Cardiff Central - Match/Event days

[PaulHarding150]

Firstly it's Cardiff Airport (not Cardiff-Wales Airport).

Secondly a pre-requisite of hosting the final was that there were two international airports nearby and there are: Cardiff and Bristol.

Both airports where heavily used during the 2014 Nato summit.

Cardiff Airport will use a similar plan to construct a temporary terminal/ arrivals/departures hall later this year as they did in 2014. I had a meeting in July 2016 at the airport and they explained in great detail their plans and that was 11 months out from the game.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Firstly it's Cardiff Airport (not Cardiff-Wales Airport).

My apologies.

Secondly a pre-request of hosting the final was that there were two international airports nearby and there are: Cardiff and Bristol.

Both airports where heavily used during the 2014 Nato summit.

Cardiff Airport will use a similar plan to construct a temporary terminal/ arrivals/departures hall later this year as they did in 2014. I had a meeting in July 2016 at the airport and they explained in great detail their plans and that was 11 months out from the game.

The temporary terminal will be a vital part of the operation even if most supporters only carry hand luggage. Thankfully all remaining teams in the competition are from EU countries thereby simplifying passport checks. Segregation of the two sets of supporters looks to be the only unrehearsed issue: could it be that each team's fans will arrive at separate airports? Doubtless some of the Rugby World Cup experiences will be useful.

For completeness I would add that in 2003 a small number of flights went to Liverpool, and were planned to do so, suggesting that even with the special arrangements in place Manchester Airport couldn't quite handle the full load. One thing I guarantee is that a good number of plane-spotters will have a day out to view the arrivals!

 

[PHILIPE]

GWR, ATW and XC additional services together with any other altered services can now be found in Real Time Trains on June 3rd in connection with the Champions League Final

 

[deltic]

GWR, ATW and XC additional services together with any other altered services can now be found in Real Time Trains on June 3rd in connection with the Champions League Final

Presumably if Leicester get to the final they might change a bit!

 

[PHILIPE]

There would appear to be interesting workings on the Cardiff Valleys in connection with the Champions League Final on June 3rd but final details, especially advice to passengers have still to be finalised. Until then, I can say no more other than to check RTT at this stage.
Basically, Barry and Valley Line passengers will use Queen St with services from up the Valleys running to and from Cardiff Bay or turning back at Pontypridd. Barry Island will have no services to Cardiff but ECS trains will run direct to Queen St to work services starting from there and not calling Cardiff Central. Penarth appears to have no services after shut down.

Details will be shown on ATW Website in the Millenium (Now Principality) Stadium Events Section.

 

[gareth950]

There must be a deal with Cardiff Bus for them to provide buses through the evening and late night to Penarth for all Penarth trains to be off.

Saying that, a lot of ATW services after 11pm are terminating at Radyr. Not exactly a Valleys service.

 

[PHILIPE]

Ther are scores of trains running from Cardiff during the early hours of Sunday, June 4th:-

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/CDF/2017/06/04/0000-2359?stp=S&show=all&order=wtt

 

[Dai Corner]

Ther are scores of trains running from Cardiff during the early hours of Sunday, June 4th:-

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/CDF/2017/06/04/0000-2359?stp=S&show=all&order=wtt

Including Newport and Paddington trains departing simultaneously and running side by side on the Main and Relief lines by the look of it. Not just once, but every 15 mins. Shame it's in darkness.

 

[PHILIPE]

Ther are scores of trains running from Cardiff during the early hours of Sunday, June 4th:-

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/CDF/2017/06/04/0000-2359?stp=S&show=all&order=wtt

Oh, by the way, I forgot to draw attention to the well mentioned fact that none of the trains are destined for Leicester

 

[Michael.Y]

Oh, by the way, I forgot to draw attention to the well mentioned fact that none of the trains are destined for Leicester

Would there be enough flex in the timetable for a couple of last-minute specials?

