Monday 5 Nov 2018

England fans urged to check before they travel ahead of Croatia match at Wembley

Region & Route:
| North West & Central

England fans planning on travelling to Wembley for the match against Croatia later this month are being urged to plan their journeys and check before they travel.

Network Rail will be carrying out essential work to a section of the Chiltern line on Sunday 18 November to prepare the way for Britain’s new high-speed railway (HS2).

The line between West Ruislip and Gerrards Cross will be closed and an alternative timetable will be put in place which will affect journeys to and from Wembley.

This work was scheduled for the 18 November to avoid any interruption to Armistice Day remembrance events taking place the weekend before and was planned in advance of England’s football fixture being confirmed, leaving insufficient time for the work to be rearranged.

Train services to the capital will be running on alternative routes, or passengers can get to the match by changing trains to get to Wembley stadium.

The advice for anyone planning to travel on Chiltern Railways on Sunday 18 November is to plan your journey, allow extra time if you’re travelling to Wembley as journeys will be longer, and to check before you travel at www.chilternrailways.co.uk or www.nationlrail.co.uk.

Antonia Buckland, Network Rail’s HS2 sponsorship director, said: “Unfortunately there’s never an ideal time to work on the railway and we appreciate this will cause some disruption to some passengers – including fans travelling to the England match.

"We are working closely with Chiltern Railways to minimise the impact and thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this vital work.”

Alan Riley, customer services director at Chiltern Railways said: “We know that this engineering work will be disruptive to customers and we are working with Network Rail to help minimise the impact as much as possible.  We advise our customers travelling on the day to visit our website for information and advice “

Passengers should check www.chilternrailways.co.uk or www.nationlrail.co.uk for the latest travel information.

Notes to Editors

As a partner to HS2 Ltd, and as part of Britain’s Railway Upgrade Plan, Network Rail is carrying out preparatory work ahead of construction of the new line.  As part of this, an area of local land near West Ruislip is being cleared.

For more detailed information about specific journeys on the Chiltern route, please visit www.chilternrailways.co.uk 

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

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