Advice for travelling to the FA Cup final at Wembley this weekend …
We give you the latest advice from Wembley Stadium and Transport for Greater Manchester on how to travel to the FA Cup final this weekend.
It will be the first Manchester Derby FA Cup ever, and unsurprisingly travel from the northern city to the capital is likely to be busy.
RMT[1] has announced further days of rail strike action, including Saturday June 3 and Friday June 2, and the train drivers’ Union ASLEF[2] will be walking out on match day. These strikes will impact people’s transport plans as they head to Wembley for the historic final, as it means there will be a limited national rail service between Manchester[3] and London the day before the match – and no trains running at all on the day itself.
FA coach services
Fans travelling down are being encouraged to use coach services secured by the FA, according to the official Wembley stadium websit[4]e.
The Football Association has acquired 60 coaches[5] for each club to help supporters get to the game. The services will leave two locations in Manchester on the morning of the final and return after the game finishes, with the cost of an adult return ticket being £60 and £55 for under-15s.
Official advice for those parking at Watford and travelling to Wembley on the London Underground services says fans should head to the stadium via the Metropolitan Line to Wembley Park.
Wembley Stadium has multiple options for event parking – ranging from a four-minute to a 10-minute walk from the venue – but these must be booked in advance. There are several park and ride options for fans to park up for the day and take a tube ride ranging from 10 to 30 minutes – and details for these can be found at the official Wembley website[6].
Transport for Greater Manchester[7] is urging supporters to be aware that roads may be busier than normal due to rail strikes and the excess number of cars and coaches on the way to Wembley.
Blues and Reds fans are advised to take different routes and use different service stations when travelling down from Manchester. The event page[8] on the Transport for Greater Manchester website has suggested which motorways and motorway service stations City and United fans are encouraged to use.
Other coaches
A number of other coach services will be running on the day of the FA Cup final from Manchester to London. National Express[9] coaches can be booked from around £40 per person and Megabus[10] also has seats available on the day before kick off.
For advice navigating around the capital, you can download the Transport for London[11] app to keep your journey seamless and easy.
Ultimately don’t forget to plan well in advance and keep an eye out for road closures and other travel advice from transport bosses.