Rugby fans travelling to the Principality Stadium on Saturday the 5th of November are being told not to travel either into or out of Cardiff by train due to strike action.
Unions RMT and TSSA are taking industrial action on Saturday the 5th, Monday the 7th and Wednesday the 9th of November. TSSA has also revealed action short of a strike to take place on Friday the 4th, Sunday the 6th and Tuesday the 8th of November. This latest strike action will equate to almost a complete week of railway disruption.
The 5th, 7th and 9th of November will see full strike action underway and will see the majority of trains on Wales and the Borders network suspended and with substantially reduced operations east of Cardiff to the valley lines only.
Transport for Wales is not involved in disputes with either RMT or TSSA but will see its services impacted due to requiring Network Rail staff to operate trains on most of its network.
International rugby matches usually see around 35,000 people travel by train into Cardiff and over 20,000 of those usually use train travel to return home. The strike action means that inbound capacity on trains during the hours leading up to the kick-off at 15.15pm on the 5th of November will be significantly reduced, at two-thirds lower than normal. No trains will be operating from Cardiff following the match as the final service of the day will leave Cardiff Central prior to 5pm.
As extreme restrictions will be in place across the rail network, fans travelling by road are also being advised to leave a good amount of extra time for travel and using the park-and-ride facilities at CCFC Stadium in Leckwith or County Hall in Cardiff Bay as the city centre will also see road closures in operation.
Further travel information is available here: www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/30190.html.
Passengers are also advised to only travel if absolutely necessary on Monday the 7th and Wednesday the 9th of November and to also check before travelling on Friday the 4th, Sunday the 6th and Tuesday the 8th of November.
Nick Millington, acting route director at Network Rail Wales & Borders said: “I'd like to apologise to passengers for the continued disruption due to industrial action.
“We never like having to tell people not to travel by rail but ensuring people can safely get home has to be our priority.”
Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, Transport for Wales Managing Director, said: “The safety of our passengers is always our primary concern and, due to the severe impact of the industrial action on our ability to run services, we are advising customers not to travel by train on Saturday 5 November and to make alternative travel arrangements.
“We'll continue to work collaboratively with our partners to ensure we can support the event going ahead as safely as possible.”
GWR Customer Service & Operations Director, Richard Rowland, said: “We're really sorry to all rugby fans who would normally be travelling with us to and from Cardiff Central.
“Unfortunately, due to the limited operating window caused by this industrial action, we're unable to provide train services after the match and must therefore tell supporters not to travel to the game by train.”
Passengers with tickets are able to get refunds if they cannot travel on strike days and are also able to use their tickets on different days.
Passengers can check for travel updates with their rail operator for further information or using https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Anyone travelling to the Principality Stadium can find up-to-date event information here: https://www.principalitystadium.wales/.
