West Midlands Railway and British Transport Police face a challenging time this evening, Tuesday, 22nd October when three football matches all kick off within 15 minutes of each other at grounds a few miles apart.

Six sets of fans will travel to watch Aston Villa, Birmingham City, and Walsall, resulting in jam-packed trains as thousands of fans make their way to and from the games.

Aston Villa host Bologna in a Champions League match at Villa Park, Birmingham City play Bolton Wanderers in a League One fixture at St Andrew’s, and Walsall are home to Carlisle United in League Two at Bescot Stadium.

Trains to and from the grounds are expected to be particularly busy, and fans travelling to the games should leave plenty of time to travel and plan ahead at www.nationalrail.co.uk

Railways are ideal for transporting thousands of fans to and from matches, and often put on extra trains to handle the large numbers of passengers. Railway companies such as GB Railfreight have also named some of their locomotives after football teams.

“Our station team at Birmingham New Street is ready to help football fans get to and from their matches smoothly.
“With three local fixtures all landing on the same evening, it’s important that passengers plan ahead, allow themselves extra time to get to their destination and know the time of their train home.
“Check before you travel at nationalrail.co.uk or with your train operator, so you have the latest travel information.”

Steven Ireland, head of stations, security and customer relationship management for Network Rail’s Central route