When Everton FC’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium proudly opened for the 2025/2026 Premiership season, Sandhills Station instantly transformed into a high-pressure gateway. Over 400,000 fans have already surged through the doors, testing the network’s limits. Protecting these massive crowds while maintaining seamless transit, Carlisle Support Services ensure absolute care and meticulous operational precision at every step.
To meet this challenge seamlessly, Carlisle deployed a dedicated events family of 33 led by Regional Support Coordinator Maxine Higham, injecting a calm, reassuring, and highly visible presence into the matchday rush.
Operating from the Liverpool South Parkway control hub, Carlisle manages safety hotspots, monitors real-time CCTV, and coordinates rapid, supportive staff redeployment.
To keep everything running smoothly across the wider network every single day, our team handles a range of roles effectively. Drawing on our long-standing partnership with Merseyrail, our teams look after station security, vital Bylaw enforcement, and rapid ticket vending machine responses, alongside our dedicated Mobile Patrol and Response Officers.
On peak matchdays, keeping a sea of football shirts moving safely requires brilliant crowd management, crystal-clear communication, and split-second adaptations to changing conditions. Our frontline staff members have truly mastered this balancing act. Passengers have regularly gone out of their way to praise our staff for their remarkably calm approach, warm smiles, and distinct willingness to go the extra mile. Whether it is a chaotic arrival window or the packed departure rush when platforms and trains are operating at absolute maximum capacity, our people show up with the patience, high energy, and care that turns a high-stress commute into a positive experience.
The flawless flow of these major event days is a massive testament to the close-knit cooperation between Merseyrail teams, station management, and our own support staff. It is a genuine, shared team effort where everyone pulls in the same direction, ensuring visitors can travel to and from the Hill Dickinson Stadium with complete confidence.
With the stadium continuing to attract massive sporting and entertainment events, the role of these frontline heroes remains more important than ever. The incredible dedication of our teams shows exactly how valuable experienced, community-minded customer support is when it comes to keeping one of the region’s busiest transport hubs running smoothly.
The ultimate crowd-management test arrived at the 2026 Aintree Grand National. Facing a virtual global audience of 120 million, Carlisle delivered an incredible 1,470 staffing hours uplift across nine critical stations in just three days. Our contract leadership and dynamic deputies embedded themselves directly on the ground alongside their frontline teams to warmly welcome and safely guide the extreme footfall.
This dedicated two-decade strong partnership between Merseyrail and Carlisle proves that modern rail operations thrive on collaborative teamwork, proactive crowd safety, and leadership that stands proudly on the frontline with its people.
Every single day, the UK rail network hums with incredible energy, facilitating roughly 1.7 billion passenger journeys a year across 10,000 miles of track. Behind
For the third consecutive year, Carlisle Support Services is proud to stand behind the RailStaff Awards 2026, celebrating the exceptional people who keep the rail
Carlisle Support Services is proud to confirm that through our partnership with Stream, our Carlisle family members have saved an incredible £2,500,000 on the Stream
Providing flexible, on-demand support to help organisations build resilience, mitigate risks, and adapt to the ever-changing political, socio-economic, and environmental landscape to deliver seamless event experiences.
Managing trees and vegetation for the UK’s public infrastructure and commercial spaces.
Delivering aesthetically pleasing environments whilst eliminating potential hazards and operational disruptions caused by vegetation.
Provide fully vetted, accredited officers equipped with the latest technologies to secure and protect your people, premises, assets and the wider public.
Providing bespoke services that identify site specific vulnerabilities and address complex challenges to mitigate risks.
Maintaining high facility standards and minimising service disruptions across the UK rail network.
Delivering exceptionally clean environments at optimal cost and positive environmental footprint with unrivalled quality control across nationwide operations.
Delivering seamless passenger experiences whilst protecting revenue and achieving operational excellence.
Providing flexible, on-demand support to help organisations build resilience, mitigate risks, and adapt to the ever-changing political, socio-economic, and environmental landscape.
Deploying balanced crowd management strategies for optimal safety and seamless visitor experiences.
Delivering seamless visitor experiences across the UK’s biggest venues, stadiums and exhibition centres.
Transforming customer journeys with innovative car parking solutions that maximise operational control and revenue.
Enhancing and maintaining site aesthetics for optimal nature, commercial infrastructure, and community harmony. We aim to deliver beautiful scenery whilst eliminating potential hazards and operational disruptions caused by vegetation.
We streamline cleaning and facilities services that help organisations maintain exceptional standards across single and multi-site operations.
We offer a total turnkey solution from initial design and product selection through to installation and commissioning. Our customers benefit from benefit from around-the-clock protection for optimal peace of mind that comes from working with a trusted alarm monitoring service.
Our range of fire life safety solutions are designed to prevent, detect and contain fire and where necessary enable a safe and timely escape.
From the initial Fire Risk Assessment through to the design and installation of fire detection and fire suppression systems and ongoing maintenance and monitoring contracts, we provide you with a one stop fire protection solution.
From security-cleared operations with MOD-affiliated organisations to supporting the UK’s rail infrastructure and securing the Highest Court of the British Isles alongside countless major venues across the UK, we provide fully vetted, accredited officers equipped with the latest technologies to secure and protect your people, premises, assets and the wider public.
Fulfilling the most complex single and multi-site cleaning requirements at an award-winning standard for over 30 years.
Providing an extensive range of Soft and Hard FM services to help you streamline management and eliminate operational disruptions.
Undertaking routine cleaning to maintain the highest standards in cleanliness and hygiene for exceptional environments.
