Additional trains for Wales v France at the Millennium Stadium - 21 Feb 2014

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Of course the real fault lies with the WRU for agreeing to Friday night matches. Fans hate them because of the travel problems it causes, and having made a somewhat disparaging comment above about FGW^▸ (First Great Western), I do appreciate that there are lots of operational factors that might limit their ability to put on any extra services. But fans will probably take the view I put, unless it's explained to them why it can't be done.

Going to be worse next year - Wales v England is scheduled for Friday 6th Feb 2015, kick off at 20:05.  Comes down to TV I'm afraid.

[LiskeardRich]

Of course the real fault lies with the WRU for agreeing to Friday night matches. Fans hate them because of the travel problems it causes, and having made a somewhat disparaging comment above about FGW^▸ (First Great Western), I do appreciate that there are lots of operational factors that might limit their ability to put on any extra services. But fans will probably take the view I put, unless it's explained to them why it can't be done.

Going to be worse next year - Wales v England is scheduled for Friday 6th Feb 2015, kick off at 20:05.  Comes down to TV I'm afraid.

My wife is unimpressed - they've ditched her beloved Eastenders tonight for the rugby!

[bobm]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) One Wales has ditched the One Show, so only the rest of the BBC Nations have to endure it before joining the rugby just before kick off. 

PS She did have an hour of Walford last night....

[Chris from Nailsea]

... and the full-time result (for those followers of the rugby union game here on the Coffee Shop forum ) after 80 minutes was Wales 27 - 6 France. 

[LiskeardRich]

The match finished at 2152, pretty much deeming the extras useless based on the last timings quoted

[bobm]

I agree - I am really not sure what the thinking was.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

21 February 2014 Last updated at 21:57

Wales v France: Rugby fans urged to follow travel advice


Wales faced France in a late kick-off in the Six Nations championship on Friday

Rugby fans gathering in Cardiff for Wales' clash with France were urged to follow travel advice.

More than 73,000 fans packed the Millennium Stadium for Friday's Six Nations game with many travelling by train.

Arriva Trains Wales said there would only be a limited number of additional services from 22:30 GMT.

Supporters were advised to use public transport where possible to get to and from the game, which Wales won 27-6.

There were reports of seven miles of stop-start traffic on the M4 westbound near Newport between junctions 23 and 25A in the early evening ahead of the 20:00 GMT kick-off.

First Great Western said the queuing system for its five extra trains meant people should allow extra time.

For those travelling by car, a park and ride service was operating from Cardiff City Football Club in Leckwith.

The park and ride was signposted from junction 33 (Cardiff West) of the westbound M4.

The drop-off and pick-up point for the park and ride was Tresillian Way North, at the rear of the Cardiff Central railway station.

A number of roads were being closed around the city centre from 18:00 to 23:00 GMT:

Kingsway from its junction with North Road/Boulevard de Nantes to its junction with Duke Street
Cowbridge Road East from its junction with Cathedral Road to its junction with Westgate Street
Tudor Street from its junction with Clare Road to its junction with Wood Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted via Fitzhammon Embankment)
Plantagenet Street and Beauchamp Street from their junctions with Despenser Place to their junctions with Tudor Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted)
Heavy traffic on the M4 heading into Newport
Heavy traffic on the M4 heading into Newport on Friday before the game
Some roads were being fully closed between those times: Duke Street, Castle Street, High Street, St Mary Street, Caroline Street, Wood Street, Central Square, Westgate Street, Quay Street, Guildhall Place, Golate, Park Street, Havelock Street and Scott Road.

Arriva Trains Wales said it would be providing extra train services and additional seating capacity where possible, but it expected its services to be "extremely busy" before and after the match.

A spokesperson said: "Customers are advised to ensure they make their way to Cardiff Central Station with plenty of time to catch services advertised in the normal timetable as only a limited number of additional services will be provided beyond 22:30. Seats will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. If passengers are not attending the match, we would strongly recommend they travel at a different time to avoid the crowds."

Cardiff Queen Street station will be closed after 21:15.

[JayMac]

"Supporters were urged to make use of public transport."

And Arriva Trains Wales closed one of the main stations in Cardiff an 2115. 

Why not spread the load instead of directing everyone to Cardiff Central?

[John R]

"Supporters were urged to make use of public transport."

And Arriva Trains Wales closed one of the main stations in Cardiff an 2115. 

Why not spread the load instead of directing everyone to Cardiff Central?

That's been established procedure since the current arrangements were put in place when the stadium was built. Queen St is too small to take the volume of passengers, and because the same platforms are used for all valleys services at both Central and Queen St, it would be tricky to prevent passengers trying to buck the system by going to the "wrong station". So better to have all the crowd control concentrated in one location, which is also nearer the stadium.

It's possible that once the additional northbound platform becomes operational at Queen St that policy might be revisited. Though they may take the view that "if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it."

[John R]

The match finished at 2152, pretty much deeming the extras useless based on the last timings quoted

And more than a couple of very disgruntled passengers at the station tonight on discovering the last train for London left 30 minutes before the final whistle. The couple next to me had travelled by car from Reading as there was no other option.

Ironically ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) had built the queues as normal, but left the overhead signage on what is normally the London queue blank.  A pretty poor show by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) in my opinion, what with timing additional trains before the match was due to end and not making any effort whatsoever on the London route.

[jdw.wor]

Does anyone know if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have explained why they thought it worth providing mainly useless additional trains. I would be intersted to know what the loadings on the 2125 London train were leaving Cardiff

[basset44]

Hi All,

Next year its Wales v England on the Friday kick off 20.05 is this not plenty of time for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to know or is it just to expensive to run extra trains?

Basset

[Alan Pettitt]

They ran the extra trains this year, so expense doesn't seem to come into it, they just didn't wait for us to get from the match to the station before they departed.