Network Rail clears up confusion on travel chaos after LFC parade

Network Rail has issued an update after Liverpool fans were caught up in "overwhelming queues" outside Lime Street

16:27, 30 May 2025

Network Rail[1] have confirmed Lime Street Station[2] was shut temporarily after the Liverpool FC parade as it tried to cope with the large number of supporters trying to get home. The main entrance to the busy rail station was closed on Monday evening, with people having to enter through the side entrance on Skelhorne Street.

Photos from the station that evening show hundreds of people queuing outside over the space of several hours, with many being stranded in Liverpool as they tried to get home.

On the same day, a car ploughed into people on Water Street at around 6pm. The suspect in the case, Paul Doyle, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court[3] this afternoon, Friday, after being charged with a series of alleged offences following the incident during Monday's title celebrations in Liverpool city centre[4].

Fans told the ECHO[5] this week that they experienced waits of over three hours at the station following the parade, and they claim there was little communication from staff and overcrowding.

They said many commuters had no idea what was going on, with no staff or signage telling them where to queue.

Some ended up on trains which were virtually empty while thousands remained stuck outside the station. Others said they should have been told of alternative stations to catch a train, such as Edge Hill.

Network Rail apologised in both of its statements about the events, citing an unprecedented number of people travelling to and from Lime Street Station. It has promised a review into what happened.[6][7]

However, some confusion arose among commuters when Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said public transport in the city was shut down[8] after a car was driven into Liverpool fans on Water Street.

This was not addressed in either of the statements issued by Network Rail regarding the travel chaos.

Speaking the day after the incident on Tuesday, Mr Rotheram said: "The issue we have when an incident like this happens is that one of the ways we secure the wider area is to close down the public transport system and we had to do that. That meant people in their hundreds and thousands were waiting for many hours to get transport.

"But it also meant that the people driving those trains and those buses and those running those transport services also had to work long and late and they did that voluntarily. People came in on their day off to do that.

I would like to thank all of those staff for stepping forward. They were absolutely superb."

Some said public transport had not been shut down in the wake of the incident. On X/Twitter[9], one said: "People were walking to Edge Hill and other stations to get the trains into Lime Street, so they could then get their onward trains!"

Another added: "We reached the station at exactly 5:20pm, to catch the 5:33pm train and the stations were closed with long queues beginning to form.

The [incident] happened later and we heard about it from the people standing alongside us in the queue."

When the ECHO approached the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for clarification on Mr Rotheram's comments, it said Lime Street was shut down as "unprecedented numbers" of people tried to access the city's transport system.

A spokesperson said: "The Combined Authority worked closely with transport operators, as well as other agencies, to coordinate transport services around the Liverpool FC victory parade.

"Monday evening saw unprecedented numbers attempting to use the transport network at the same time.

"While there was a temporary shut down at Liverpool ONE bus station, most of the region's transport network did remain in operation throughout all of the evening.

"Lime Street station was also shut temporarily, and this was a decision taken separately by Network Rail.

"Transport workers were faced with extreme pressure, and many went above and beyond to provide help and assistance to those who needed it."

In response, a Network Rail spokesperson said the queues were paused at Lime Street for 15 minutes from 7.50pm to 8.05pm as it tried to address the growing numbers of people outside.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "A queueing system is an important tool in how we can safely manage large numbers of people wanting to travel through the station.

It forms part of our pre-arranged event management plan for Monday and is unrelated to the incident on Water Street.

"Due to the greater than expected numbers of people wanting to travel at the same time, the queueing system became overwhelmed.

"In order to keep passengers moving safely, we temporarily paused the queues for a 15 minute period between roughly 19:50 and 20:05, while we re-assessed and moved resources around to better cope with the evolving situation."

These events raise further questions about how Liverpool's infrastructure will cope with future events of a similar scale.

There were also large queues at Liverpool Central Station, while many found it difficult to order a taxi out of town.

References

1. ^ Network Rail (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^ Lime Street Station (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^ Liverpool Crown Court (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^ Liverpool city centre (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^ Fans told the ECHO (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^ apologised in both of its statements about the events (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^ a review into what happened. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
8. ^ public transport in the city was shut down (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
9. ^ Twitter (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)