An Olympic plan for 2012

London is one of five cities bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. One of the major strengths of the London 2012 bid has been our ability to set out clearly the variety, extent and frequency of the transport network that visitors to the Games would use. London’s proven track record in moving large numbers of people around the capital for big events reinforces this position.

Visitors to the London Games can look forward to a network that will safely and quickly move them from one venue to another. An investment of £10 billion by Transport for London (TfL) during the next five years, which is already paying dividends and will continue regardless of whether London wins the nomination in July this year, will mean visitors and Londoners will be able to speed from one venue to another whether they arrive by train, plane, Tube, bus, foot or bicycle.

Transport for London is working with the 2012 team to coordinate and deliver a transport system for the Games. To ensure the Games run smoothly we are making a number of improvements:

• Every Games venue is accessible by rail and by 2012, a choice of ten rail routes will serve the Olympic Park at Stratford, with a train every 15 seconds
• £1billion per year will be invested in improving London Underground, including a 45 per cent increase in capacity on the Jubilee Line, which will serve the main Olympic facilities
• By 2012, the high speed Channel Tunnel Rail link extension will take people from the heart of London, King’s Cross St Pancras to Stratford Olympic Park in just seven minutes

This article explains how Transport for London plans to deliver these improvements to aid a spectacular Games and deliver a lasting legacy for London.

London: international gateways

London is the best connected city on the planet. International visitors will benefit from the completion of links currently under construction to City Airport, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link extension to King’s Cross, including Stratford International Station and the extension of the Tube and Heathrow Express, to provide direct services to the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

By 2012, London will have a thoroughly modern transport system with greatly enhanced capacity on the key routes for transporting Olympic spectators. The majority of the investments will be delivered by 2010 with the new Olympic Transport Authority taking the key role in the integration and delivery of the planned schemes.

As a part of the mission to provide a modern transport system for London there are several key schemes being constructed that will provide additional capacity for the Olympic Transport Strategy. The Docklands Light Railway will see substantial investment with a new 4.4km extension in construction to London City Airport and due to enter service in 2006. A further 2.6km extension to Woolwich Arsenal is currently being procured. The existing Bank-Lewisham branch will be upgraded to three-car operation providing substantial additional capacity in a key part of the network.

The East London Line Phase 1 will extend and upgrade the existing line to a new metro style service providing a 12-trains-per-hour, four-car service generating a 60 per cent increase in service frequency and providing vital congestion relief for central London interchanges such as London Bridge Station. The route will run from Dalston Junction in the north through to Crystal Palace and West Croydon in the south.

Two transit systems are also being developed to improve connectivity and capacity in the public transport system in east London. The Greenwich Waterfront Transit Scheme will provide 12km of new route serving the River Zone of the Olympics. This will be further enhanced by the delivery of the new east London Transit system that will create a 9km route serving the areas adjacent to the Olympic zones.

Many of the planned projects are already in construction or have advanced design proposals and are moving through the necessary statutory authorisation processes.

Seamless journeys

London is ideally placed to provide spectators, whether a resident of the UK or a visitor, with a safe, secure, available and stress-free ‘residence-to-venue-to-residence’ transportation experience.

During operation, change of modes of transport will be seamless with minimal walk time between modes. Multi-lingual signage and operational staff located at terminal and interchanges will enhance spectator flow through the stations. We will ensure that spectator flow is smooth to avoid the safety and security risk of overcrowding at key points in the transportation network.

Frequent Olympic bus lines will run to venues enabling spectator flow into the venue to be optimised. Secure and accessible cycle parks close to the venues and attractive walking routes will promote pedestrian access to venues. Park and ride will minimise congestion and provide spectators with confidence that they will be delivered efficiently to the venues through traffic managed routes.

Stratford Regional Station

Stratford Regional Station will be a major transportation hub for the Olympics with platforms for Great Eastern Line, West Anglia Line, North London Line, Docklands Light Railway, Central Line, Jubilee Line and passenger connections to Stratford International Station.

