Extra trains set to help Forest fans get to Wembley

A train firm has said it will run extra services on Sunday to help Nottingham Forest fans heading to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

Reds supporters have been warned of travel disruption caused by long-planned essential engineering works resulting in limited services for those travelling to see the match.

Network Rail and East Midlands Railway (EMR) said trains between Nottingham and London St Pancras would be "extremely busy" with passengers likely to have to stand.

However, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has now said it would be running extra trains between Newark, Grantham and King's Cross on match day.

LNER's communications director Stuart Thomas said: "We're adding in an extra train from Newark and from Grantham and then an extra train in the evening back from King's Cross as well."

Mr Thomas said some LNER services that would not normally stop at Newark and Grantham would do so on Sunday.

Despite the extra services, Mr Thomas said LNER trains were also expected to be busy - particularly with the London Marathon also taking place on Sunday.

He said: "We'd advise everyone to make sure they've got a ticket to get a seat reserved in advance.

"When Newcastle were at Wembley a few weeks ago, we saw lots of people travelling a day or two earlier, making a long weekend of it.

"We'd certainly encourage people to consider doing that if they can, because it spreads out the travel and means we can take even more fans to the semi-final."

Network Rail said EMR services from Nottingham would be affected by long-scheduled essential engineering on the Thameslink Tunnel.

Daniel Matthews, operations director for Network Rail in the East Midlands, apologised and added that the tunnel was "very heavily used and needs regular maintenance" to keep trains running safely and reliably.

"Unfortunately work like this is planned many months and even years in advance to make sure that alternative routes are available," he said.

"We've changed planned work in the Nottingham area which will allow EMR to start running services earlier in the day direct to and from Nottingham."

Network Rail and EMR said St Pancras station would be very busy on Sunday with some platforms closed for engineering work.

Forest fan Steve Sheppard, who has a ticket for the semi-final, said: "Obviously we've got to do engineering work but it's going to make it so difficult.

"I know supporters are going to places like Derby, Newark and Grantham to try and beat the traffic but it's going to be difficult."

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