Fury/Joshua boxing match in Cardiff - Implications for rail services?

[John R]

As has been widely speculated the Fury/Joshua fight is to be held at Principality Stadium on 11th December. The expectation is that it will be held in the early hours of the morning to cater for the US audience.

I wonder what that might mean for GWR and TfW in terms of through the night services. I would imagine people would arrive into Cardiff during the day, but a finish at around 2am or 3am would be interesting in terms of how everyone gets home again.

 

[The exile]

As has been widely speculated the Fury/Joshua fight is to be held at Principality Stadium on 11th December. The expectation is that it will be held in the early hours of the morning to cater for the US audience.

I wonder what that might mean for GWR and TfW in terms of through the night services. I would imagine people would arrive into Cardiff during the day, but a finish at around 2am or 3am would be interesting in terms of how everyone gets home again.

So licensing conditions concerning timing need to be imposed.

 

[800002]

but a finish at around 2am or 3am would be interesting in terms of how everyone gets home again

Whats wrong with the first trains of the day?

 

[speedy1]

Surely people are going to book hotels and spread out their travel during the day, especially being a Friday. The question would then be more 'implications for hotels' ?

Those not staying in hotels will probably wait for the first train

 

[Omnishambles]

Cardiff Central Sunday morning the day after the Champions League final in 2017, awash with tinfoil. Can guarantee there will be some of that again

 

[D1537]

If it finishes at 3am then people travelling by train who are not staying overnight are going to use early morning trains. The first Manchester train is 04:34 and the first London 05:14. The issue will probably be more overcrowding on those trains and whether GWR/TFW decide to run a few extras (they have done so in the past late at night for rock concerts).

 

[55002]

View attachment 212148
Cardiff Central Sunday morning the day after the Champions League final in 2017, awash with tinfoil. Can guarantee there will be some of that again

You should have seen Athens airport the morning after the 2007 final, like a war zone. Sleeping bodies strewn eevrywhere!

 

[matt99001]

I intend to go to the fight and like a lot of people, I will not sit and wait a few hours at the station to get the train home.

The organisers have recognised people will feel the same way and would be tempted to use their car instead - causing late night congestion on the roads and more people will consider drink-driving.

So more trains are being scheduled to cope with demand on the night. An agreement with the organisers and TOC will need to be finalised.

Not everyone wants to book a hotel and if you aren't too far (Bristol, Birmingham etc) then you aren't interested in paying to stay.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Re the hotels comment - Cardiff has a well known and long standing shortage of hotel rooms when it comes to big events like this. It ends up with even the easyHotel charging hundreds, and the area needing places like Newport and even Bristol to soak up some of the demand. So even for those having a hotel, you still need to provide transport.

The numbers of people who usually use the railway to attend events at the stadium is huge (the numbers quoted by TfW are often in the 20k plus range, and the two Oasis gig's last year apparantly had 120k passengers over the two days), and even then you get issues with the hotels not being enough, so I can't imagine how bad it will be if you don't provide any train services at all!

 

[D1537]

Re the hotels comment - Cardiff has a well known and long standing shortage of hotel rooms when it comes to big events like this. It ends up with even the easyHotel charging hundreds, and the area needing places like Newport and even Bristol to soak up some of the demand. So even for those having a hotel, you still need to provide transport.

The numbers of people who usually use the railway to attend events at the stadium is huge (the numbers quoted by TfW are often in the 20k plus range, and the two Oasis gig's last year apparantly had 120k passengers over the two days), and even then you get issues with the hotels not being enough, so I can't imagine how bad it will be if you don't provide any train services at all!

We went to a rock concert at Cardiff Castle in the summer (capacity 10K) and even then we talked to people who had to book hotels well out of town. That was a weekday as well!

 

[speedy1]

Re the hotels comment - Cardiff has a well known and long standing shortage of hotel rooms

Darn, blast, my ignorance of Cardiff has been laid bare I didn't realise, and that's good info. Thanks

 

[John R]

So licensing conditions concerning timing need to be imposed.

Yes, but judging by the comments from Cardiff Council, it is fully on board with the event, and given an early morning start is a prerequisite, I doubt it will be a problem.

