Great Western Railway (GWR) is warning fans that trains will be extremely busy and a queueing system will be in place after the Stereophonics + Tom Jones concerts.
GWR will put on 31 trains and more than 17,000 seats for customers leaving Cardiff Central after the shows at the Principality Stadium on Friday — but to get aboard people will have to queue.
Transport for Wales has warned that it faces some capacity constraints following criminal damage to some of its carriages and will be providing additional bus services where possible.
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In a repeat of the queueing system in place for this year’s Six Nations fixtures and the recent Ed Sheeran concerts, people travelling to Newport after the game will be asked to queue on the square in front of Cardiff Central station, rather than from Riverside Car Park.
Customers are advised to keep checking social media for the latest information on queuing times.
On Friday, GWR will run eight services to Swansea from 21.24, plus 10 services to Newport and on to either Bristol Temple Meads or Bristol Parkway from 22.00.
On Saturday it will operate five services to Swansea from 21.13, and eight services to Newport and on to either Bristol Temple Meads or Bristol Parkway from 21.00.
GWR Customer Service & Operations Director, Richard Rowland, said: “We’re doing all we can to help customers home following these concerts by providing additional trains alongside our normal timetable services.
“But as we saw during the recent Ed Sheeran concerts, trains do get very busy and there will be a need to queue outside the station following the gigs.
“Safety of our customers is of the uppermost importance and we would encourage them to check journey times and allow sufficient time to queue to board trains safely.”
A Transport for Wales spokesperson added: “Services in South Wales are expected to be very busy throughout both days of the Stereophonics and Tom Jones concerts. All available carriages are in service, but we continue to face some capacity constraints as a result of the damage some of our carriages suffered in the recent incident at Craven Arms – the impact of this serious criminal act will continue to be felt for some time. We’ll provide additional bus services to supplement the trains where possible.
“It is vital customers check before they travel and allow plenty of time to get into Cardiff. After the concert has finished, we advise people to make their way straight to Cardiff Central station for their return journey. We also strongly encourage those travelling shorter distances to walk, cycle or use local bus services.
“Our teams are working hard to keep the network moving and look after all our customers during this busy time. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and co-operation while we do our very best to get everyone to their chosen destination safely so that they can enjoy the music of our legendary Welsh performers.”
Customers are reminded that no trains can run through Bristol Parkway on Sunday because of engineering works.
For more information, or to check your journey, please visit GWR.com.
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