This week is the highlight of the National Hunt horse racing season, when the Cheltenham Festival welcomes thousands of race-goers each day, Network Rail has issued timely travel advice for those travelling by train.
Many of the race-goers will travel by train from Birmingham New Street, and Network Rail's advice is intended to help them plan their journeys.
In particular, they are advised to check their travel arrangements before they travel, and with the trains expected to be very busy, they should allow extra time to catch their train.
At Birmingham New Street station, there will be extra staff available each day from tomorrow, Tuesday, 12 to Friday, 15 March, to help and advise passengers and answer their travel questions.
There will be thousands of extra passengers descending on Birmingham New Street station for the 45-minute journey to Cheltenham station, from where there will be an ample supply of connecting buses to transport passengers the two miles to Cheltenham Racecourse, and to return them to Cheltenham station after the last race.
The station team at Birmingham New Street has been planning for weeks to get ready for the thousands of extra passengers who use the station to get to Cheltenham Racecourse.
“We're really looking forward to welcoming festival-goers to Birmingham New Street this week for this really popular event”
Steven Ireland, Network Rail's Central route head of stations and customer relations
A queuing system may be in use during especially busy periods, but fans shouldn't need to wait for long with typically four trains per hour running direct to Cheltenham Spa. Racegoers can check their journeys online at www.nationalrail.co.uk to find out the latest travel information.
A number of private companies will be running special trains to the races, and for the duration of race week, there will be extra security precautions in place at Gloucester Warwickshire Railway's Cheltenham Racecourse station.
“We're really looking forward to welcoming festival-goers to Birmingham New Street this week for this really popular event
“I've got three top tips for passengers travelling to Cheltenham: firstly, plan ahead and know what train you're planning to get before the day of the races. Secondly, make sure you check your journey before travelling, and finally allow more time than you might do usually to get on the train – there may be queuing systems in place at busy times.”
Steven Ireland, Network Rail's Central route head of stations and customer relations
