Another overground station is now open near Stamford Bridge, easing congestion for fans on matchdays.

Imperial Wharf Railway Station is open to offer fans another option for getting to and from matches and connecting to Clapham Junction in the south and Willesden Junction in the north via London Overground services, which also stop at West Brompton.

The new West London Line station at Imperial Wharf means the north and south of the borough are connected by Overground rail for the first time since the Second World War.

'Imperial Wharf Railway Station will make the lives of thousands of commuters in Fulham and Chelsea much easier,' said council leader, councillor Stephen Greenhalgh.

'It has been a long road to get here but after a lot of hard work there is now light at the end of the tunnel.

'An area that has historically had very poor transport links is now much better connected.'

The station is a 15 minute walk from Stamford Bridge towards the river by Chelsea Harbour on Townmead Road and will initially have three trains running every hour from it.

There will be some weekends when the service is disrupted due to engineering works but in 2011, when work on the station is fully completed, the frequency of trains will increase to four per hour.

The station is open from 6am until 11.45pm on Monday to Saturday and 8am to 11.45pm on Sundays. Fans are advised to check their route before travel through the Transport for London website.