Football fans attending the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday (June 1) have been told to arrive four hours early as parts of the London Underground are set to be extremely busy. Transport for London (TfL) has also warned Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid fans they they may have to queue at important Tube stations.
Bosses say that the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines will be rammed. Officials mention some stations in particular. These include: Baker Street, Bond Street, Canary Wharf, Charing Cross, Embankment, Marble Arch, Waterloo, Westminster, Wembley Park and Wembley Central.
TfL bosses say that short-term safety measures, such as queuing, closures, trains non-stopping or changes to the way people enter or exit a station, may be necessary to cope with the sheer amount of people expected to use the network.
READ MORE: Map of London’s Champions League festival site with full rundown of events
TfL adds it is expected fans will have to queue to enter Wembley Park station after the game finishes. This is usually a stop start traffic light system, with police and stewards keeping an eye on match goers as they make their way home.
In addition, there is a wider festival celebrating the event from Thursday (May 30) through to Sunday (June 2). This is taking place on numerous sites, including Trafalgar Square, Regent Street, Somerset House, the South Bank area and Potters Field Park.
The nearest stations for these locations are for Trafalgar Square (Charing Cross or Leicester Square stations), Regent Street (Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Bond Street stations), Somerset House (Temple, Holborn and Charing Cross stations), Potters Field (London Bridge and Tower Hill stations). These are set to be very busy.
Alternative transport
Therefore, using other London transport services might be advisable on Saturday if you’re out and about. People from Spain and Germany may be less aware of Thameslink and Overground services, for example.
Although, people might be taking Thameslink services down from Luton Airport. And there are always buses, of course.
Underground services away from the stadium will most likely be less busy. Major stations like Euston, Paddington and especially St. Pancras with its Eurostar services, might be places to avoid.
The same goes for routes to and from airports. The Piccadilly line goes to Heathrow of course. Then there’s Stansted (which has direct National Rail trains) to the north, London City in the east and Gatwick (which has the Gatwick Express) in the south.
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