London North Eastern Railway has issued advice for Leeds United fans travelling to Wembley for the English Football League Championship promotion play-off final against Southampton on Sunday, 26th May.
Trains on the East Coast Main Line between Leeds and London King's Cross are expected to be extremely busy, so the advice to passengers:
- Plan their journey in advance through the National Rail website at www.nationalrail.co.uk.
- On arrival at London King's Cross and when returning home after the match, follow the appropriate directions given by staff and posters at the station.
- Know what time trains depart for the journey home, and expect them to be extremely busy.
At London King's Cross station, London North Eastern Railway will have staff on hand providing directions so that fans can arrive at Wembley in plenty of time for the kick-off at 3 pm.
Fans heading to the match should move through the King's Cross station as soon as possible after they arrive to avoid causing congestion for other passengers at the station.
On arrival at Kings Cross, fans should head directly for King's Cross St Pancras Underground station and catch a Metropolitan Line Underground train, which will take them directly to Wembley Park Underground station, just a short distance from Wembley Stadium.
After the match, King's Cross station is expected to be very busy. Alternative arrangements will be in place for access to the passenger concourse to reduce congestion and ensure everyone has enough room to wait for their train in comfort.
The glass doors at the front of the station and the hotel shutters will be temporarily closed between 6 pm and 8 pm, with passengers requiring to access the station having to use the Pancras Road entrance, near where Boots and Marks and Spencer are located.
Network Rail has a Whoosh service at King's Cross for passengers with smartphones.
By scanning the QR codes on station information screens, live departure boards will be displayed directly on their phones. The service also automatically provides live travel updates for fans returning from the stadium and can be accessed by clicking here.
Railway stations at Wembley are ideally placed to handle fans travelling to the stadium. Tomorrow, Satudray, 25th May West Coast Railways is running a special train for Manchester CIty fans for the FA Cup Final against Manchester United, and last month Lumo ran a special train for Gateshead fans to return home after their FA Trophy Final against Solihull Moors.
Our station teams at both Leeds and King's Cross are ready to help football fans on their way to arguably the biggest game in football with a return to the Premier League at stake. With nerves about the big match undoubtedly running high, we'll do everything we can to make sure getting the train to Wembley and back is as smooth for people as possible.
What we ask of Wembley-goers is to think in threes – plan ahead, follow in-station directions, and know what time your train is home. You can do this by using National Rail Enquiries or scanning the Whoosh QR codes which are on passenger information screens at King's Cross.
Helen Cavanagh, head of passenger experience for Network Rail s East Coast route
