Football Specials

Football Specials were specially chartered train services operated by British Rail in the United Kingdom during the 1970s and 1980s, specifically and exclusively for football fans to travel to away games.cite news |last=Milmo |first=Dan |title=Bring back football specials, says rail police boss |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,,2013179,00.html |date=2007-02-15 |accessdate=2007-12-06 |publisher=The Guardian ]

Background

During the peak of football hooliganism in the 1970s and 1980s, Football Specials were chartered to ferry fans from their home town to away games. Spare carriages and redundant stock were used for many Football Specials. The British Rail network saw pitched battles between hooligans. One football hooligan firm, the Inter City Firm who follow West Ham United were named after the InterCity service trains they travelled on to matches.

Call for return of football specials

At a transport security conference in London on 14 February 2007, the Deputy Head of the British Transport Police, Deputy Chief Constable, Andy Trotter, called for the re-introduction of the Football Specials, after warning that football fans were disrupting train services. Trotter stated that 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". Adding that, "There is an argument for the football specials, the trains that take fans backwards and forwards, but that's a matter for the train operators." He did though also state that he would like to see fans taken off trains, "I would much prefer if there is something done not to have them coming on the system at all."

Virgin Trains whose West Coast service covers sixteen football clubs stated that reviving specially charted trains was hampered by a lack of spare carriages, unlike in the British Rail days when there was spare and redundant stock used for the Football Specials. Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) another rail company which carries fans between London, Leeds and North East England, uses Middlesbrough F.C. stewards on match days to help prevent any trouble. GNER stated that train timetables were specified by the government and did not allow for specially charted trains.

The Football Supporters' Federation, said bringing back football specials was the right idea for the wrong reason. "If there was enough demand for a football special and it could be run at a certain time I think a lot of people would be happy with that. But we don't accept that a lot of football fans who go on trains are hooligans."

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