Shropshire Star

Football fans face queues of ’90 minutes or longer’ to board trains to Wembley

Some 38,000 Aston Villa supporters will travel to London on Saturday for the Championship play-off final.

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Fans could be forced to queue for more than 90 minutes to catch trains (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Football fans could be forced to queue for longer than the length of a match if they travel to Wembley by train this weekend.

Rail bosses are warning the 38,000 Aston Villa supporters attending Saturday’s Championship play-off final against Fulham the quickest rail route between Birmingham and London will be blocked.

Public sector company Network Rail is carrying out a major signalling project between Birmingham New Street to Coventry.

The operator’s commercial director Eleni Jordan said: “We need passengers to know that Chiltern Railways trains will be very busy, and they should allow extra time for their journey.

“Customers travelling to Wembley over the weekend should be aware that queuing systems will be in place at Birmingham Moor Street, London Marylebone and Wembley Stadium stations, and there may be queues of 90 minutes or longer in both directions.”

Extra staff will be deployed to deal with the crowds.

“There is never a good time to carry out big pieces of work but we plan it over bank holidays – which are traditionally quieter times – to affect the fewest number of people.”

Shrewsbury Town and Coventry City are also playing at Wembley this weekend and their fans are being urged to plan ahead due to the signalling work.

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