02 May 2023
Train strike on FA Cup Final day – Saturday 3 June 2022
On Saturday 3 June there are a number of big events happening in and around London. The biggest of the lot is the FA Cup Final at Wembley between Manchester United and Manchester City. With both clubs based in the North West, many fans of the two clubs will be travelling down to London for the match.
Avanti West Coast have confirmed there will be running NO trains on FA Cup Final Day along the West Coast Mainline – the key railway line that people use to travel directly to and from London and the North West. Therefore, fans who aim to travel down to the capital should look for other means of transport. National Express coaches may have some availability but tickets will sell out fast.
Along with Avanti, many other rail operators are affected by the strike. Please check the latest information on National Rail Enquiries and Transport for London’s website if you aim to travel during the strike.
Driving down and which routes to take
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) are advising Manchester City supporters travelling down to London to use a combination of the M62 and M1; M6 and M1; or M6, M6 Toll and M1. They are advising Manchester United fans to travel on the M6, M42 and M40 which is a near-identical distance of about 200 miles.
Motorway service stations have also been allocated to each club to keep the fans apart. City supporters are being asked to use service stations at Lymm, Sandbach, Stafford, Norton Canes, Corley, Rugby, Watford Gap, Northampton, Newport Pagnell, Toddington and London Gateway.
Manchester United supporters are being asked to use service stations at Knutsford, Keele, Hilton Park, Warwick, Cherwell Valley, Oxford and Beaconsfield. However, at this stage, there are no plans to enforce the guidance.
The AA have said service stations “are likely to be incredibly busy” on Saturday and are advising non-football fans to consider keeping off the motorway network.
A park-and-walk facility will be available at Fryent Country Park near Wembley for drivers to park their vehicles.
RMT strike on Friday 2 June 2022
On Thursday 18 May, the RMT announced that they would also be striking on Friday 2 June – the day before the FA Cup Final. This will likely cause even more disruption to fans making their way down from Manchester to London as well as those fans coming into the capital from other parts of the country. Please do plan ahead of time and find alternative transport if possible.
The train companies affected by both the Aslef and RMT strikes are:
- Avanti West Coast
- c2c (Friday 2 June only)
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Gatwick Express
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express)
- Great Northern
- Heathrow Express
- LNER
- London Northwestern Railway
- London Underground
- London Overground
- Northern
- Southeastern
- Southern
- South Western Railway
- Thameslink
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Railway
If you click on the links above, you will be taken to the website homepage for each rail operator. You can also find the contact details for the companies caught up in the strike and which run services into London on our website.
We will be updating this page with more information as and when it becomes available.
