Earlier this week, the Welsh football team travelled from Bridgend to London Paddington aboard a Great Western Railway train named after two sporting legends.

Ryan Giggs’ squad travelled on the Intercity Express Train named after football giant John Charles and rugby great Sir Gareth Edwards.

The Intercity Express Train number 800009 was named as part of the #GreatWesterners campaign back in 2018.

John Charles won 38 international caps and helped Wales to the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup.

Sir Gareth Edwards was part of the Welsh rugby union side of the 1960s and 1970s and won the Five Nations Championship 7 times.

Last month players and staff from Queens Park Rangers used a Great Western Railway service to take the team to Plymouth Argyle.

This was the second time in a month that GWR has taken a football team to an away fixture, having carried players and staff from QPR to an EFL Cup match at Plymouth Argyle at the beginning of September.

GWR is hoping to encourage more sports clubs to explore the option of travelling by train on its network.

Mark Evans, head of International Affairs at the Football Association of Wales, said: “We’d like to thank Great Western Railway for their assistance in ensuring our trip to Wembley was as seamless as possible. Travelling on the train that celebrates one of our most iconic players, John Charles, was a very special touch.

“The Welsh national team has travelled by train in the past and yesterday’s journey was a particularly pleasant experience that helped our preparations ahead of tonight’s match.”

Phil Delaney, GWR Sales and Marketing Director said: “We are delighted to have been able to carry the Wales team and their support staff ahead of tonight’s friendly at Wembley.

“A lot of hard work has been done to make sure people can be confident to travel safely, and that includes running more trains and carriages to make extra room, as well as our enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures.

“We know the Covid-19 pandemic has changed our customer landscape, and these football partnerships are a great example of what we’re doing to adapt to this change. It’s something we’d be very happy to repeat with other teams on our network.”

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