As the final is on a Saturday this time it is very difficult to weave in an extra train to an already busy local service. This problem was compounded by West Coast Railways, who provided the charter stock for the train last time, being banned currently by Network Rail from running any excursions until May 15th due to a safety incident last month. Despite these issues Adrian explored every other possible option with alternative operators. Northern Rail and Glossop Line Manager Theo were kept in the loop throughout these discussions and were supportive. When it eventually became clear that a special would be unlikely to run into Glossop or Wembley Central, Adrian reluctantly decided that, as its appeal may prove limited not to proceed further with a charter train.
We hope this clarifies the significant amount of work undertaken by Adrian to try and get a football train!
For those travelling by scheduled services to London Euston on May 9th, London Overground provides a 30 minute service to Wembley Central from Euston taking around 22 minutes and London Midland provides a fast service at 4 minutes past the hour taking 9 minutes. Note Wembley Park station is scheduled not to be open due to engineering works. Please check the times of your connecting services carefully! Last trains Saturday evening to Glossop from Manchester Piccadilly are at 20.46, 21.46, 22.46 and 23.27.
We thank Adrian for his efforts and Northern and Theo for support.
And, of course, we wish Glossop North End sucess at Wembley!!