Birmingham City vs Peterborough United - Kick off 15:00
Sunday 13 April will see Birmingham City play Peterborough United at Wembley for the Vertu Trophy Final.
To maximise the number of customers we can safely carry to Wembley with limited traincrew resources, we will be operating an enhanced service from Warwick Parkway. Unfortunately, this means no Chiltern Railways train services will operate from Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull, Dorridge, Lapworth, Hatton or Warwick for the entire day. A limited rail replacement service will be in operation from Leamington Spa, calling at Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway and Stratford-upon-Avon. Head to the Q&As at the bottom of this page for further information for customers not attending the football.
For Birmingham City fans to make the kick off time of 15:00, there will be 12 Chiltern Railways services (three an hour from 9am) running from Warwick Parkway to London Marylebone – all stopping at Wembley Stadium. A similar number of services will run back to Warwick Parkway from Wembley Stadium after the match.
Finalised timetables for services operated by Chiltern Railways have been loaded to online journey planners.
Free parking will be available throughout Sunday 13 April at Warwick Parkway, Leamington Spa and Banbury.
If Birmingham City supporters are based in the centre or north of Birmingham, we advise that you travel via Birmingham New Street to London Euston with either London Northwestern Railway or Avanti West Coast. If you live south of Birmingham, it is recommended that, where possible, you travel to Warwick Parkway and board Chiltern Railways’ services to Wembley.
Services will be much busier than usual, so please allow plenty of time to make your journey. Queuing systems will be in place at Warwick Parkway, Banbury and Wembley Stadium. Where 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
Historic bookings suggest a significant number of fans will look to travel early on 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 later return home to avoid the expected queues at London Euston and Wembley Stadium.
Travelling to London but not going to the football?
Many services are expected to be extremely busy, particularly trains from Warwick Parkway to London Marylebone before lunchtime and from London Marylebone to Warwick Parkway after 17:00. You will not be able to travel on Chiltern Railways' train services from Birmingham Moor Street, Dorridge, Lapworth, Hatton, Solihull, Dorridge or Warwick all day.
For customers who still intend to travel:
- 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
London Euston Station is approximately 40 minutes from Wembley via the London Underground from Euston Square Tube station to Wembley Park station (Metropolitan Line).
Travel options with other train operators include:
- London Northwestern Railway services between Birmingham New Street and London Euston
- Avanti West Coast services between Birmingham New Street and London Euston
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 everyone leaving the venue at the same time. All additional services towards Warwick Parkway will start at Wembley Stadium station, so please ensure that you travel on a direct train from Wembley Stadium station to reach your destination, and join the correct queue for your journey home.
For live journey updates, please visit our JourneyCheck page.
For our live service information route map and links to individual station departure boards, please click here.
Other important information:
Wherever possible, we ask customers to purchase tickets ahead of travel using the Chiltern Railways website or App. We recommend that customers travel with barcode e-tickets or consider collecting pre-purchased paper tickets ahead of the day.
Please note, the area around Wembley Stadium is an alcohol-free zone and the stadium also has a strict bag policy.
Questions & Answers
- Why are you not running any train services from Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull, Dorridge, Lapworth, Hatton or Warwick?
- We need to best deploy the colleagues and trains we have available to deal with the expected increase in demand. Additional trains will run from Warwick Parkway to London Marylebone (via Wembley Stadium) for Birmingham City supporters before the match. There will be a total of 12 services from Warwick Parkway for Birmingham City supporters to make the kick off time of 15:00.
- What if the car park at Warwick Parkway gets full?
- There is a large car park at Warwick Parkway. If the car park at Warwick Parkway gets full, we will direct supporters down the line to the next available station car parks (Leamington Spa and Banbury), where you can board to head to Wembley.
- We will be offering free parking for customers at Warwick Parkway, Leamington Spa and Banbury all day on Sunday 13 April.
- What is your advice for customers?
- If you are based in the centre or north of Birmingham, we advise that you travel via Birmingham New Street to London Euston with other operators. If you live south of Birmingham, it is recommended that, where possible, you travel to Warwick Parkway and board Chiltern Railways’ services to Wembley. Plan your trip in advance and choose which journey you are taking and which train operator you are travelling with. History bookings show that a lot of supporters tend to travel early. Consider travelling on later services, which may not be as busy as earlier services in the day.
- What are the options after the match?
- A similar number of Chiltern Railways services will be running from Wembley Stadium to Warwick Parkway after the match.
- What are my options if I am planning to travel on Sunday 13 April and I am not travelling to the football?
- Our services are expected to be extremely busy on Sunday 13 April. Customers not travelling to the football are advised to check their journeys before travelling and that no Chiltern train services will run from Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull, Dorridge, Lapworth, Hatton or Warwick.
- A limited rail replacement service will be in operation from Leamington Spa, calling at Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway and Stratford-upon-Avon.
- West Midlands Railway services will be in operation between Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull and Dorridge.
- Are other routes affected?
- To provide resource for the additional trains from Warwick Parkway and Banbury, the Oxford to Bicester Village line will be reduced to one train an hour to London during the first part of the morning and the Stratford Upon Avon line will be replaced with a rail replacement bus service.
- Due to pre-planned engineering works linked to HS2, a rail replacement bus service will operate from Amersham to Aylesbury Vale Parkway.
- Step-free access from Warwick Parkway station
- The lift is out of order between platform 2 and the underpass at Warwick Parkway station. If you are travelling on this date and need step-free access, we recommend you travel from Leamington Spa Station. If you need help with your journey and need to book passenger assistance, please call our dedicated team on 03456 005 165 option 3, then option 3.