Welsh rugby fans facing travel chaos ahead of Wales v New Zealand match on Saturday

The thousands of fans set to descend on the capital on Saturday will have to find alternative routes home, with no rail services at all running after the match. Credit: PA

Welsh rugby fans making their way to the capital on Saturday are set to face travel chaos amid limited train services and traffic warnings.

Despite a planned rail strike being called off at the last minute, Network Rail is still urging fans travelling to and from Cardiff tomorrow for the Wales v New Zealand game not to travel by train.

Thousands of rugby fans had already been forced to make alternative travel arrangements, including booking specially-arranged coaches or making longer journeys by road.

  • ITV Cymru Wales spoke to Emily Mcbride earlier today before the rail strikes were called off. She is traveling to the capital from Llandudno.

Network Rail says that it is now too late to be able to reintroduce the services that had been cancelled."The very late notice means that services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited," a spokesperson said.

Where trains are able to run, they are expected to be extremely busy, with people being told to avoid them altogether "unless absolutely necessary."

There are no scheduled rail services at all after the match.

The highly-anticipated fixture sees Wales kick off their autumn rugby campaign Credit: PA

Fans are being warned to plan ahead if they are arriving via the M4 motorway, which is expected to be very busy, along with likely congestion approaching Cardiff.

There will also be a full city centre road closure from 11.15am until 7.15pm to "ensure all ticket holders can get into and out of the stadium safely."

Cardiff Council is asking people to use park & ride facilities at Cardiff City Stadium in Leckwith, or County Hall in Cardiff Bay.

RMT rail union halted their plans for 24-hour walkouts on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday (5, 7 and 9 November) after securing negotiations with Network Rail to discuss a pay deal.

The strikes were part of a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.

The Managing Director of Great Western Railway, which runs one of the major rail services connecting Swansea and Newport with the capital, said passengers should only travel if "absolutely necessary" on Saturday and Monday and that GWR is "working hard to reinstate services into next week."

Transport for Wales (TfW), which also runs rail services in Wales, said is not involved in either dispute, but its services will be affected as it relies on Network Rail staff to run trains on much of the network. 

“Those attending the Autumn International match at the Principality Stadium on Saturday 5 November should not travel in or out of Cardiff by train, despite the cancellation of strike action," said a TfW spokesperson.

"Due to the short notice given for the cancellation of the strikes, it’s not possible for services to be reinstated on Saturday 5 November. Most trains across the Wales and Borders network will remain suspended, with only the potential to run severely reduced services running east of Cardiff and to the Valleys lines.”