Coldplay events.
Breaking the numbers down, there were almost 331,000 single trips by train to and from Olympic Park on 554 extra services over the four nights, while a further 73,000 fans used one of the 677 Major Event buses laid on across the four nights.
While fans heeded the message to stagger their arrival at the Olympic Park precinct ahead of the gigs, a fleet of trains and buses departing every three minutes after each one was able to clear crowds within about an hour and a half each night.
Howard Collins, Coordinator-General of Transport for NSW, said:
“The success of a logistical event like the Coldplay concerts is down to the hard work of many people in the transport system – both in the months leading up, and of course on the night.
“I want to thank Chris Martin in particular for his shout out to the train and bus drivers who carried fans to and from the event. I know his gratitude on such a big stage meant the world to our team.
“Our events teams weren’t just fully prepared; they were also able to be agile and deploy the buses we had on standby to accommodate extra demand.
“I’d really like to thank all our teams who worked long hours on the frontline, at the Rail Operations Centre, the Transport Management Centre and the Sydney Olympic Park Operations Centre to make sure each night was one to remember.”