Extra trains added as congestion expected at Hawthorns.

Football fans travelling to the local derby match between West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa on Saturday, 13th December are advised that London Midland train services will be extremely busy both before and after the game. This is due to the thousands of extra people travelling into Birmingham on the Snow Hill lines for the Christmas market and to do their Christmas shopping

Fans are advised to allow extra time to get to The Hawthorns and not rely on the very last trains to ensure they don’t miss kick-off.

After the match, crowd control measures will be put in place at The Hawthorns station. London Midland has worked closely with British Transport Police, West Midlands Police and Midland Metro to co-ordinate the arrangements to ensure everyone’s safety. Fans are advised that this will differ to the usual post-match arrangements.

As a safety measure, home and away fans will be segregated at the station’s two entrances before being led down to platform level when trains arrive. Trains are expected to be busier than usual when they arrive at The Hawthorns, which means it will take longer to get everyone on board a train and away from the ground.

To avoid overcrowding and ensure passenger safety, London Midland will monitor the number of people on board its trains prior to their arrival at The Hawthorns. Fans will then be led down to platform level based on the capacity available on each train that arrives.

Brenda Lawrence, London Midland’s head of Snow Hill services said, “Due to seasonal demand we are seeing a huge increase in the number of weekend passengers on Snow Hill lines services. This means it will take longer for us to get fans on board trains after the game. Our priority is to get everyone home safely, and I would ask fans to respect the crowd control measures that will be in place at the station”.

After the game, six trains per hour will depart The Hawthorns in each direction towards Stourbridge and Birmingham.