Chelsea v Crystal Palace: FA Cup semi-final fans to be hit by Wembley Tube disruption

UPDATE: The Metropolitan line will run a full service this weekend to the relief of football fans travelling to Wembley.

TfL have now provided an update as of April 14 2022 with new travel advice for the weekend.

They have confirmed that a normal weekend timetable will be running on the metropolitan line.

The normal weekend service will be running on the Met line from Saturday April 16 to Monday April 18 and on the weekends and bank holidays in the coming weeks.

TfL are advising football fans travelling to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend to check before they travel as the network may be busier than usual.

They have also reminded fans that alternative routes, including the Jubilee line and Chiltern Railways will also be running to Wembley.

All details of the weekend service on the Metropolitan line can be found on the TfL website.

Tfl have said “ We have undertaken detailed checks of our Metropolitan line trains, following a fault that we found with some of the wheels on the fleet.

“Following those checks and while the faulty wheels are fixed, we have enough trains to run a normal weekend service.”

The special service on the Metropolitan line will still continue on weekday services.

Chelsea and Crystal Palace fans are being warned to consider travel routes ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final due to travel disruption.

A reduced service on the Metropolitan line will cause severe disruption to football fans trying to get to Wembley Stadium from central London.

The Tube disruption could see other services - such as the Jubilee line - overwhelmed with fans attempting to get to the match.

It’s a big weekend for football in the capital, with both FA Cup semi-final games at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.

Manchester City are set to take on Liverpool on Saturday despite further travel issues for fans, with no direct trains to London from the North West over the Easter weekend.

Mayors from the retrospective cities had previously written to the Football Association (FA) to ask for the match venue to be moved closer to the northern cities.

Metropolitan line disruption

And for Chelsea and Crystal Palace fans, the Metropolitan line is running on an emergency schedule, with some routes just running once every half an hour.

This is due to an issue with the Tube line’s train wheels, with TfL saying that a reduced service will operate until further notice.

Alternative routes

Fans still have two alternative travel routes on the London Underground, including the Jubilee line to Wembley Park station.

Alternatively, fans can catch the Bakerloo line to Wembley Central station.

Chiltern Railways also operates National Rail trains from Marylebone station to Wembley Stadium.

However TfL has warned that despite no other lines being affected, other services may be busier than usual whilst TfL resolves the fault with the wheels.

Fans are being urged to consider their journey as the reduced schedule will impact their travel before and after the game.

Services may also be busier at these times as supporters attempt to make their way to and from Wembley Stadium.

What has TfL said?

A TfL source said “We’re currently inspecting the whole Metropolitan line fleet and will have more certainty of the impact and mitigations for the weekend in the coming days.

“We are working with the FA on any potential impact to event day services.

“Travel advice will be communicated ahead of the matches, but customers should check before they travel and consider alternative lines.”

A Wembley Stadium spokesperson said: “We are in regular dialogue with TfL, and have been made aware of these safety inspections.

“We are working together to understand what effect they will have to event day services, however we are not expecting a material impact on our operations.”

TfL has said that the Metropolitan Line service will run on the emergency schedule until further notice.

A report from the BBC has suggested that a memo sent to staff has stated a reduced service will run for six weeks.

Peter McNaught from TfL has said: “We identified a fault with some of the wheels on a number of Metropolitan line trains during our regular and routine inspections of our fleet.

“Safety is our top priority, and as a precautionary measure, we have increased the rate of inspection of these trains to make detailed checks of the entire fleet.

“We have introduced a special timetable on the Metropolitan line to ensure we continue to run as frequent and regular a timetable as possible while inspections take place and our engineers resolve the fault.

“We’re sorry that this may lead to some services and stations being busier than normal and advise customers to check before they travel.”

Metropolitan line reduced timetable

The emergency service will run on the following timeline:

• Amersham to Baker Street - every 30 minutes in both directions
• Chesham to Baker Street - every 30 minutes in both directions
• Uxbridge to Aldgate - every 15 minutes in both directions
• Watford to Baker Street - every 15 minutes in both directions
• There has also been changes to the first and last trains on the Metropolitan line