Fixture News

Chelsea Rail Travel Guide

2nd February 2022

Saturday will see a 6,000-strong Green Army support travelling to Stamford Bridge for the Pilgrims' Emirates FA Cup fourth-round clash with European champions Chelsea.

Many fans will be choosing to travel to London by rail, but with large-scale planned engineering work set to affect train services between Plymouth and Exeter, we’ve put together (with the help of train operator Great Western Railway) a useful guide to travelling to and from the match by rail.

Due to the improvement works there will be no trains running between Plymouth and Exeter St Davids over the weekend of 5/6 February.

Replacement buses will run between:

Plymouth – Tiverton Parkway (non-stop)
Plymouth – Ivybridge – Totnes – Newton Abbot – Exeter St Davids

Why is engineering work taking place on this day?

Rail improvement work such as this is usually planned months or even years in advance and is needed in order to keep the railway safe and maintained.

The type of the work being undertaken over this weekend means that it was not possible to change at late notice when the fixture was confirmed.

Important to note

Rail replacement buses on journeys before and after the match are likely to be very busy, and though Great Western Railway are trying to source more vehicles to help travellers connect with train services, there may not be enough space available to take everyone at their chosen time.

If all replacement buses are full, there will be no alternative transport available. Fans will need to wait for the next available service.

How to avoid the engineering work

Travel from a different station

To avoid the replacement buses, consider starting your journey at Exeter St Davids, Tiverton Parkway or Taunton where direct trains to London Paddington are available. All these stations have large car parks.

Tiverton Parkway is situated just off the M5 (at Junction 27) and is ideally placed for quick transfers between car and train.

Here is a summary of trains for these stations before and after the match:

Exeter St. David's to London Paddington

Exeter St Davids

0627

0700

0727

0733

0748

0827

0916

Tiverton Parkway

0641