Travelling into Cardiff for Wales' autumn rugby curtain-raiser against the All Blacks on Saturday, November 5, is going to be very tricky.
The game at the Principality Stadium, which kicks off at 3.15pm, falls on the first of three days of planned rail strikes for November, meaning travelling by train before and after the game will be heavily limited.
The RMT and TSSA unions' members are set to walk out until a new arrangement on pay and conditions can be reached. Although Transport for Wales isn't directly involved in either union's dispute, Network Rail is, meaning TfW services will be badly affected.
Some bus services have been offered as an alternative, along with travel to and from locations in both Wales and England, but they require pre-booking and prices start from £28. Tens of thousands of fans have already booked tickets for the match, so the travel situation could get hectic, while in some cases it will add a higher cost to an already expensive day out.
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The match will kick off at 3.15pm and a lot of the options for transport mean fans will have to leave the stadium promptly after unless they are lucky enough to live nearby. With a number of different train and bus operators involved in the complicated picture on Saturday, we've put together a guide on how to navigate it on the day:
Here are all the details on the different ways you can travel to and from Cardiff on Saturday for Wales v New Zealand:
Which trains are running and should you travel by train?
The rail strikes have been confirmed for November 5, 7 and 9, so Saturday will be the first day of November affected. TfW is warning its services will be busy on Friday, November 4, with some late evening services not running.
On Saturday itself, no services are running except some between Cardiff Central and Treherbert/Aberdare/Merthyr/Rhymney, and between Cardiff Central and Newport, which are "for essential travel only". Crucially, there will be no railway service out of Cardiff after the game.
In short, it will be nigh on impossible to get into Cardiff via train for the game. Cardiff Council has outright said "people should not travel by train" on the day, while it will be impossible to leave the city on a train afterwards. If you're staying overnight after an evening on the town, services might start later than usual on Sunday, November 6.
If you're travelling from anywhere along the GWR route from London Paddington to Cardiff, which includes Newport, the situation is similar. Services on Saturday will run between 7.30am and 6.30pm, but will be "very limited," and "extremely busy". Again, there will be no trains out of Cardiff afterwards via GWR, either. GWR said: "Rugby fans attending the Wales-New Zealand autumn international at the Principality Stadium should not travel by train as there will be no services after the match."
If you were planning on hopping on a CrossCountry train from anywhere between Birmingham New Street and Cardiff, you can expect "no service," according to the operator.
Replacement coach services and how much they cost
However, TfW will be providing some coach travel, alongside the buses offered through the WRU.
There are two main options for coaches to Cardiff on Saturday. TfW is offering a limited coach service both from Abercynon railway station car park and from in front of Pontypridd railway station at 11am and 11.30am. Coaches will drop off at King Edward VII Avenue in Cardiff's Civic Centre, about a 10-minute walk from the Principality Stadium.
The return coaches will then leave at 6pm and 6.30pm from the same spot, so there is little if any time to hang around for a drink or to soak up the matchday experience after the game ends. Coach tickets have to be booked in advance, and existing rail tickets aren't valid for coach travel. Coach tickets for the TfW service, are available on a first come, first served basis, can be booked here.
You could also take advantage of the Big Green Coach services set up in partnership with the WRU. Travel is available from 23 locations across Wales and major English cities, with tickets starting from £28.
Departure times depend on where you're travelling from, and all coaches leave Cardiff at 6pm. It'll cost you £30 for a return ticket from Newport or Merthyr, £31 from Port Talbot and £34 from Llanelli.
If you're travelling from a little further out, it gets steeper: £44 to travel from Wrexham and £46 from Colwyn Bay (or from London if you're that way inclined).
One social media user said of the prices: "£150 for a family of 5 return... think I'd rather book a private taxi."
If you want to book a Big Green Coach ticket, you can do so here.
A few other coach operators, including National Express and Megabus, seem to have tickets left for journeys into Cardiff (at the time of writing), but only very early on Saturday morning.
Official advice on driving to Cardiff for the game
You can still drive into Cardiff but the Principality Stadium's official advice says to leave "plenty of time" due to the railway strike and the fact the M4 is expected to be "very busy". To avoid congestion, you could make use of the park and ride car parks at Cardiff City Stadium in Leckwith or County Hall in Cardiff Bay, with buses running every 15 minutes for £10, starting at 9.10am with the last bus running at 7.30pm.
There is a full city centre road closure from 11.15am - four hours before kick-off - until 7.15pm.
These roads will be partially closed:
- Kingsway from its junction with North Road to its junction with Duke Street.
- Cowbridge Road East from its junction with Cathedral Road to its junction with Westgate Street.
- Tudor Street from its junction with Clare Road to its junction with Wood Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted via Fitzhammon Embankment.)
- Plantagenet Street and Beauchamp Street from their junctions with Despenser Place to their junctions with Tudor Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted.)
- Station Terrace and Guildford Street from the junction with Newport Road to the junction with Churchill Way will be access for buses only during the times of the road closures. This is to ensure that there is reliable access for buses to the satellite points in Churchill Way.
These roads will be fully closed:
- Duke Street
- Castle St
- High Street
- St Mary Street
- Caroline Street
- Wood Street
- Central Square
- Westgate Street
- Quay Street
- Guildhall Place
- Golate
- Park Street
- Havelock Street
- Scott Road.
Scott Road and Park Street will also be closed from 7am. Access to part of the Civic Centre will be limited, including King Edward VII Avenue, Museum Avenue, City Hall Road, College Road and Gorsedd Gardens Road.
There will be some private parking in the Civic Centre between 8am and midnight for £25 on the day, or at Sophia Gardens for £15 on the day. Principality Parking is also running a car park at Ysgol Pwll Coch in Leckwith, a 25-minute walk from the stadium, which you can book here for £25.
How else can I travel into Cardiff?
Many may want to chance it with a taxi, but the St Mary Street taxi rank will close at 11.15am and reopen at 7.15pm. If you're planning on cycling, there'll be up to 50 bike parking spaces available at the new Bike Lock café on Windsor Place, and at Cardiff Central Station.
Local bus routes from Stagecoach and Cardiff Bus will still run, but will be diverted. You can visit Stagecoach's website here, and read through the specific details of all of Cardiff Bus' diversions here.
If you're planning on travelling, good luck and make sure to plan ahead.
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