Advice to travel early and travel light for the Royal Wedding
Regal revellers from as far afield as Fife, Preston and Newton Abbot have bought rail tickets to Windsor on the day of the Royal Wedding, with some expected to set-off in the small hours to catch a glimpse of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Windsor visitors have booked tickets from Stafford, Stockport, Solihull, and even Scotland for Saturday 19 May, joining the majority of customers expected to be travelling from London and the Thames Valley.
With trains at Slough Station for the connecting service to Windsor and Eton Central expected to be in very high demand, and a sizeable queuing system in place, those travelling on the day are advised to travel early to beat the queues and make sure they get to the town in time for the Royal procession.
Great Western Railway (GWR) will operate to its maximum capacity on its branch line service, with four carriage trains running every 20 minutes, and over 200 additional GWR staff will be working across the network on the day to keep people moving.
The train operator will provide over 1,000 boxes of confetti for Windsor wedding goers, 100 metres of bunting; and 60,000 chocolates and over 10,000 bottles of water to keep the party atmosphere going.
To help passengers board the Windsor shuttles safely 2,300 metres of fencing will be used for queues across key stations on route; and fencing panels have been removed at Slough and at Windsor and Eton Central to improve flow through the stations.
GWR is also working with a local swan sanctuary to ensure any wayward birds do not fall fowl of the railway line.
With well in excess of 100,000 people expected to travel to Windsor to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, GWR also recommends that those travelling by train consider the following:
Please allow plenty of time for your journey – and expect to queue
Keep baggage to a minimum: Thames Valley Police and British Transport Police will conduct security checks and excess luggage could delay your journey
Wear sensible clothes for the weather conditions. GWR will have additional facilities on site but please do ensure you are dressed for the conditions expected throughout the day
Stagger your journey home: Both Windsor stations will be extremely busy. GWR will provide regular updates on expected queuing times through our twitter feed @GWRhelp and @SW_help
Those looking to join the crowds are advised to use South Western Railway services from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside if you are travelling from the London area. Customers travelling from the West, South Wales and Cotswolds should change at Reading for services to Slough.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said:
“We help thousands of people each year travel to some of the biggest events in the country: Reading Festival, Glastonbury and Henley Regatta and many more. This will be one of the largest ever one-day events that has taken place on our network and our aim is to ensure our customers have a great day out and enjoy what will be an international spectacle.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub