FANS travelling to Wembley for Swindon’s play-off final against Preston are being urged to make sure they plan their trip in advance.

It follows the confirmation from First Great Western that no trains will be running from Swindon station on the day of the match because of engineering works.

Although the company had announced the works several weeks ago, there were hopes a solution could be found to put on some services but Network Rail, who are carrying out the works, have said this is not possible.

As a result, FGW have said they will increase the number of coaches taking people to Reading where a train will take them onto Paddington.

“If you are going to Wembley to support Swindon Town on May 24 Network Rail are conducting improvement works which will affect your journey by train,” said a spokesman.

“Unfortunately this means that there are no train services out of Swindon station on that day.

“We will be running additional coach services from Swindon station to Reading where you will be able to jump onto a fast service to London Paddington. Journey times between Swindon and London Paddington are expected to take two hours.

“Alternatively, if you travelling from the east of Swindon we would recommend you go to Didcot Parkway where there will be two trains an hour into London Paddington.”

A discussion took place between FGW and Network Rail yesterday but the work is considered essential and cannot be changed.

Patrick Hallgate, Network Rail’s managing director for the Western route, said: “The work we undertake over public holidays is planned many months and frequently years in advance.

“Over the late May bank holiday we will be undertaking testing of the new signalling equipment that has been installed at Swindon. This essential testing can only take place when trains aren’t running, and for safety and reliability reasons must occur before the new signalling equipment is brought into use.

“Once in operation this new equipment will help to improve reliability and will pave the way for electrification and the arrival of a new fleet of longer, faster, quieter and greener electric trains.

“We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused by this work and urge them to check before they travel through National Rail Enquiries or through train operator, First Great Western.”

The problem is exacerbated by the fact kick-off is at 5.30pm to avoid clashing with the Premier League games taking place that day, meaning some may not make it back until late on.

To help deal with the problem, many coach companies are putting on extra services to ensure everyone gets to the game.

Donald Francis, owner of Soccer Express, said demand from fans was already high and he was predicting a bumper day.

He said: “We have already been inundated with people calling throughout the day.

“I think the last time Swindon made it to Wembley we took 23 coaches so with the trains not running we’ll probably put even more this time.

“We would normally take just over two hours to get to Wembley but there is obviously going to be a lot more traffic this time so we think it’ll be near three hours. The advantage is though it will go straight to Wembley.”

To book a seat on the coaches contact 0333 444 0226.