Just found out via a post on the Wigan Board that there are extensive engineering works planned on the West Coast line on Bank Holiday weekend. To get down to London requires at least two changes and a five hour journey, and as for getting back that night - forget it. This has scuppered my plans as I was goingto do the journey by train, even if we don't get there.

I know that Network Rail will hardly take much account of the Challenge Cup Final but twith at least one, and hopefully two, of the teams being based on or near the West Coast line it will still be incredibly inconvenient, to say the least.

Be warned!

i checked on price / availability for train there and back on the saturday. £125 and 5.5 hours to get back.

i was laughing at the operator for about 45 mins before i politly declined the offer

Not again, it was dreadful last year.

how's it looking on the Sunday?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

I tried putting a Sunday return in and it came back with a Monday morning train. I tried for 'earlier trains' and it gave me, wait for it ....

Depart London 23:06 on Saturday night
Arrive in Preston 15:50 on Sunday after 5 changes including 3 buses. Sixteen and three quarter hours



Forget trying to get back on the Sunday via West Coast. Basically no trains at all on the Sunday.

It's laughable how the railways treat customers on weekends and bank holidays as persona non grata. You still have to pay through the nose to stand next to a toilet, but this time you have to change 39 times and it'll take you 3 days.

Try Liverpool or Runcorn to Birmingham then Birmingham to London or Wembley.

That is the route I took last year.

Or get a coach for 30 quid tops!

I have a family rail card. £65 for me and 3 children

I have a 'Traveller' ticket which gives me free first class travel on Virgin Trains at the weekend, but going any other way than West Coast means using different providers.

We go every year Friday to Sunday.

It's OK getting there on the Friday but the Sunday return is virtually impossible. One of the only ways i found was to go London Kings Cross to York. Then York to Warrington Central.

Every journey is 5-6 hours and numerous changes.

IIRC National Rail coaches also seem messed up returning on that Sunday.

I suppose there are compensations to living in Yorkshire then. Last year we went with Hull Trains, direct, no stops, on time and £30 each way.

Full of Hull fans though........

I love that service. Used to use it as a teen travelling up to Saints games and to visit my old man.

It's unfortunate but weekends and Bank Holiday's will always be chosen for such works until such a point when the railway network is no longer crumbling thanks to donkeys years of neglect. When else can they do the works?

Apparently, all this is due to come to an end when all the nations tracks are replaced to suit newer, faster trains and we will never have to suffer it again. Unfortunately, that won't be till 2015.

At which point the lines they replaced first will be crumbling and decaying and the whole process will begin again.

get 10 mates together and hire a limo for the day. costs about 30 notes each.

£300 return for a limo from sintellisn to wmbers, you sure pal ? Thats not a lot of coin.

ahhh yea, probably nearer to 60. my bad. still better than train tho!!

What a suprise HULL trains full of hull fans when there teams in the final funny that

You have to beat Huddersfiels yet, don't get to confident like Wigan did against Catalans

Did you miss this bit?

Anybody any idea (ball park figure) how much it would cost to hire a coach for the Friday drop off and Sunday return?

Just sizing up options.

A whole coach, or a seat on one ?

How long did it take you to work that out?

Whole coach. Well enough to seat 25.

Perhaps some form of enquiry to a coach hire company might be in order.



It won't be cheap because you will have to pay the price of two return journeys with the home and return legs being so far apart.