Welcoming today’s announcement, the Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Chris Weaver, said:

“Today’s announcement is exciting news for Cardiff and reflects the city’s continuing reputation as a destination for major sporting and entertainment events.

“This is one of the most anticipated bouts in British boxing history, and we are delighted that Cardiff has been chosen to host it.

“The contest at Principality Stadium has the potential to bring significant economic benefits to the city and attract visitors from across the UK and beyond.

“Major events provide a welcome boost for local businesses, support jobs, and showcase Cardiff to a global audience.

“There are still some arrangements to be finalised with the organisers, including any required changes to Principality Stadium’s premises licence, but we are looking forward to welcoming fans to the city for what promises to be an unforgettable night of boxing.”

The event remains subject to licence.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Sep 2026 ==

Whats wrong with the first trains of the day?

I can imagine the authorities may wish to avoid a situation whereby tens of thousands are waiting for maybe 3 hours outside the station and with only the regular service to take them away when services do eventually start up.

 

[800002]

I can imagine the authorities may wish to avoid a situation whereby tens of thousands are waiting for maybe 3 hours outside the station and with only the regular service to take them away when services do eventually start up.

Then it shouldn't get a licence. End of story as far as I am concerned.

 

[John R]

Then it shouldn't get a licence. End of story as far as I am concerned.

It might be as far as you are concerned, but you can be absolutely certain that the council has been involved in the discussions and it is going to get a licence.

So then we come back to my original question as to exactly what sort of service will be put on to handle the crowds when they emerge.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Darn, blast, my ignorance of Cardiff has been laid bare I didn't realise, and that's good info. Thanks

To be fair you would defo expect better!

But just looking now, city centre Travelodges already sold out, ones near the M4 that you'd have to drive / taxi to are over £200 and even Newport is £199. Compare that to the Friday before - £100 for the city cente ones, less than £50 for the ones nearer the M4. Looks like all the Premier Inns in in Cardiff and anywhere nearby are sold out too. Same for Holiday Inn. The easyHotel is wanting £325 when it is around £100 the week before.

 

[matt99001]

Then it shouldn't get a licence. End of story as far as I am concerned.

So they shouldn't hold the event then? Just cancel all the good points

 

[Starmill]

So then we come back to my original question as to exactly what sort of service will be put on to handle the crowds when they emerge.

It's hard to know without understanding what sort of financial contributions the promoter is prepared to agree to. Are tickets likely to be of a price where they will be recouping part of any contribution through the ticket price?

If the number were £0, or some kind of trivial sum, I would expect maybe extra staff on shift, the usual queueing system, and a few trains with extra carriages taken away from other routes and maybe one or two extra trains. For example instead of a three car 197 a pair of two car 197s and an extra Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads service.

 

[Darandio]

Then it shouldn't get a licence. End of story as far as I am concerned.

The council were pitching for the event, they're fully behind it. Let's not forget they did exactly the same in 2007 for Joe Calzaghe.

 

[D1537]

It's hard to know without understanding what sort of financial contributions the promoter is prepared to agree to. Are tickets likely to be of a price where they will be recouping part of any contribution through the ticket price?

If the number were £0, or some kind of trivial sum, I would expect maybe extra staff on shift, the usual queueing system, and a few trains with extra carriages taken away from other routes and maybe one or two extra trains. For example instead of a three car 197 a pair of two car 197s and an extra Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads service.

To be honest, whilst a few extra early morning trains would be good, I can't see thousands of people rocking up at the station at 3am. Yes, some trains will be busy, but most people will drive or book hotels (or book hotels further out and drive in) purely because they'll be well aware that the number of trains running at 3am will be precisely zero.

 

[Starmill]

To be honest, whilst a few extra early morning trains would be good, I can't see thousands of people rocking up at the station at 3am. Yes, some trains will be busy, but most people will drive or book hotels (or book hotels further out and drive in) purely because they'll be well aware that the number of trains running at 3am will be precisely zero.

I agree. I was just engaging with the premise of the person who asked, as they'd already rejected this suggestion.

 

[John R]

It's hard to know without understanding what sort of financial contributions the promoter is prepared to agree to. Are tickets likely to be of a price where they will be recouping part of any contribution through the ticket price?

Is that how it typically works for other big events? I'm not sure it is but maybe I am wrong. I would have thought the railway would simply look to cater for whatever demand they believe likely to exist.

