Extra 1m public transport users during Paralympics
Expect transport chaos in September when a million extra commuters cram into tubes, buses and DLR stations, as the last week of the London Paralympic Games overlaps with the return to school.
That comes on top of the 12m passengers who use London transport every day. The tube and train stations at London Bridge and Waterloo will be exceptionally busy, as will east London around the Olympic Park in Stratford, the ExCeL centre and Greenwich Park. Transport for London has outlined tube hotspots in its latest publication, while National Rail warns of 34 more hotspots to avoid, if possible.
Volunteers ‘deeply concern’ union
The Rail Maritime and Transport union are deeply concerned “with a million extra journeys a day relying on volunteers rather than skilled and experienced staff with a full understanding of evacuation and crowd control,” Bob Crow, general secretary of the union, said.
The 2012 Olympic Games run from the opening ceremony on 27 July to the closing ceremony on 12 August. The Paralympics run from the 29 August opening ceremony through to the closing event on 9 September.
“London is going to operate very differently this summer,” London’s transport commissioner Peter Hendy said. “As the competition and events programme moves around we need to manage demand.”
Pinch points
An extra 3m trips will be made on the busiest days of the Olympics, where there will be 88 Transport for London and 59 National Rail hotspot stations.
During the Paralympics, London Bridge Tube station will be particularly busy during the morning peak and the evening peak on 31 August and 7 September. Waterloo station will also be very busy in the morning as it is a key interchange station for people travelling to Eton Dorney for rowing, the cycling time trial race at Hampton Court, the sailing at Weymouth and tennis at Wimbledon.
Bank Tube and DLR station plus Mile End Tube station are other pinch points.
Londoners are urged to plan, stagger and try to be flexible.