World Cup outrage as England fans set to be charged obscene amount for trains | Football | Sport

England fans will be forced to pay four times the price of a normal train ticket to get to their World Cup clash with Ghana. Thomas Tuchel’s side take on the Black Stars in Boston, Massachusetts on June 23. But the group stage fixture will actually take place in the nearby town of Foxborough at Gillette Stadium, 27 miles away from Boston’s South Station.

Normally, it costs $20 (£15) for a return ticket from there to Foxborough. However, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) have confirmed that the journey will now cost $80 (£60), adding further expense to an already costly tournament. England fan group Free Lions have issued a statement responding to the news, saying that they’re ‘incredibly disappointed’. “The $80 train service from Boston’s South Station to Foxborough has been confirmed,” it began. “At what is normally a $20 return, we are incredibly disappointed that this has been allowed to happen.

“For a stadium so far away from its advertised location, all organisers had a duty to ensure supporters could get there sustainably and for a fair price. Unfortunately, like much with this tournament, supporters are gouged.”

Individual supporters have also voiced their dismay on social media, with one writing: “It’s disgusting they can get away with it.” Another raged: “This is mad… diabolical.” A third added: “Sickening.”

The price increase stands in sharp contrast to how transport operated during England’s last tournament. At Euro 2024 in Germany, supporters were able to use their match ticket to travel on free public transport for the 36 hours surrounding the fixture.

In other contentious developments, a report has suggested that New York’s Penn Station – the busiest transportation hub in all of North America – will only be accessible to fans travelling to matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the four hours before kick-off, provoking fury among commuters. “Just so wrong,” one user posted on X.

“We should never put the every day citizen aside for anything when it comes to publicly funded services.” A second asked: “How will that work for commuters?”

“Some of the matches are at night on work days. If a Tuesday match [starts] at 8pm, you leave early or at 8pm? Their own site still has transportation coming soon.”