Transport for London Reveals Olympic Travel Hotspots

Transport for London (TfL) have unveiled the travel hotspots for the Olympic Games this summer through their site, www.getaheadofthegames.com, with an expected 25% increase in journeys a day across London’s public transport.

More than 12 million journeys are made each day on London’s public transport network and it is expected that on the busiest days of the Games this summer that number will rise by 25% with up to three million more journeys being made per day. There will be 88 TfL 59 National Rail hotspot stations. 

Among the improvements to London’s transport system for the Olympics, the Jubilee Line, which serves the closest stop to the Olympic Park and stadium, Stratford, has been upgraded and will deliver “more frequent and reliable services”, while more than 200 extra buses will be in operation during the Games.

There will also be a “Javelin” train service between St Pancras and the Olympic Park, running eight to 10 trains per hour.

Travellers were also warned that the transport network is set to be busier in the second week of the Paralympics as this will be when schools start to reopen after the summer holidays. 

The Olympics run from the opening ceremony on July 27 through to the closing ceremony on August 12, while the Paralympics are held from the August 29 opening ceremony through to the closing event on September 9. 

The transport information covers the competition days between these dates. The transport measures being used to cope with demand on the days of the ceremonies will be released at a later date. 

London’s transport commissioner Peter Hendy said: “As the competition and events programme moves around we need to manage demand on the transport network, which will be very busy and at certain times and certain places will be much busier than usual.” 

The Tube and train stations at London Bridge, Bank and Waterloo will be “exceptionally busy” during the Games while Mile End station will also be busier than normal. They are key interchange stations and are set to be used by people travelling towards venues, events and the big screens to watch the action. Weymouth station will also be busy due to it’s proximity to the Olympic sailing event.

by Ismail Uddin