Extra trains laid on for welsh football fans

WELSH football supporters will benefit from additional train services as they travel home from a crucial World Cup qualifier later this month.

Wales will face Kazakhstan in their opening Group J match on Saturday, 22 March, at 19:45 in Cardiff, with hopes of securing a place at the 2026 World Cup finals. To accommodate fans, Transport for Wales (TfW) has announced extra train services to North Wales from Cardiff. Additionally, further services will be put in place for supporters attending the League One clash between Wrexham and Stockport on the same day.

Engineering works rescheduled
Pre-planned engineering works that were due to take place that weekend have now been rescheduled to facilitate travel for football fans.

Network Rail had originally planned to carry out three sets of maintenance work between Shrewsbury and Wrexham over the course of the weekend, which would have resulted in a rail replacement service for those travelling to Cardiff. The works had been scheduled since 2023; however, the football fixtures were only confirmed earlier this year.

Working together for fans
Georgie Wills, Customer Delivery and Special Events Planning Manager at Transport for Wales, highlighted the importance of these events and the necessity of reliable transport options.

“We know just how important major sporting, music and cultural events are to the economies we serve.

“Working with the FAW, we know that supporters from North Wales are increasingly coming to rely on our services to get down to Cardiff and back, which is a testament to the improvements made over the past 18 months. So, once again, we’ve been able to run some extra trains to support those who want to travel home after the game, above what is in our standard timetable.

“This one was more challenging as the fixtures were only confirmed at the start of the year, and Wales could just as easily have been playing away.

“But we’ve got a fantastic relationship with Network Rail, and I’m delighted that we could work together to find a solution.”

Adjustments to engineering works
Nick Millington, Network Rail’s Wales and Borders Route Director, confirmed that adjustments had been made to their planned works to ensure smoother travel for fans.

“Our partners at Transport for Wales asked us to move our engineering work to accommodate the significant number of Wales football supporters looking to get to and from North Wales for the match against Kazakhstan in Cardiff.

“The work between Shrewsbury and Wrexham was planned to take place between Saturday morning and Monday morning.

“However, we have been able to move some of it to Sunday morning between 1am and 9.30am, and the rest until February 2026.
“It’s not always possible to move such work, but in this instance, we were able to accommodate the request, and we are happy to assist TfW’s plan to run additional services on Saturday night and Sunday morning.”

With these additional services in place, fans can now focus on supporting their teams without the added worry of travel disruptions.