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Tuesday 15 Mar 2016

Help make travel a safe bet if heading to the Cheltenham Festival from Birmingham New Street

Region & Route:

| National

| North West & Central

Passengers travelling to the Cheltenham Festival from Birmingham New Street are being urged to allow plenty of time to catch their train - to avoid long faces before the races have even started.

The annual meet draws huge crowds, many of who travel to the course by train from the West Midlands and Birmingham New Street.

With up to four services an hour direct to Cheltenham, the going is good for a successful journey – but there is likely to be queues to board trains at busy times.

It’s the first Cheltenham Festival since the redeveloped Birmingham New Street opened last year. It may be the first time that many people have used the new station and allowing extra time will stop them falling at the first hurdle.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “When heading to the Cheltenham Festival from Birmingham New Street, we urge passengers to allow a bit of extra time when catching their train. Services to Cheltenham will be busier than usual and, rather than having to jockey for position, planning ahead will help everyone catch the train they had planned to.

“Travelling by a train is often a clear favourite amongst many race-goers. The odds of not being able to get on your preferred train are low but checking before you travel and allowing extra time will help everyone have a winning start to their day.”

Passengers can get the latest railway runners and riders information at www.nationalrail.co.uk or check with their train operator.

If passengers do have to wait for their train, here's a horse racing-inspired Spotify playlist to help pass the time:

https://open.spotify.com/user/networkraillnw/playlist/6kdRGKnBTHJYAfgQXmKCA1