Wales v England Six Nations: Extra 40,000 GWR train seats for fans

An extra 77 trains - more than 40,000 seats - are being provided for fans attending the Wales v England Six Nations fixture tomorrow (Saturday, February 25).

Great Western Railway is increasing the use of its capacity-boosting electric-only trains from London, with shuttle services also operating between Cardiff Central and Newport before and after the match.

GWR will operate a total of 52 trains to Cardiff Central ahead of the 4.45pm kick-off at the Principality Stadium, with a further 25 trains carrying rugby fans home afterwards.

Trains are expected to be very busy immediately after the match and a queueing system will be in place outside the station.

In a repeat of the system in place for Wales’ Six Nations fixture against Ireland, supporters travelling east towards Newport will be asked to queue on the square in front of Cardiff Central, rather than from Riverside Car Park.

Richard Rowland, GWR customer service and operations director, said: “We’re pleased to be extending the use of our more sustainable Class 387 electric trains for this fixture.

“A shuttle service to Newport proved very effective following the Ireland match and this time we’ll also be operating a couple of shuttle services before kick-off.

“They are a great way of freeing up more space on our London and Bristol services and we’re really pleased to operate these electric-only trains in the way we always intended.

“Although we’re able to provide these additional services, we’d like to remind supporters that trains will be extremely busy leading up to kick-off and immediately following the match.

“We would encourage customers to check journey times and allow sufficient time to queue to board trains safely.”

Transport for Wales chief operations officer, Jan Chaudry-Van der Velde, said: “Our teams worked incredibly hard to move more than 30,000 passengers safely through Cardiff Central for the opening Six Nations fixture three weeks ago and we’re expecting another very busy weekend.

“In addition to the extra capacity provided by Great Western Railway, we’ll be running our full TfW rail timetable and every available carriage will be in use to provide as much capacity as possible.

“Supporters are advised to allow plenty of time for their journey, make use of earlier and later trains and check for the latest travel information via the TfW website and app.

“We’re also running a number of return coaches to Cardiff from across south and west Wales to complement our rail services and add extra capacity.”

GWR is providing nine additional services before the match, including shuttles from Newport to Cardiff Central at 1053 and 1153.

Seven additional services following the match will include shuttles from Cardiff Central to Newport at 1840, 1910 and 2012.