Station set for crowd control during Cheltenham

Crowd control measures will be in place across the week at Birmingham New Street station as thousands of people head to Cheltenham Festival.

The event takes place from Tuesday 10 to Friday 13 March.

Network Rail has urged passengers travelling from the city to plan their journeys, check services before they travel, and allow extra time to catch their trains.

Extra staff will be on hand and a queuing system will be in place from 08:00 and 13:00 GMT on race days for customers travelling to Cheltenham Spa.

Operator Cross Country said there would be signage at the station to help passengers get to the holding area for services towards the event.

"Services between Birmingham and Cheltenham will be extremely busy and queuing systems will be in place at some stations," said Lauren Fleming, Cross Country's events and resilience manager.

"We'd also ask those arriving at the festival by rail to remain respectful to railway colleagues."

An extra 12,700 people, approximately, travelled to the event by rail last year, Network Rail said, with numbers expecting to hold this year across the rail network.

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