Around 200 daily rail trips have been added to schedules, and trains will operate through the night in and out of London starting tomorrow to assist mourners travelling to the capital to pay their respects to the Queen over the coming days.
In the next days, overnight services will be offered to and from London Victoria, Marylebone, and Paddington stations, respectively, according to operators Southeastern, Chiltern Railways, and Great Western Railway.
Additionally, it is anticipated that mourners would be allowed to sit on stalled trains at stations including Charing Cross, Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, and Victoria as they wait for the next departure in the early hours of the morning.
While Transport for London commissioner Andy Byford said that the issue of keeping the city moving will be “greater than the Olympics,” Network Rail cautioned tourists of “unprecedented transport demand in the metropolis.”
Up to 350,000 mourners are anticipated to walk through the Queen’s laying in state at Westminster Hall from tonight at 5 p.m. until 6.30 a.m. on Monday, the day of the late monarch’s burial.
From now until the following Monday, Southeastern will provide every two hours overnight service between Victoria and Dartford, Gillingham, Orpington, and Ashford; Charing Cross and Orpington and Tunbridge Wells; and St. Pancras and Ashford.
Chiltern will run two more overnight trains from Oxford to Marylebone every day until Monday, departing at 1.35 a.m. and arriving at 3 a.m., and then returning from Marylebone at 3.15 a.m. and departing from Oxford at 4.38 a.m.
According to Great Western Railway, additional services would be offered early the following morning and late at night to transport travellers to London and back to their homes. All services “are likely to be quite busy,” it said.
The additional trains are now visible on travel planners like Trainline, but a rail industry source cautioned that since there are so few midnight services, “people shouldn’t be counting on” them.
Because London Victoria Coach Station will be closed on Monday as a result of many nearby roads being blocked and National Express rerouting services to Wembley, there will likely be additional demand on the rail network.
Mourners may visit the late monarch’s lying in state at Westminster Hall beginning later today at 5 p.m. until it shuts at 6.30 a.m. on Monday, which is the day of the Queen’s official funeral.
At 2.22 p.m., a parade carrying the late monarch from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall will start, drawing large crowds to the city’s streets. Large crowds are anticipated at the public viewing locations along the route, which opened at 11 am, and the procession is scheduled to arrive at Westminster Hall around 3 pm.
Up to and including this Friday, Avanti West Coast stated it would increase the number of trips it offers between London and Manchester by up to four per day in each direction, adding a total of around 16,000 seats to its capacity.
The company said that it is “closely exploring” the possibilities for extra services on Saturday and Sunday.
Due to drivers’ refusal to take on extra hours, it has recently operated on a curtailed schedule.
With three trains an hour between Manchester and London down to one during the summer, under-fire Avanti was obliged to do so. Bosses placed the blame on “staffing concerns.”
Trainline, a ticket seller, said that compared to the same day this week, reservations for trips to London had increased by 53%.
Major London stations, according to Modern Railways, would be open all night in the following days. Mourners are anticipated to be allowed to stay aboard stopped trains at stations such Charing Cross, Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, and Victoria.
A million or more people are anticipated to come to the capital’s centre to pay their respects to the Queen, according to the head of Transport for London, who described the situation as the “largest event and challenge” in the organization’s history.
The organization’s commissioner, Mr. Byford, said that since it is ‘impossible’ to precisely forecast crowd numbers, preparation for the Queen’s laying in state and burial is more difficult than planning for the 2012 Olympics.
TfL would take steps like temporarily barring access to the busiest Tube stations and sending people to other stations to’spread the load’ since it is “accustomed to coping with enormous crowds,” the official added.
According to Mr. Byford, various agencies and government departments are working together in a command centre to handle the crisis “minute by minute.”
The Evening Standard quoted him as saying, “We are certainly entirely focused on this.” I’m using every resource I can. It’s greater than the Olympics, in my opinion; it’s the Olympics, but with a lot more unknowns.
Since the Queen passed away last Thursday, there has been an increase in the number of people using the subway stations close to Buckingham Palace.
More than 19,000 passengers began or ended their travels at Hyde Park Corner station on Tuesday, according to TfL estimates, which is twice the number on the same day last week.
To avoid congestion, Green Park has been designated as an exit-only station.
TfL reported 2.99 million trips on the whole Tube network on Tuesday, an 8% increase from the previous week.
