Rail operators prepare for thousands of fans travelling to Cardiff for Community Shield

Daniel Bevan - Editor

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Rail operators are preparing for thousands of football fans travelling to Cardiff for Sunday’s FA Community Shield, with additional services and station measures being put in place ahead of the fixture.

Transport for Wales (TfW), Great Western Railway (GWR), CrossCountry and Network Rail have coordinated their operations to increase capacity and provide additional support at Cardiff Central station.

The match returns to Cardiff for the first time in 20 years, with Premier League champions Arsenal facing FA Cup winners Manchester City at the Principality Stadium on Sunday 16 August.

TfW will operate queuing systems at Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street stations to manage passenger numbers after the match.

Queuing will begin at both stations from 16:45. Passengers travelling to the Valleys or the Vale of Glamorgan will be directed to Cardiff Queen Street, while other queues, including services to Ebbw Vale and Maesteg, will operate from Cardiff Central.

Georgie Porter, Head of Events Planning and Delivery for Transport for Wales, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming thousands of football fans to Cardiff for what promises to be a fantastic match day.

“Working alongside other operators, we’ve put together a joint travel operation to ensure we have as much capacity as possible on key routes. Stations and services will be very busy, and our colleagues will be working hard throughout the day to keep everyone moving safely, please treat them with the kindness and respect they deserve. Diolch.”

GWR said it had added thousands of seats across its services in both directions, although reservations from London that would get fans to Cardiff in time for kick-off have sold out.

Kay Davies, Customer Service and Events Manager South Wales for Great Western Railway, said: “It’s fantastic to be working alongside our industry partners to welcome the Community Shield back to Cardiff for the first time in 20 years.

“We’ve added thousands of extra seats across our services in both directions to boost capacity. However, all reservations from London that will get fans to Cardiff in time for kick-off is now sold out.

“We encourage supporters to allow extra travel time and double-check their return journey options.”

CrossCountry’s Events & Resilience Manager Lauren Fleming said: “Trains will be busy and we’d encourage everyone to book in advance, allow plenty of time and check the time of their last train home before they travel.”