Travel chaos for Manchester football fans heading to FA Cup final …

Football fans heading down to Wembley Stadium to watch the FA Cup final are set to face travel chaos as yet more rail strikes are due to hit this weekend.

The most recent wave of walkouts, by RMT and ASLEF union members, will impact railways with cancellations expected, including on Friday and Saturday (June 2 and 3), when Manchester City and Manchester United football fans will be travelling to the capital.

Supporters will face very limited options[1], because train drivers in the ASLEF union will be among those walking out. This is including drivers for Avanti West Coast, the company which runs services from Manchester to London.

Fans previously spoke to the Manchester Evening Newsabout the 'ridiculous' strikes[3] which will cause 'mayhem' with desperate calls made for the final to be played elsewhere[4], as the Manchester United Supporters Trust even urged Government to intervene[5].

With each club being offered around 30,000 tickets for the final, it will now mean tens of thousands of supporters from Manchester could be making the journey down the M6, sparking new fears of a coach shortage and chaos on the motorways and at service stations.

Football fans will have to consider driving or getting the coach down to Wembley stadium

Members of ASLEF will walk out on May 31 and June 3, the day of the FA Cup Final at Wembley, with 20,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) to walk out on June 2. This will include catering, train managers and station staff take action, affecting train services throughout the country.

Earlier this week, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) urged football fans to consider alternative travel arrangements with no trains expected to run between Manchester and London on the day of the final. It will mean the only other method of transport will be by road.

References

  1. ^ very limited options (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  2. ^ Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  3. ^ about the 'ridiculous' strikes (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  4. ^ with desperate calls made for the final to be played elsewhere (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  5. ^ Manchester United Supporters Trust even urged Government to intervene (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  6. ^ Full details here. (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
  7. ^