Shambles at Wembley Central after League Cup on Sunday at Wembley Stadium

[MKB]

Though I would say that going for a meal when you're on a fairly tight schedule anyway was a bit silly to say the least.

That's harsh on me. I did correctly pre-judge that waiting an hour would reduce numbers significantly and avoid the worst of the queues. (And remember most fans from both teams would, in any case, be going South to get to Euston or Paddington, not North.) It turned out that I was right that arriving at 19:45 for the 20:04 train would have presented absolutely no problems at all if (a) staff and signs were not leading passengers on a wild goose chase, and (b) staff were trying their best to stop people needing the LM train from getting into the entrance to the station that led to the correct platform. The problems we experienced weren't down to any silliness on my part. I use the railways at least once a week and I'm pretty savvy at knowing all the stunts that get pulled by TOCs and some of their staff and by BTP. I suffered here from not having been to Wembley Central station before, and my silliness was in trusting the guff I was being fed. The only thing I'll do differently next time is to ignore the signs and (as I ultimately had to do this time) insist that we be let through the correct entrance and not be fobbed off.

However, to counter balance my negativity, can I say I travelled on the LM 17:02 NUN-NMP service yesterday, and the train manager stood out for his helpful and friendly attitude in checking tickets and making announcements. I've come across good train managers often before, but this one was exceptionally good. So it's good to know that there are still lots of decent staff out there.

 

[cle]

It sounds very poor.

But if I was asked for the quickest way to get to Watford after a major football game at Wembley, I'd probably say to go to Wembley Park, then take the Met. If the train called at Northwick Park, I'd consider changing there and walking (5 mins) for the Bakerloo/LO from Kenton towards Watford Jn (though there'd be a risk of not being able to board at Kenton as it's only a few stops from Wembley Central, though I suspect it may be possible at either the very front or rear of the train).

Alternatively stay on to Watford, and then walk (30 mins) to Watford Jn.

If I got on a train that was heading to Uxbridge/Amersham that called at Northwick Park I'd take that option; if I got on a Watford train I'd probably stay on to Watford. If the train called at neither and I had a Travelcard, then I'd take a bus from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Harrow & Wealdstone (they are very frequent).

The passenger capacity is much greater at Wembley Park than Wembley Central. And don't even consider Wembley Stadium unless you leave the ground early and/or the exit from your seats happens to be nearest the station entrance.

In reality nobody would do those when they could just walk to Wembley Central and get the LO or special LM trains. They might be crowd free but they'd be slow and a bit deranged.