What the trip to Boston Stadium was like by train and car for the Iraq-Norway World Cup match

For the first time, the World Cup rush to Foxboro collided head on with commuter traffic as Norway and Iraq faced off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. WBZ-TV's Mike Sullivan took the train from South Station to see how long it would take, while reporter Aaron Parseghian left at the same time by car. 

The Scotland vs. Haiti game saw more than 19,000 fans take the rails, but there were far less fans signing up for this game. The MBTA said they had 11,000 tickets sold by midday, but they expected more to be purchased on the ride back.

"Over the last few days we sold several thousand just for this match," said Phillip Eng, General Manager of the MBTA. "One of the things that we saw was Iraq was a late qualifier, so you can see this match is one of the slower selling matches."

Taking the train from South Station to Boston Stadium

Fans say they spent roughly 30 minutes in the queue waiting to get on the trains.

"This is more safe and faster," said Dawfiq Alshemmari, an Iraq fan who came to go with his son who goes to school in Boston, "Yes, it's a win, win both ways."

Qatar hosted the last World Cup, with fans telling WBZ the public transit was free during their trip there. The prices in Boston have become polarizing for fans.

"Too expensive, way too expensive," says Stian Hansen, a Norway fan.

"The prices are super cheap. We are from Norway, so we are not used to paying $80 for a fare. Usually, it's like $200. This was a steal," said fellow Norway fan Daniel Gauseth.

Dag Raul and his buddies are using the train to rest their eyes and voices before the game.

"A good soldier sleeps when he can, so now I'm sleeping," said Raul. "I'm really calm now. We all are. The energy is building up, and then when we leave the train, this not expensive cheap train, then we are exploding."

Their chanting will have to compete with the Iraqis who have been waiting four decades to see their team in the World Cup.

"Born in Iraq, I never thought I would have the ability to see my team play in the U.S. where I live," said Asher Nazhat. "We did some AI research, and driving would have been crazy. Two hour drive there and back. The game ends at 9 p.m., and we're going to be tired, we have a flight tomorrow."

Fans got off the train at 1:59 p.m., which was less than 45 minutes after it left. If you factor in the 30-minute queue for fans, that's an hour and 15 minutes for an average fan.

Driving to Boston Stadium

While officials across Massachusetts urged fans to use public transit to head to World Cup matches at the now-dubbed Boston Stadium in Foxboro, some are still choosing to drive and so did WBZ-TV's Aaron Parseghian, to give you an idea of what that trek may look like.

The journey started Tuesday just after 1 p.m. outside South Station, the spot where thousands including WBZ-TV's Mike Sullivan were getting on trains to head to the Norway vs. Iraq match.

The route Parseghian took was to the west across the Mass. Pike to I-95 south to Route 1 and straight through to Foxboro.

MassDOT warned drivers about the traffic ahead of the match. "If you're not going to the game today, just really try to avoid the area as much as possible. There's going to be a lot of extra traffic there this afternoon," MassDOT Undersecretary of Transportation Jonathan Gulliver told WBZ Tuesday morning.

The journey started out a little slow with expected traffic around South Station as drivers navigate closures of Summer Street and large crowds gathering around. The first miles on the highway turned out smooth as can be. Traffic on the Pike was not abnormal in any way.

The first slowdowns and real noticeable uptick in traffic came on I-95 south. Travel in all lanes were pacing around 20 mph at some points but then began opening up as the Route 1 exit came closer.  

What really added to the total travel time was when he got to Walpole and approached the stadium itself. Things were at a standstill as cars filed into certain lane changes, one for through traffic, and others for parking.

In total, the drive took about an hour and a half door-to-door. All things considered, not terrible, some who chose to leave even earlier in the afternoon had better luck.

"We planned this about two months ago, and we made it a point to leave at 1 o'clock sharp," said Firas Arkwai and Iraq fan who came down from Natick. "It took us about 35 minutes to get here and even then; we had a little traffic coming down. The last 15 minutes were two miles."

Luckily, WBZ had a parking spot reserved, having an exact destination certainly helped once getting into Foxboro.