Fans face FA Cup Tube chaos

FANS travelling to Wembley Stadium to watch Cardiff City’s FA Cup semi-final clash next weekend had their plans thrown into chaos yesterday as London Underground workers announced a strike to begin just minutes after the final whistle.

The announcement adds further travel misery for fans travelling by train from South Wales, who will also be hit by long-term maintenance work on the Severn Tunnel starting today and carrying on throughout every weekend until August.

Around 33,000 fans will make the journey to North London on April 6 for Cardiff’s first appearance at Wembley for 81 years, with hundreds having already booked weekend breaks in the capital. Earlier that day, the Ospreys take on Saracens in the quarter-final of rugby’s Heineken Cup in Watford.

But there is likely to be chaos on the streets of the capital as thousands of travellers, who would normally be on the Underground, spill on to the streets, railways and buses in search of alternative transport, or bring their cars into the English capital.

Last night, stunned supporters said the news would take away some of the enjoyment of a historic fixture that could see the Bluebirds secure a place in the final of one of football’s showpiece tournaments. They also warned of the dangers of allowing thousands of fans to become agitated while waiting for hastily- arranged alternative transport.

“It’s going to be absolute chaos and take the edge off the day for many fans,” said Gwyn Davies, of Cardiff City’s Valley Rams supporters club.

“They [the transport unions] always do things like this at the most volatile times for optimum publicity, to increase pressure and to give them more leverage for their case. I don’t know the details of what they are fighting over but the general public are again being used as tools.”

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association said a dispute over safety issues would lead to its members walking out at 6.30pm next Sunday and not returning until Wednesday.

Cardiff City’s game kicks off at 4pm, meaning it could end less than 45 minutes before the strike begins. The Ospreys’ match kicks off at 12.15pm, with many fans planning to attend both high- profile games.

The unions have told London Underground its plans for ticket office closures, de-staffing, lone working and the introduction of “mobile supervisors” amount to an unacceptable attack on safety standards and overwhelmingly voted to walk out in ballots organised by both unions.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said, “Each of these issues is serious in its own right, but together they amount to a fundamental and unacceptable attack on staffing across the network, putting our members’ and passengers’ safety at risk. Tube workers will not stand idly by while the security of the network is compromised by managers who clearly believe that staff and passenger safety can be looked after on the cheap.”

But the concerns found little sympathy among supporters.

Mr Davies said, “They say they are concerned over safety but this is going to cause chaos. There are all sorts of possibilities if thousands of people are left to hang around getting agitated. It’s a bad announcement and let’s hope common sense prevails.”

The announcement came just four days after ecstatic fans queued at Ninian Park through the night to get their hands on tickets, for which the majority of supporters paid between £25 and £45.

“Coaches can only get so close to the stadium and are mainly planning on dropping fans off and picking them up at Tube stations, but they can’t do that now,” said Mr Davies.

“But you can’t get all those coaches right up to the stadium either. People need to know they will be able to get home.”

Wembley Stadium is on the Bakerloo and Metropolitan Tube lines. The Saracens’ Vicarage Road ground in Watford is also on the Bakerloo line. Only one above-ground rail service, run by Chiltern Railways, travels between Paddington and Wembley and there are also bus services – but these will come under strain without an operating Tube.

Passenger watchdog Passenger Focus last night urged the opposing parties to resolve their differences with the potential for disruption heightened by the extra visitors to London, with the Olympic flame also passing through Wembley on April 6 en route to Beijing.

“Lots of travelling fans will expect to use the Tube, which is the easier and most popular method of getting across London,” said the organisation’s Wales manager, Simon Pickering.

“Without access to it there will be confusion, if not chaos, for Cardiff City fans. On a busy weekend, with lots of competing demands for public transport in London, taking out a major component is an extra stress which passengers can do without.”

Transport for London said last night it was too early to say how the strike would affect the semi-final clash or what alternative arrangements could be put in place.

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