TfGM helps rugby fans avoid the scrum

On Saturday 10 October 2015 England play Uruguay in the Rugby World Cup at the Etihad Stadium, while across the city the Super League Grand Final will be contested at Old Trafford.

TfGM has developed special webpages, launched today (Monday 17 August) to help the 130,000+ expected fans get to their chosen venue.

The pages, at www.tfgm.com/rugby, will provide information on how to get into the city using rail or road networks as well as information for those flying into Manchester Airport.

Details of bus, train, tram and walking routes – including park and ride facilities for Metrolink and rail customers – will help visitors once they touch down in the city, and the site will also provide information for those wanting to make their stay in Manchester an overnight one.

Other attractions across the city complement what will be a bumper weekend, with local boxing champion Terry ‘Turbo’ Flanagan making the first defence of his WBO world title at Manchester Arena, and Dynamo set to wow fans at the 02 Apollo.

There are also attractions at Event City, Bridgewater Hall, The Lowry and Manchester Central and visitors are advised to plan their journey well in advance and give themselves plenty of time.

Amanda White, TfGM’s Head of Rail and strategic coordinator of transport for the day, said: “It is fitting that having recently been named the UK’s greatest sporting city*, Manchester gets to play host to these major events that will be broadcast around the world.

“With tens of thousands of people heading to the region, there is no question that the city will be much busier than usual but it’s our chance to help Manchester shine once again.

“We want to make travel easier and have been working extremely closely with transport operators to ensure we can keep people moving as freely and quickly as possible, and I am delighted we have been able to develop these webpages with that in mind.

“I would encourage people to view them and think about how they want to get where they are going and to plan their journey beforehand.

“I would also like to welcome well in advance all the thousands who will be in and around Manchester that weekend for other work or leisure purposes and would again urge them to plan well in advance.”

*Manchester was voted the UK’s greatest sporting city in a survey by ESPN UK, who asked experts from the University of Gloucestershire’s School of Sport & Exercise and the University of Bath’s School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science to assess the merits of 48 towns and cities across the nation, ranking them against 12 criteria, including transport accessibility, for which Manchester was ranked second in the country behind Newcastle.