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  • Principality Stadium Events

      Principality Stadium Banner 685x200

    Cardiff Central station is a stones throw from the Principality Stadium in the heart of the city centre and on match or other event days, train services into Cardiff can be extremely busy. 

    Our advice if you are travelling by train to attend a game is to try and arrive at least 3 hours in advance of kick-off.

    Some Cardiff Central station car parks will be closed prior to and during the games and Cardiff Queen Street will typically close just before the end of the match. 

    You should head back to Cardiff Central station straight after a game where a queuing system is usually in place to get everyone home safely so you could be expected to queue for some time before allowed onto the platform to board your train. 

     




  • Buying a ticket  

    You should buy your train tickets well in advance of travel, which will save you having to queue at the booking office on the day. There will be revenue protection officers at the station and ticket barriers will be in use. 

    You should buy return tickets for your journey so that you won’t have to queue for tickets before entering the queuing system when returning to the station – this also saves you a bit of money, as it’s often cheaper than buying two single tickets.


    The safety of our passengers is paramount - here are a few things to remember to stay safe. 

    Please stand well back from the platform edge

    Allow passengers to get off the train before you board

    Please do not wave flags and banners on the platform, as they are distracting to the driver

    Dress appropriately for the weather – the queuing system is not under cover. 


    Reservations on trains 

    Some services are closed or not available for seat reservations on event days, as we cannot guarantee that you will be able to get your reserved seat.


    Passenger Assistance 

    If you need assistance when travelling by train then please visit our Assisted Travel page 


    Engineering Work 

    You should check for details of engineering work that may affect your train journey to and from Cardiff

    Charter Trains 

    Passengers travelling to an event in Cardiff on a chartered train need to obtain the following information from the Charter organiser before travelling: 

    • Where you need to queue for the return journey
    • What time you need to be back at the station
    • The name of the Charter service you are travelling on and the colour of your train ticket

    Charter trains must depart at their booked time, so we won’t be able to hold it if you’re not on board when the train is due to leave. 

    Alcohol


    There are some events when alcohol consumption on trains and at stations is not permitted.  If this is the case we’ll advertise this nearer the event with support from the British Transport Police.


    Frequently Asked Questions about event travel arrangements

  • Event Days at Cardiff

    Why don’t you put on more carriages on an event day?

    We spend up to three months in advance of a fixture planning the train service and crowd management. This includes the provision of extra carriages and services on the most popular routes taking people to and from these locations. All this is done with consideration of the limitations of the fleet we have at our disposal. As an example, the impact a 72,500 capacity stadium has on Cardiff Central Railway station, given its location and the benefits of using rail travel as opposed to road, means that this can result in a significantly higher number of customers using the station on an event day. As a general indication of the popularity of services, prior to events at Cardiff, around 30,000 customers can arrive at the station before the event, and up to 40,000 customers return to the station to get home afterwards. It's so busy at Cardiff; we even have to close Queen Street after events, due to the size of station! During these event days, the depots are empty, as every train at our disposal is out in service, unless undertaking absolutely essential maintenance work.

    So why do I have to wait outside the station?

    The best way that we can safely manage the high number of customers is to implement crowd management procedures before and after the events, such as queuing systems and restricted movement within stations.

    We employ crowd management professionals to manage the flow of customers on the ground, and they are supported by a team of competent and experienced railway staff who provide customer assistance on the platforms, and coordinate the operation in the crowd management control centre.

    As you can imagine, if all the customers were permitted to enter the station without any form of crowd control there would be safety risks in terms of over-crowding on platforms, and customers being prevented from boarding their desired train services.

    How do you decide which queues move and who has to wait outside?

    Our industry leading queuing system is designed to allow customers' access to trains on a first come first served basis and we release each queue according to the space on the next available service, holding the queue until the next train is due.

    At Cardiff Central, customers waiting in the Manchester/Crewe queue may notice that there are 4 separate queues for this route due to the high numbers using these services and each is filled in order and then released by the same order to ensure fair access to the services.

    If we have to ask customers to wait outside stations for longer than we would like, we always give out waterproof ponchos and blankets. This helps make the experience as comfortable as possible for everyone whilst still getting them home safely.

    How do I know what’s happening on the day?

    Communication with customers is a key part of the event day operation. On the day we have high numbers of staff available to provide direct information, we have extra station announcers to ensure the information is regular and consistent, and we even operate a specific twitter feed to provide live updates from the station - www.twitter.com/ArrivaTW .

    The twitter feed is managed by a member of our event team, based in our Crowd Management Centre, and is by far the best source of live information on an event day if you have access to twitter. Before travelling, it is also important to check our website, which has a specific page for each event.

    Check here  www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/PrincipalityStadium/  to find information on the plan of the queuing system, details of any additional train services, and other useful advice such as how long customers can expect to queue, disabled access and the location of public toilets.