Great Western Railway (GWR) is going to provide 16 trains and over 7,000 seats for rugby fans leaving Cardiff on Friday night – but it warns customers will need to queue.
Trains are expected to be very busy after 22:00. Thousands of fans will be walking the short distance from the Principality Stadium to Cardiff Central station following Wales’ Six Nations match with France.
Furthermore there is also a sold-out James Arthur concert at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena that night, increasing demand for services.
In a repeat of last month’s Wales-Scotland fixture, fans 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. In line with the latest Welsh Government guidance, customers are reminded that they must wear a face mask when travelling in Wales, unless they are exempt.
GWR will run 11 services to Newport, Bristol and London from 2200, providing more than 4,000 seats and including the use of its capacity-boosting all-electric Class 387 Electrostars.
It will also run five Intercity Express Train services from Cardiff to Swansea from 2231, providing 3,250 seats.
GWR Customer Service & Operations Director, Richard Rowland, said: “We are pleased to operate our more sustainable Class 387 electric trains again for these events. They proved very effective in moving customers from Cardiff to Newport after the Wales-Scotland match, helping to free up more space on our London and Bristol services.
“We’ll be using them in a similar fashion on Friday night, but Cardiff Central is going to be especially busy after the match and customers will need to queue to board trains safely.”
Transport for Wales Planning and Performance Director, Colin Lea, said: “Cardiff has hosted a significant number of Friday night Six Nations fixtures since they were introduced in 2009, so we have robust plans in place ahead of this week’s game.
“But the Friday night fixture does present a significant challenge for the rail network around Cardiff, with tens of thousands of people wanting to travel during a smaller window post-match.
“We have more capacity than the last Friday night fixture in 2016 but due to the late finish only around half the capacity of a Saturday afternoon.
“We are working closely with Great Western Railway, Network Rail and the British Transport Police to ensure we can get people where they need to go but it is vital everyone plans their journeys carefully and checks the latest travel information on social media.”
Fans travelling to the game are advised to allow time to enter the ground, and to travel early, with trains immediately before the 2000 kick-off expected to be very busy.
For more information, or to check your journey, please visit GWR.com.