A major redevelopment of the station will take place between 2005 and 2009 to double the station capacity and improve ambience levels. The enhancements will accommodate passenger flows in excess of those predicted for the Games.

The station has been designed with the Games in mind, resulting in spectator loading being overlaid on normal daily flows, separation of arriving and departing Games passengers and fast departures of spectators via direct routes with temporary arrangements designed to accommodate the peak day flows.

Olympic Javelin

The Olympic Javelin service to Stratford International Station will provide a seven minute high speed shuttle service from central London to the Olympic Park.

The 1,200 person capacity trains will run at speeds up to 225km/h resulting in short journey times of seven minutes for the 8.5km to St Pancras in central London, and ten minutes for the 26km to Ebbsfleet in Kent where a significant park and ride operation will be located. Ten-trains-per-hour in a 12-vehicle configuration will deliver a timetable that provides sufficient dwell time at stations to ensure safe and secure passenger flow.

The Olympic Javelin will be part of an integrated rail system connecting Brussels, Paris and Lille by interchange at Ebbsfleet to the heart of the Games. The capacity of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is such that there will be minimal disruption to regional commuter services, which can be managed to ensure that they are not affected by Games services. The Javelin service has the flexibility to run alternative timetables providing resilience to the service.

Other planned improvements

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link will open in 2007 for the Eurostar fleet and will be further enhanced when the new 225km/h rolling stock currently on order is delivered in 2009. Interface works include increased car parking capacity and enhanced passenger management within the station.

An extension of the Docklands Light Railway from Canning Town to London City Airport is currently under construction. This will provide a single journey connection from the airport to Tower Gateway and Bank underground stations where access can be gained to central London’s transportation network and in particular, the underground rail network.

Docklands Light Railway

The upgrade of the existing DLR partially viaducted line between Tower Gateway and Cross Harbour London Arena, will take the form of a three-car upgrade, including viaduct strengthening. This will improve access to the high demand sections of the DLR from central London to Olympic Park and River Zone venues and to the growing business district of Canary Wharf in the east London Dockland area. The line between Poplar and Canning Town will be upgraded in 2008 to extend the benefits that will be realised from the three-car upgrade and viaduct strengthening works. This will create an increase in the capacity of the DLR and provide operations with the flexibility to implement timetable alterations as required.

The DLR will be extended from King George V Dock, located close to London City Airport under the Thames to Woolwich Arsenal on the south bank. This extension will connect DLR to mainline rail services and the Greenwich Waterfront Transit providing the ability to access the primary venues of the Games, by interchange, from South-East London and assist in spreading the demand for transport across London.

The extension of the DLR network to include a section from Stratford Regional Station to Canning Town provides access to the primary venues, via interchange, from the underground rail network at Bank and Tower Gateway. Furthermore, the extension provides direct access to the Olympic Park from London City Airport and south London. The DLR vehicles and systems on this line will be installed between 2005 and 2009.

North London Line rail corridor upgrade

The North London Line runs from Richmond in the west of London through to Stratford in the east. It is of strategic value to the Olympic Transport Plan as it provides a route for west to east movements without the need to pass directly through central London. The route therefore provides effective crowding relief for the main routes such as the Central and District Lines. It will be upgraded for the Olympics from its current four-trains-per-hour, three-car service to a modern metro style service operating six-car trains at an eight-trains-per-hour frequency in the peak periods.

The Olympic passenger service also requires the extension of platforms at 20 stations to accommodate six-car trains. The permanent way, switches and crossing will all be overhauled to improve performance and resilience.

Lasting legacy

The transportation elements of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic games will have a significant long-term legacy to London and the United Kingdom. Rail, airport expansion, road improvements, new cycle and walking routes will particularly contribute to urban regeneration of east London and the Lower Lea Valley. Our transport plan is not dependent upon the construction of large complex capital projects. Some of our transport improvements are temporary but all will leave a wide transportation legacy that will provide London with an improved system and increase our capacity to bid for future large sporting events.