Great Western Railway (GWR) has issued travel advice for fans leaving Cardiff by train after the Six Nations rugby match between Wales and Scotland on Saturday, 12 February.
Nearly 20,000 seats will be available for fans travelling from Cardiff, including on GWR's latest capacity-boosting Class 387 Electrostar electric-only trains.
The Electrostars will provide over 2,600 seats, making up 15 per cent of GWR's post-match seating capacity.
Two eight-car Electrostars will operate half-hourly shuttle services between Cardiff Central and Newport. In total, GWR will run 38 services to Newport, Swansea, Bristol and London.
GWR will also provide eight Intercity services to London, 12 Intercity services to Swansea and 12 services to Bristol following the match.
- 387s will run shuttles to Newport at 16.11, 16.39, 17.10 and 17.40;
- An 18.06 service will call at Bristol Parkway and Swindon;
- An 18.42 service will call at Bristol Parkway, Swindon, Didcot Parkway and Reading;
- The final train to Swansea will depart at 22.49.
Please check https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ for confirmation of train times.
Fans travelling to the game are advised to allow time to enter the ground, and to travel early, with trains immediately before the 14.15 kick-off and after the game expected to be very busy. Customers should stagger their journey time and check social media for the latest information on queuing times.
After the game, a queuing system will be in operation at the station. In a change to previous years, fans travelling to Newport after the game should queue on the square in front of Cardiff Central station, rather than from Riverside Car Park.
GWR Customer Service & Operations Director, Richard Rowland, said: “It has been a long-held ambition to use our 387s for ‘big-ticket' events in Cardiff and we are excited to see these more sustainable, electric trains in use for the first time for the Wales-Scotland fixture.
“We have worked closely with our colleagues at Network Rail to run electric-only trains to and from Cardiff and our 387s have been running successfully since their introduction in the December timetable.
“We'll be running these as half-hourly shuttle services to Newport, helping to free up more space on our London and Bristol services.”
Network Rail's Wales and Border route director, Bill Kelly, said: “It's fantastic to see passengers continuing to benefit from our work to electrify the railway through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales.
“GWR's additional, all-electric services will be a big boost for rail passengers on large-scale event days in Cardiff, with more options for those travelling to and from the city.
“Network Rail is delighted to be working closely with our rail partners at GWR and Transport for Wales to build a better railway for Wales and Borders.”
Transport for Wales' Planning and Performance Director, Colin Lea, said: “We will be running additional services to and from Cardiff for Wales' first home game of the Six Nations on Saturday.
“With 75,000 people expected at the stadium services will be very busy, so we kindly ask that people plan ahead, check the latest timetables and leave plenty of time for their journey.
“We would also like to remind customers face coverings remain mandatory on public transport in Wales, unless exempt.”
GWR might as well have the other 3 Class 387/3s from c2c to boost more capacity especially on the Reading-Newbury shuttle.