Tube station closure to clash with Wembley final

No trains will stop at Wembley Park station on the day of the National League play-off final, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

TfL confirmed there would be planned engineering works affecting the Jublilee and Metropolitan lines on 1 June, when Southend United meet Oldham Athletic at Wembley Stadium.

It apologised to football fans for the disruption and suggested travelling by coach or to other nearby railway stations.

About 30,000 Southend fans are expected to travel to Wembley following the Shrimpers' dramatic win against Forest Green Rovers on Wednesday.

"We have been in communication with both sets of clubs and have asked them to inform their fans of the closures and to advise travelling by coach where possible," a TfL spokesman said.

Playing at Wembley will mark the end of a turbulent few years for Blues fans who have backed their team through financial turmoil and the threat of extinction.

The winning team will be promoted to the English Football League.

"We're going to travel in big numbers," said Ian Redbourn, a member of the consortium that owns Southend United, speaking to BBC Essex Sport.

Wembley Park is commonly used by fans travelling from Essex because it is easily accessible from Stratford, where Greater Anglia and c2c trains from Southend-on-Sea to central London will call at on matchday.

TfL added: "If fans are travelling by rail, we are recommending they use London Overground, Bakerloo line and Chiltern rail services."

London Overground and Bakerloo line trains stop at Wembley Central station, while Chiltern Railways serves Wembley Stadium station.

Greater Anglia, which runs trains from north Essex and Southend Victoria, confirmed there were no engineering works scheduled on its line on 1 June.

Trains will "operate with the maximum number of carriages on the day", it added.

The BBC asked c2c to confirm its plans.

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