England fans face travel chaos

Wednesday 10th June 2009

FOOTBALL fans wishing to attend England's World Cup qualifier against Andorra at Wembley Stadium tonight face travel chaos, thanks to striking tube workers and no train services into Wembley, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Football Association have confirmed the match will go ahead at 8:15pm tonight as planned, but supporters face nightmare journey's thanks to the RMT Tube strike, which started at 18:59 last night and runs until 18:58 tomorrow evening.

“Ever since we were alerted to the planned industrial action, we have been working very hard to ensure that the match goes ahead and that as many supporters as possible can see the game," said Chief Executive Ian Watmore.

"We can confirm that the game will not be played behind closed doors and every ticket purchased remains valid. The turnstiles will now open earlier at 5.45pm to ease the disruption.

“However, due to the planned industrial action, travelling to and from the game is going to be very difficult and we are disappointed that England supporters are being inconvenienced in this way.

“We recommend that supporters plan to travel to Wembley as early as possible and prepare for a disrupted journey. We are advised that no additional transport will be available on the evening and that Chiltern Railways services will not be stopping at Wembley Stadium station. The journey home will be particularly difficult and supporters should make their own arrangements and not rely on public transport.

“As a special measure, refunds will be made available to ticketholders who decide not to attend this game because of the tube strike.

"I would like to thank the England fans for their continued support, it is always greatly appreciated."

Details of the procedure for applying for refunds will be posted on TheFA.com in the days following the game. Please continue to visit The Football Association's and Transport for London’s websites for regular updates.

National Express run dedicated coach services to every single England home game operating from 57 major towns and cities across the country dropping supporters right at the doors of Wembley Stadium.

The National Rail website has confirmed that overground trains will NOT call at Wembley Central or Wembley North after 6pm tonight. Chiltern Railway services will NOT call at Wembley Stadium either.

National Express, one of the England Team sponsors, said in a statement that they're expecting high demand as supporters look for other ways to reach the national stadium.

"National Express is working hard to deal with the additional demand for Wednesday's qualiffying match versus Andorra, and will continue to provide additional services where possible.

"Should you not be able to find a seat on one of our direct services, please try again on Wednesday morning, by which time additional capacity may be available."

Please visit the following websites for further details:

The Football Association:

www.thefa.com

National Rail:

www.nationalrail.co.uk

Transport for London: