Blackpool fans urged to use Manchester for train travel to play-offs

Virgin Trains is advising Blackpool fans travelling to Wembley on Saturday to join its fast Pendolino services to London at Manchester Piccadilly rather than Preston.

With over 30,000 fans travelling to London, trains from Scotland which stop at Preston are already very heavily booked. There is no guarantee that fans who do not already have a reserved seat will be able to travel from Preston.

15 trains from Piccadilly will arrive in Euston before 1230, giving plenty of time to get to Wembley.

Early trains leave Piccadilly at 0525, 0555, 0610, and then every twenty minutes at xx35, xx55 and xx15 throughout the day. Typical journey time is around 2 hours 8 minutes.

Arthur Leathley, Communications Director at Virgin Trains said:

‘As a life-long Blackpool supporter, I want my fellow fans to have a good journey to Wembley and arrive fresh to give the Seasiders the support they deserve.

We’ve already seen a huge rise in bookings from Preston to London, and those services are going to be very crowded. With over 1300 seats an hour Manchester to London, Piccadilly is a great alternative to travelling from Preston this weekend.’