 

[PHILIPE]

More summarised details now available here re Champions League Final:-

https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/champions/

There are definitely no trains for Leicester now

 

[WelshBluebird]

More summarised details now available here re Champions League Final:-

https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/champions/

There are definitely no trains for Leicester now

"If you are travelling on GWR services to Cardiff, you must book a specific train to travel on."

How exactly are they going to enforce that? Are they even allowed to? Especially as the GWR booking site says when booking tickets "Only select a service if you want to reserve a seat" with no prompts about the requirement (NRE does mention it to be fair).

 

[Gareth Marston]

We've had leaflets delivered today adding people not to travel to Cardiff Central on 3rd June unless absolutely essential.

 

[Kite159]

Seems many regular passengers have to suffer to allow two teams to have a bit of a kick around in the stadium.

Cue a signal failure within the tunnel to screw up the perfect planning

 

[Bungle965]

Seems many regular passengers have to suffer to allow two teams to have a bit of a kick around in the stadium.

Cue a signal failure within the tunnel to screw up the perfect planning

Having the Champions League final in Cardiff will no doubt be a massive win for the economy in Wales however.
Sam

 

[Kite159]

Having the Champions League final in Cardiff will no doubt be a massive win for the economy in Wales however.
Sam

Will it though?

A lot of the supporters will probably be based in hotels outside the city area with whatever hotels in the city already either snapped up by "UEFA sponsors" or charging lots of money.

The biggest winner will be the likes of NCP for car parking, and all that overtime being paid out to police the event

 

[WelshBluebird]

Will it though?

A lot of the supporters will probably be based in hotels outside the city area with whatever hotels in the city already either snapped up by "UEFA sponsors" or charging lots of money.

The biggest winner will be the likes of NCP for car parking, and all that overtime being paid out to police the event

I am sure the pubs etc will raking it in!

 

[fowler9]

We've had leaflets delivered today adding people not to travel to Cardiff Central on 3rd June unless absolutely essential.

Do they send those whenever there is an event on? Its not like they can fit more people in the stadium because it is the Champions League. I was there for Liverpool v Man U in the league cup and that was certainly sold out.

 

[Hadders]

When Wales play rugby at Cardiff many of the crowd come from the Valleys and to the West of Cardiff. For the Champions League final most of the crowd will probably need to travel East afterwards.

 

[PHILIPE]

One thing I've noticed is that after 1900 there will be no, not even the booked ones, ATW services up the Marches, Gloucester or West Wales until the very late/overnight specials start to run. GWR and XC not curtailed.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

When Wales play rugby at Cardiff many of the crowd come from the Valleys and to the West of Cardiff. For the Champions League final most of the crowd will probably need to travel East afterwards.

For the Champions League Final of those who are actually staying overnight somewhere many will indeed be heading east. But even with a weekend rather than midweek match an awful lot of fans of the competing clubs will be day-tripping by air and these will of course be in road coaches from/to Cardiff or Bristol airports. It will be interesting to see just how well used the revised rail services turn out to be.

 

[gareth950]

As Cardiff hasn't got enough hotels to accommodate all the travelling fans, Pontcanna fields behind the castle are being turned into a campsite. It will also be a 'fan zone' with matches being shown on big screens. Pontcanna and Coopers fields will then be closed for the rest of the summer to rest the ground so residents of Cardiff can't enjoy them as normal in nice weather.

So it won't just be the 74,000 fans heading to the stadium, there will be a few thousand more as well.

Seems many regular passengers have to suffer to allow two teams to have a bit of a kick around in the stadium.

It will be a nightmare for regular passengers from 31st May - 5th June, especially commuters. People who work in Cardiff can't just avoid central Cardiff because of football. Some people will have booked leave but that's not an option for everyone. I'm a nearby resident and I know for the entire time the tournament is on I will have to try to avoid Cardiff, which just is not practical for me.

Wembley stadium should be hosting the tournament. Cardiff may have a suitable stadium, but it hasn't got the infrastructure or enough accommodation to cope with an event on this scale.

