Cheltenham Festival opening day chaos after trespasser near Gloucester stops trains and leaves racegoers facing long delays

The Cheltenham Festival started with unexpected chaos on Tuesday morning. Thousands of racegoers travelling to the famous horse racing event faced major delays after a trespasser was reported on railway tracks near Gloucester. The disruption affected trains heading to Cheltenham Spa station, the closest stop to the racecourse. Many punters feared they could miss the opening race scheduled for 1.20 pm.

The issue quickly created travel problems across several routes as fans from different cities were heading toward Cheltenham. Services coming from London Paddington, Cardiff Central, Nottingham, Bristol Temple Meads, and Worcester Foregate Street were impacted. National Rail warned that trains could be delayed by up to 60 minutes while the situation near Gloucester was being handled.

Cheltenham Festival racegoers face travel chaos after National Rail reports trespass incident near Gloucester

The disruption caused major problems for people travelling to the Cheltenham Festival. The Cheltenham Spa station is the nearest rail stop to the racecourse, which sits about two miles away at Prestbury Park. Normally, shuttle buses run from the station to the track to help fans reach the venue easily. However, even on a normal day, long queues often build up at Cheltenham Spa because of the huge number of visitors. With train services running late on Tuesday, the crowds quickly grew bigger.

Racegoers arriving later than expected had to rush to reach the course before the first race of the festival. According to event estimates, more than 250,000 people will attend the Cheltenham Festival during the four-day event. Around 60,000 fans usually arrive each day. Many choose to travel by train because parking near the course is limited. Great Western Railway also increased services during the festival week.

The company arranged about 20 trains arriving into Cheltenham before the first race each day between Tuesday and Friday. Even with extra trains, the travel rush can still be heavy. After arriving at Cheltenham Spa, fans can either take a shuttle bus or walk to the racecourse. The walk usually takes about 45 minutes. Shuttle buses are available for quicker travel, with return tickets costing around £10.

Despite the early disruption, railway officials said services began recovering later in the morning once the tracks reopened. Still, many racegoers experienced delays during their journey to one of the most famous events in horse racing.