According to the most current approximation or estimate, there might be as many as 750,000 persons in the line to lie in state, which is a sizable figure in and of itself, according to Mr. Byford.
But if you include the many activities that took place throughout the course of the whole 10-day period of grief, some of which undoubtedly took place elsewhere, we are talking about far north of a million people.
It has been revealed that planned closures of highways servicing London have been postponed until after the Queen’s burial.
According to National Highways, the choice will ease traffic as many people travel to and from the capital to pay homage to Her Majesty.
Among the affected highways are the M25, M11, M3, M4, and M23. The funeral for the Queen will be held at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
The bank holiday weekend will be the postponement of any further highway closures.
The removal of temporary signs and cones from current roadworks will take place from Friday morning at 6 a.m. until the following Tuesday, according to National Highways.
One of the delays will be the scheduled closure of the southbound M6 between junctions 33 and 32 north of Preston, Lancashire.
‘We anticipate the roads to be busy with people trying to go into the capital and to other royal palaces over the weekend,’ said John McNeill, head of service delivery for National Highways in the east of England.
It’s crucial for people to remember to check your car before leaving since our traffic officer patrols will be on the network to assist anybody who may have trouble.
Having a car breakdown on the route to a location is the absolute last thing anybody wants to happen. Therefore, it is crucial that individuals take a few minutes to examine the state of their tyres before leaving.
“This is tremendous, then. We must meet this task since it is the largest event and challenge TfL has ever faced.
The Olympics posed a significant logistical and operational challenge for TfL, which the business masterfully met. But this is unique.
Because tickets are required for events like the Olympics, you are aware of the schedule, the locations, and the expected attendance.
“This is more difficult. Since it will take place over a lengthy period of time and it is hard to predict with confidence how many people will attend the different events, we have assumed the largest amount and are adapting our service to fit that.
In order to relieve the strain on other areas of the London transportation system, a special service will operate on the Elizabeth line railway between Paddington and Abbey Wood on Sunday.
Due to testing and software upgrades, that portion of the line, which the Queen officially inaugurated in May, is often closed on Sundays.
“We have actually recruited an army of individuals from throughout TfL,” Mr. Byford said. We’ve cancelled all but necessary meetings. Everyone has responded really well when I’ve asked them to volunteer and step up.
We’ve put everything on hold to make a fantastic transportation service and send Her Majesty home in style.
In order to assist passengers navigate the city in the coming days, Network Rail, the Rail Delivery Group, and Transport for London have said that they are collaborating closely with the government and all other organisations involved.
They warned that there would be last-minute temporary closures of Underground stations and recommended travellers to plan their trips using real-time travel information.
Bosses added that given the anticipated strain on London’s public transportation, travellers could discover that walking to their final destinations inside the city is a preferable alternative.
While the Underground will operate normally, certain stations will be busier than usual, necessitating the need for “short-term safety measures” such waiting, station closures, non-stop trains, or adjustments to how passengers approach or depart a station.
Due to the large number of people going through Green Park station, passengers have been advised to avoid it if at all possible. People were told that Buckingham Palace could be reached by foot from other Underground stations including Victoria, Piccadilly Circus, and St. James’s Park.
Additionally, transportation officials said that owing to road closures, certain bus services may be diverted or will halt before reaching their destination, while others may operate with a limited service.
The transport sector is working hard to assist people in paying their respects in London and around the United Kingdom, according to Sir Peter Hendy, head of Network Rail.
“Be careful to verify before you go, since we anticipate the road and transportation networks to be congested,” the statement reads.
In the meantime, National Highways reported that it has postponed motorway closures in London until after the funeral in order to ease traffic.
Among the affected highways are the M25, M11, M3, M4, and M23. The bank holiday weekend will see a postponement of all other motorway closures in England.
The removal of temporary signs and cones from current roadworks will take place from Friday morning at 6 a.m. until the following Tuesday, according to National Highways.
One of the delays will be the scheduled closure of the southbound M6 between junctions 33 and 32 north of Preston, Lancashire.
‘We anticipate the roads to be busy with people trying to go into the capital and to other royal palaces over the weekend,’ said John McNeill, head of service delivery for National Highways in the east of England.
It’s crucial for people to remember to check your car before leaving since our traffic officer patrols will be on the network to assist anybody who may have trouble.
Having a car breakdown on the route to a location is the absolute last thing anybody wants to happen. Therefore, it is crucial that individuals take a few minutes to examine the state of their tyres before leaving.