Fans slam Blackburn train chaos as Leeds United comment and Northern Rail make assault appeal — YEP 2/12/24

By Graham Smyth

Leeds United fans have described train issues to and from Blackburn as a 'complete nightmare' as Northern Railway say an employee was subject to assault.

Significant delays, overcrowding and hundreds being held back from the platforms at Blackburn station after the game are among the complaints of those impacted on Saturday. Northern have apologised to customers whose journeys were delayed by a track circuit failure on Saturday evening but have appealed for information over verbal and physical assaults to a member of staff who was attempting to convey information to the crowd in the station entrance.

A spokesperson for Northern told the YEP: "We apologise to customers whose journeys were affected on Saturday at Blackburn station. Services were delayed due to a track circuit failure at Darwen. As with any large event, we work with British Transport Police and the local police force to help ensure large numbers of people can use the station safely. Unfortunately, one of our colleagues trying to help customers at the station was subjected to both verbal and physical assaults from the crowd and was therefore unable to remain on the concourse to provide service updates. Assaults of any kind on our staff are totally unacceptable and we would urge anyone with any information about this incident on Saturday to contact the police.”

For the second season running fans had difficulty getting to Blackburn via the rail network due to crowded carriages and trains that did not stop at some stations. One supporter told the YEP that he and his group got off the train due to overcrowding and were forced to take a taxi.

Another, Rob Hirst, added: "The train out was laughable - three carriages and already full by the time it got to Leeds. We got on at Garforth. The train never stopped at New Pudsey, leaving plenty of people there and then we had to wait for ages at Bradford while they sorted some form of strategy out."

When it came to the return journey, hundreds of Leeds fans were met by a police cordon in the entrance hall to Blackburn station. A large crowd was held there for well over an hour, with many suggesting they were given no satisfactory explanation for the delay or why they were being denied access to the platforms.

Adam Wigglesworth had no issues on the way to Blackburn, beyond what he called 'standard overcrowding' but returning home was a different story. "It was a shambles on the way back," he said. "I arrived at the station at roughly 4.45pm where I was met with scenes of people waiting before the turnstiles. I tried to get the 5.04pm back to Leeds. There was roughly 400 of us in the entrance of the station and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly toxic as time went on.

"There was a small accessible ramp to the right of the turnstiles which they were letting people who weren't going to Leeds use and not letting any Leeds fans through. At no point did the police or railway staff communicate with us all. A man came with a megaphone and tried but I don't think it was working, so gave up. There was pushing and shoving at the front between police and Leeds fans, bottles thrown occasionally and chanting about how much of a **** show it was. Finally got let through at 5.30pm and got on a train that was due to depart an hour earlier."

Stu Dalgleish believes the Northern Rail employee did initially attempt to inform the crowd of what the situation was before giving up due to chanting and a coin being thrown. He said: "There was a guy from Northern Rail trying to communicate things with a megaphone, but people just started booing him and chanting when he tried to speak. Then I saw a coin get thrown at him so he walked away - completely understandable - and a beer can was thrown at a policeman. People were chanting 'what the *** is going on', but we couldn't hear what was going on because train staff got shouted down.Other than those two instances, people were being reasonably respectful of being held behind, bar a few people trying to climb over the barriers and getting pushed back by police."

Callum Halliday did manage to make it up the platform as he attempted to travel back to Leeds for a retirement party, but was left frustrated by the delays. He said: "Had an absolute nightmare. All was going well until 4.25pm, it kept saying the train was delayed and no one knew what was happening. We all moved over to the other platform for the 5.04pm, train to Leeds until a bloke with a microphone came down shouting that it was delayed now. I queued up at a kiosk to try to find out what was happening and the man at the kiosk said we are looking at an hour wait, so I went down the stairs thinking I’ll get something to eat and a drink only to see a wall of police and hundreds of Leeds fans behind them.

"I sat for well over an hour until the train came, then it was absolutely rammed. Made it to the retirement do for an hour and had to leave to get the train back to Malton. Made it to York station and got delayed again."

John Broster also planned to get the 4.25pm special train back to Leeds. "I arrived at about 4.15pm to be met by a blockade of policemen," he told the YEP. "They said that we couldn’t go on the platform as it was already full of supporters. Then all of a sudden all the screens changed to delayed due to what they said initially was a fault and then signalling problems. I asked an officer when the train was expected but he had no idea. I then went for a pint to look at updates on the Northern Rail app. It updated to say the special was now due at 5.50pm, but I missed it because it actually went at 5.30pm. Eventually I got the 6.05 which was rammed to the rafters, standing room only and arrived late into Leeds.

"Every year Leeds take 7,500 fans and every year the train companies are unable to cope, and never seem to prepare adequately for the numbers. So instead of arriving home into Thirsk at 6.30pm I got back at 9pm. Not a disaster but let’s face it, I was only going to Blackburn."

Luke Atkinson says despite the assertion that the police cordon was put in place due to crowded platforms, they were sparsely populated. "After the game was ridiculous," he said. "We got to the station at about 4.10pm ready for the 4.25pm special back to Leeds and then the announcement came that due to a signal fault all trains were delayed and over the tannoy it said an hour so that’s when a lot of people left the platform and went back downstairs onto the concourse.

"A couple of us stayed on the platform in case there was any more information and the others went to the shop to get some food and soft drinks for the wait we had. They then got held at the barrier, but what we couldn’t understand was that the platforms were empty. There were minimal people with us on the platforms and it seemed to be such an overreaction from the police to hold everyone. One of our group lives in Manchester so wasn’t even trying to get to Leeds and he couldn’t get through the barrier and missed his train. A rail staff member on the platform told us 'all the decisions are made in Manchester and we’re the last people that find out even though it’s our station' which seems ridiculous when there’s that volume of people waiting to get onto trains to get home."

Another group of Whites, who wish to remain anonymous, say they were prevented from getting a train to Blackpool North. One told the YEP: "Wouldn't let us through, saying 'everyone's got a different story' and that they would 'let us through in the next few minutes. We left in a taxi to Todmorden after an hour as the situation was still the same. They were blatantly lying to us saying all the platforms were full."

Razvan Burnar was also held at the station and grew concerned for a fellow supporter. "The special train was delayed until 5.30pm, leaving me and countless fans stuck in a huge crowd which could have easily turned fatal, especially for the poor lad next to me who had mobility issues. He was struggling with his legs, struggling to stay up and comfortable. Luckily he made it on the first train out but had to be stood up the whole time."

Leeds United have issued a statement to the YEP through a club spokesperson, saying: "We are sorry to learn of the difficulties supporters faced returning from our fixture with Blackburn Rovers using public transport on Saturday. We hope lessons are learned to prevent similar situations from arising in the future."

British Transport Police have been approached for comment.