We promised to keep you updated on our services ahead of the Cheltenham Festival starting tomorrow and the impact of RMT strike action on Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 March.
We will be able to run a very limited service for Cheltenham on Thursday and Saturday and we are warning customers to seek alternative way to travel to/from the Cheltenham Festival.
The small number of services that we are able to run will be extremely busy, and last trains will leave much earlier than usual, we will not be able to offer onward road transport for anyone who arrives at the station after the last train has left. Crosscountry Trains will also have a limited service from Birmingham to Bristol, calling only at Cheltenham, and also with an early close down.
On both days, no trains will serve Kemble, Stroud, Stonehouse or Gloucester.
Journeys can be checked at www.gwr.com/check and customers with tickets for Thursday can either claim a full fee-free refund, or for travel from the day before their ticket is valid, up to and including 21 March.
We are working closely with the Jockey Club who will be making Festival ticket holders for Thursday aware of our travel advice and the impact on rail services. We will also have volunteers (staff and managers) on hand to help with queuing at Cheltenham (including Crosscountry and Network Rail teams). As this is a strike day we will not have the same level of volunteers available, but we are working closely together to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. We are though recommending customer use alternatives to rail if they can.
Tomorrow (Tuesday), on Wednesday and Friday we are providing 11 extra services – more than 4,000 additional seats – each day to and from Cheltenham for race-goers. We will have the usual queuing system in place and customers will have to wait to safely board a train when returning in the evening. Customers not travelling for the Festival are advised to avoid trains after 1700 so they aren’t caught up in Festival traffic.
If you can share this with your networks that would be greatly appreciated, and if there’s anything else you need please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
