The weekend of Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April will see the 2024 FA Cup Semi-Finals taking place at Wembley Stadium.
Please scroll down this page for travel advice.
Our trains are always busy when major events take place at Wembley Stadium. Our services are however expected to be particularly busy on Sunday 21 April, due to the very high number of Coventry City fans expected to travel with us from stations in Warwickshire.
Please note, the area around Wembley Stadium is an alcohol-free zone.
Sunday 21 April 2024
Coventry City vs Manchester United – Kick off 15:30
Due to the geographical locations of the teams, we are expecting a high number of passengers to travel on our route to and from the event.
Additional train services will run direct from Warwick Parkway to Wembley Stadium, calling at Leamington Spa. Services will be much busier than usual, please allow plenty of time to make your journey. Queuing systems will be in place at Warwick Parkway and Leamington Spa before the event.
Wherever possible, we ask customers to purchase tickets ahead of travel using the Chiltern Railways website or App. We recommend that customers consider collecting pre-purchased paper tickets ahead of the day.
Best time to travel
Bookings suggest a significant number of fans are looking to travel early on the Sunday, getting into London mid morning. With a journey time of less than 90 minutes, fans still to decide when to travel, may want to choose to opt for a later service. Similarly post match fans may also want to consider a staggered return home to avoid the expected queues at London Euston and Wembley Stadium.
Travelling to London but not going to the football?
At certain times of the day, many services are expected to be extremely busy, particularly trains from Birmingham to London Marylebone before lunchtime and from London Marylebone to Birmingham before 18:00.
- If travelling to London Marylebone from Banbury and stations north of Banbury, we advise customers to travel early in the morning or after 15:00. Customers from Bicester North are advised that there is likely to be far more space on trains from Bicester Village, though parking at that station is limited.
- If travelling from London Marylebone back towards Banbury and stations north of there, customers are advised to consider starting their journey before 17:00 as trains after that are likely to be very busy. The times of the busiest trains on the day may vary, depending on whether or not the football goes to extra-time / penalties.
Additional capacity and route options
As alternative options, passengers may want to consider travelling on Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Trains’ services run from Coventry, Nuneaton and Rugby to London Euston. Euston station is approximately 40 minutes from Wembley via the London Underground from Euston Square Tube station (Metropolitan Line).
In anticipation of the event, we have worked alongside other train operating companies to provide additional capacity for supporters travelling to and from the match. There are over 25 morning services from local regional stations towards London for travel to the event; with a similar amount after the match:
Avanti West Coast – An additional service will departure Coventry at 09:02 for London Euston with seats available to book online now.
West Midland Trains – Two additional services will run from Coventry on the Sunday morning, with additional capacity provided after the game.
Chiltern Railways – Five additional services will run from Warwick Parkway and Leamington Spa to Wembley Stadium, and again after the match. In addition, the service will be enhanced to provide extra stops at Wembley Stadium.
A queuing system will also be in place at Wembley Stadium station after the match with additional services running. Customers should expect some extended queuing times due to the crowds leaving the venue all at the same time. All additional services to Leamington Spa and Warwick Parkway will start at Wembley Stadium station, so please ensure that you join the correct queue for your journey home.