As for the expectation that many people will drive. I am sure many will, but the capacity for parking in Cardiff isn't such that, to the best of my knowledge, it would remotely cover the demand that an 80,000 event would generate.

As an aside, I checked Premier Inn last night, and all those listed in the Cardiff area (as far away as Abergavenny and Aberdare) are already shown as fully booked! Similarly on Booking.com, lots of listing were showing as over £1,000 for the night.

 

[yorksrob]

Someone could run a special from/to Morecambe.

 

[Starmill]

I would have thought the railway would simply look to cater for whatever demand they believe likely to exist.

They don't do that in daily running, so I don't think there's any chance they'd be doing that specially for the sport.

Is that how it typically works for other big events? I'm not sure it is but maybe I am wrong.

Nobody would be running substantial numbers of extra trains beyond what the government funds them to for free... Either the money would be released by the contracting authority (the Welsh Government or the Department in London) or some money would be provided under the event licence. Usually event licences focus on transport holistically though not on railways specifically.

Where special funding is provided, invariably the extra trains do run. Brighton & Hove for example.

 

[John R]

They don't do that in daily running, so I don't think there's any chance they'd be doing that specially for the sport.

Nobody would be running substantial numbers of extra trains beyond what the government funds them to for free...

That's interesting. So to take an example, when there are big concerts at the Principality in the summer, GWR in particular lays on many extra services to London and Bristol up to midnight. Are you saying that they are guaranteed funding to run these services by the Welsh government, the DfT or through the event licence?

 

[Starmill]

That's interesting. So to take an example, when there are big concerts at the Principality in the summer, GWR in particular lays on many extra services to London and Bristol up to midnight. Are you saying that they are guaranteed funding to run these services by the Welsh government, the DfT or through the event licence?

It depends on the specific event plan yes.

 

[The exile]

The council were pitching for the event, they're fully behind it. Let's not forget they did exactly the same in 2007 for Joe Calzaghe.

Smacks of conflict of interest!

 

[Snow1964]

As for the expectation that many people will drive. I am sure many will, but the capacity for parking in Cardiff isn't such that, to the best of my knowledge, it would remotely cover the demand that an 80,000 event would generate.

There are thousands of spaces on the road within a mile or so at night on the road. Many of the permit areas are shopping hours only. Some of the big muli-storey are however closed at night.

Re the hotels comment - Cardiff has a well known and long standing shortage of hotel rooms when it comes to big events like this. It ends up with even the easyHotel charging hundreds,

There are thousands of hotel rooms in Cardiff, but they do seem to take dynamic pricing to higher levels when big events are on. But of course pricing works both ways, have had a Saturday night in Llanelli (when attending a family event) where price was just £19.99 at a Travelodge

 

[John R]

There are thousands of spaces on the road within a mile or so at night on the road. Many of the permit areas are shopping hours only. Some of the big muli-storey are however closed at night.

There are, and indeed my mother lived on one until 2019, exactly a mile from Queen St. The problem is that unless you have a permit, spaces are very limited, and just turning up and hoping that a) you can park there and b) you can find a space, is a bit of a lottery.

 

[6Gman]

Smacks of conflict of interest!

In what way?

Local authorities often lobby for special events as they feel it benefits the local economy.

Licensing is a quasi-judicial function and should (and usually is) entirely separate within the organisation.

(As background, I have been a councillor, have sat on Licensing Committees and on a Safety Advisory Group for a licensed event.)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Sep 2026 ==

As has been widely speculated the Fury/Joshua fight is to be held at Principality Stadium on 11th December. The expectation is that it will be held in the early hours of the morning to cater for the US audience.

I wonder what that might mean for GWR and TfW in terms of through the night services. I would imagine people would arrive into Cardiff during the day, but a finish at around 2am or 3am would be interesting in terms of how everyone gets home again.

It will be interesting to see whether various licensed premises will be allowed to open through the night. Might help spread the load if some people can go for a drink before heading for the station.

If - of course - they can find the staff (which also applies to the railway - coming in on a rest day, booking on at 02.30 may not be hugely appealing).

 

[Smwrff]

I understand fight is at 0200 - so train services would not be needed before say 0400. But maybe a general startup from 0600 would work...