Rob O’Malley said his travel experience had ruined “a great day”
By Susie Rack
BBC News, West Midlands
Angry Coventry City supporters have described returning by train from Wembley on Saturday night as “unsafe” due to overcrowding.
Late on Friday Chiltern Railways advised passengers to seek alternative transport after ticket sales exceeded capacity.
Fans attempting to travel back to the West Midlands described packed services and several hours of delays.
Rail operators have apologised for the disruption.
Fans queuing for a West Midlands Service at Euston waited for the doors to open
Rob O’Malley, from Shipston on Stour said trying to get home after seeing his team lose the Championship play-off final was a “shambles”.
He travelled to Wembley from Banbury with Chiltern despite the operator’s earlier advisory.
“That message came out late 11, 12 o’clock on Friday evening, by which stage we had no option of doing anything else but to catch that train,” he said.
On his return journey from Wembley Stadium he was confused to see signs stating no trains were running back towards Warwick, and described a lack of stewards as a “safety concern”.
“[Chiltern] should have put on more trains or a bus replacement services or at least had proper communication and proper organisation, but they had nothing,” he added.
He eventually got on a train to Bicester and then a “very expensive” taxi home.
Image source, PA Media
Thousands of Sky Blues fans travelled to Wembley to see their team lose on penalties
Earlier in the day Chiltern Railways said there was a “high risk” ticket holders would be unable to return after the match.
The operator agreed its tickets would be accepted on West Midlands Trains and Avanti services running from London Euston.
BBC reporter Katie Stafford said her Avanti service from Euston to Coventry was “carnage”.
“There were no ticket checks,” she said. “It was literally cheek-to-cheek with the person next to you before we even left Euston.”
Passengers described confusion after services were cancelled
She described children crying, squashed and more fans piling on at Watford Junction.
“It was just so unsafe. You could barely breathe,” she said. She got off at Milton Keynes and paid for an Uber home.
Passengers diverted by Chiltern to Watford junction described waiting upwards of two hours to board London Northwestern Railway services
Chiltern Trains said compensation was available to those who had chosen not to travel due to expected crowding levels.
In a statement, Avanti West Coast apologised to fans returning to Coventry and said those delayed longer than 15 minutes could claim compensation.
“Our main priority, working with other operators, was to get all the fans home. However, we acknowledge the travelling experience fell well short of what our customers should expect,” a spokesperson said.
The operator pointed out services were busy because the game had finished late, and that it had provided an additional service, seating 600 extra fans.
A London Northwestern Railway spokesperson also apologised for cancellations to trains running between Birmingham and Euston, caused by a signalling fault on the line. The operator added British Transport Police were present on services.
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