Reays work with club for Sunderland trip
Official transport details have today been announced by Carlisle United for fans travelling to Sunderland for the FA Cup third round tie on Sunday January 5, kick off 2pm.
The Blues have appointed Reays Coaches as the club's official transport provider for the glamour fixture against Gus Poyet's Premier League side at the Stadium of Light.
And the Wigton-based company has pledged to donate £2 to Carlisle United from every seat booked on their fleet of coaches, which will bring a welcome windfall for the club.
United have received an initial allocation of 5,500 tickets, with Reays expecting 25 to 30 coaches to make the trip to Wearside. The return fare is £13, which includes the £2 donation.
Andy Hall, the club's media officer, said: "It is a great gesture from Reays off the back of what is going to be a very well attended game. The early indications are that we will sell out. It is fantastic that we can work together in this way."
Match tickets cost just £10 for adults and a fiver for under-16s and over-65s. It is understood that more could be made available to Carlisle United fans, depending on demand, as the stadium holds 49,000, making it the fourth largest club ground in England.
Coaches will leave Brunton Park at 10am. Others will depart Keswick at 9am, picking up at Penrith at 9.30am. Further coaches will leave Workington at 9am, stopping at Maryport at 9.20am, Aspatria at 9.40am and Wigton at 10am.
Andy Horn, transport manager for Reays, said: "We are thrilled that Carlisle United have asked us to work with them by providing the official coach travel for their fans to what should be an amazing occasion at Sunderland. We will be taking the Blues players to the game, like we do for every away fixture, so it's great to now be doing the same for the supporters.
"Our £2 donation for every seat booked on our coaches to the game means that Carlisle fans will be supporting the club directly by using the official buses that it is running to Sunderland."
United's travelling support on Wearside is likely to be their biggest for an FA Cup tie since more than 6,000 fans were at Everton in 2010. Fellow Cumbrians Barrow took more than 6,000 fans to Sunderland that same day.
Reays operates one of the largest fleets of private hire coaches in the north of England as well as school and private bus services across Cumbria.