 

[ivanhoe]

I've been to a couple of football finals in Cardiff and they have been great days out, even when we lost. Cardiff is a great, welcoming City and i always got the impression that we were welcome. Indeed, i prefer the place to Wembley. I understand the issues regarding hotels but I suspect most of the fans who are coming will be from Spain and Italy and many will be day trippers.. I was fortunate enough to be in Istanbul in 2005 and most were either day trippers or staying the previous night. I'm sure Madrid and Turin fans have a great day out, spend loads in the bars and restaurants and will leave with a positive view of not only Cardiff but Wales.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I've been to a couple of football finals in Cardiff and they have been great days out, even when we lost. Cardiff is a great, welcoming City and i always got the impression that we were welcome. Indeed, i prefer the place to Wembley. I understand the issues regarding hotels but I suspect most of the fans who are coming will be from Spain and Italy and many will be day trippers.. I was fortunate enough to be in Istanbul in 2005 and most were either day trippers or staying the previous night. I'm sure Madrid and Turin fans have a great day out, spend loads in the bars and restaurants and will leave with a positive view of not only Cardiff but Wales.

Monaco are still in contention.

 

[fowler9]

As Cardiff hasn't got enough hotels to accommodate all the travelling fans, Pontcanna fields behind the castle are being turned into a campsite. It will also be a 'fan zone' with matches being shown on big screens. Pontcanna and Coopers fields will then be closed for the rest of the summer to rest the ground so residents of Cardiff can't enjoy them as normal in nice weather.

So it won't just be the 74,000 fans heading to the stadium, there will be a few thousand more as well.



It will be a nightmare for regular passengers from 31st May - 5th June, especially commuters. People who work in Cardiff can't just avoid central Cardiff because of football. Some people will have booked leave but that's not an option for everyone. I'm a nearby resident and I know for the entire time the tournament is on I will have to try to avoid Cardiff, which just is not practical for me.

Wembley stadium should be hosting the tournament. Cardiff may have a suitable stadium, but it hasn't got the infrastructure or enough accommodation to cope with an event on this scale.

I think it is a massive shame if green areas of the city are going to be out of use for the rest of the summer as you say, however, I really don't see how it is going to be a nightmare for commuters from 31/05 to 05/06. As Ivanhoe said a lot of the fans will be arriving the day/night before if not the same day as the match, many will leave after the match same day or the day after. I doubt you will see tens of thousands of fans staying for nearly a week.

Pretty soon after the two finalists are known a lot of charter flights will be arranged along with a lot of coaches.

 

[PaulHarding150]

We've had leaflets delivered today adding people not to travel to Cardiff Central on 3rd June unless absolutely essential.

That'll be due to a mix of commuters, the city centre being rammed and the security cordon around the stadium?

Personally I would advise any non rugby fans to avoid Cardiff on an international match day.

 

[headshot119]

That'll be due to a mix of commuters, the city centre being rammed and the security cordon around the stadium?

Personally I would advise any non rugby fans to avoid Cardiff on an international match day.

And the less than normal service on offer, the normal timetable is being wound down from around 18:00 onwards to get things in place to empty the city out after the game.

 

[PHILIPE]

The Champions League has gained it's own thread now, here:-

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=146023

 

[Old Yard Dog]

When his holiness Pope John Paul II visited York racecourse in 1982, over 200,000 faithful attended and most were encouraged to travel by train.

A most peculiar queueing system operated after the event with stations arranged into seemingly random groups with a separate queue for each group. The stations in each group were typically not on the same line while adjacent stations were placed in different groups.

Being more aware of railway geography than most, I just joined the shortest queue. Once through the gate, trains were running to their usual destinations and passengers simply went to the appropriate platform. There was no correlation between departure times and when a particular group was allowed on to the platform. The grouped queueing system was a complete con.

 

[amateur]

Monaco are still in contention.

Juventus and Real Madrid