Chiltern Railways has announced that it will be running an enhanced timetable on Saturday 18 May for Oxford United’s League One Play-Off Final against Bolton Wanderers.
In particular, a high-capacity train service will operate between Oxford Parkway/Bicester Village to Wembley Stadium/London Marylebone. Additional and longer trains will be running both pre and post-match.
No Chiltern Railways trains will serve Oxford station for the entire day. Owing to the enhanced service from Oxford Parkway, trains are too long to use the bay platforms at Oxford station. This decision was taken to ensure that additional capacity is available for travelling customers. A limited rail replacement bus service will operate between Oxford and Oxford Parkway.
Although there is a limited rail replacement bus service, customers are advised to start their journey at Oxford Parkway. Oxford Parkway has one of the largest car parking facilities on the route and has other local transport connections to/from Oxford City Centre.
Due to the expected number of passengers, a queueing system will be in place at Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village and Bicester North prior to the match to ensure trains are boarded efficiently and safely. Due to this, customers may not be able to board their preferred train and are encouraged to arrive at the station in good time and allow plenty of time to travel.
A queuing system will also be in place at Wembley Stadium after the match. Chiltern colleagues on the ground will be working hard to get supporters moving as quickly as possible.
Services and stations are expected to be busier than usual.
To avoid long waits at ticket offices and machines, customers are advised to plan ahead, check before they travel and purchase tickets in advance on the Chiltern Railways website (www.chilternrailways.co.uk) or app. Customers may wish to consider collecting their pre-booked tickets before the day of travel.
More information can be found at www.chilternrailways.co.uk/oxfordunited.
Chiltern Railways would like to wish The U’s the very best of luck in their Play-Off Final.
