Football specials

Football specials had run as early as 1927, when the Great Western Railway ran 50 services from Wales to London for the 1927 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

One famous example of this was in 1975 when Liverpool arranged for five 'specials' to be put on by railway services for a game against West Ham United; however only one left the station.

Trotter said his resources were "being stretched by the pressure of herding growing numbers of fans around the country on match days.

Even when services to match day hotspots such as London, Manchester and Liverpool pass off without arrests, non-football going passengers can be frightened or irritated by fans' behaviour".

[4] Virgin Trains West Coast, whose InterCity West Coast franchise service covered 16 clubs, said reviving charted trains was hampered by a lack of spare carriages, unlike in British Rail days when there was spare and redundant stock.