FA Cup train strikes: advice and services operating as Man Utd and Man City fans travel to Wembley

Fans of both Manchester City and Manchester United will be heading to Wembley this Saturday to watch their sides battle it out for the FA Cup. The all-Manchester final is something of a rarity - but fans getting there may be hindered by planned rail strikes. 

Strike action is planned for both Friday June 2 and the day of the final- Saturday June 3. Both the RMT and then ASLEF will have members on strike. 

The day before the cup final, when RMT members will be on strike, has some limited services. However, every journey will be likely delayed by the industrial action. 

ASLEF represents around 96% of train drivers and because of this- it is very likely any services will be running. In fact, according to journey planning on Trainline, there will be no trains available from Manchester down to London on June 3. 

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The government is once again not allowing the Rail Delivery Group to make an improved offer that we can consider. Therefore, we have to pursue our industrial campaign to win a negotiated settlement on jobs, pay and conditions.

"Ministers cannot just wish this dispute away. They underestimate the strength of feeling our members who have just given us a new 6-month strike mandate, continue to support the campaign and the action and are determined to see this through until we get an acceptable resolution. The government now needs to unlock the RDG and allow them to make an offer that can be put to a referendum of our members."

Alternative travel from Manchester to London

Coach

Coach travel is available from Manchester down to London on the day of the FA Cup Final. Through Trainline, you can book National Express coaches from around £40 per person- the journey will take around five hours. 

Megabus also have good priced seats on their coaches heading to London- but you’ll need to book with them for the day before if you want to make it for the match as the first coach of the day on June 3 won’t get you into London until after kick off. 

Also with Megabus you can book yourself on one of two return coaches which leave London at 11pm on the night of the final. 

Driving

If you are able to drive down to London, you might be best off parking up near one of the underground stations located on the outskirts of the city. Your best options coming from the North West are likely to be Watford or Amersham. 

From here, you can get a tube towards either Wembley Park or Wembley Central- both of which are near to the stadium. Through the Transport for London planning app, you can piece together the best journey for you. 

STAXY Carpool app

This ride share app has set up a special platform to help fans of both sides get down to London for the match. The app started as one to help out university students, but has since expanded. You can download the app by searching STAXY in your app store.