Queen Elizabeth II: First night trains for mourners set to depart
- Published
From Wednesday evening, a limited number of trains will run through the night on some routes to and from London, to help mourners get home.
They are among the extra services being put on by train companies in the coming days, and around Monday's state funeral.
Examples include Great Western services from London Paddington to Reading, and Southeastern from Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells.
Not all operators are doing this.
Transport bosses have predicted "unprecedented" demand for travel in the capital during the mourning period for the late Queen.
Her coffin was taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall today, where she will lie in state until Monday, which has been declared a bank holiday. During this period Westminster Hall will be open 24 hours a day.
Thousands visit capital
Trains and tubes were busy on Wednesday as thousands of visitors streamed into central London to pay their respects.
The city's major railway stations were about 10% busier than usual up until 14:00 BST today.
Charing Cross saw a particular increase, with 20% more people coming through this morning compared to last week.
However, track operator Network Rail said it appeared fewer commuters had travelled today, with visitors attending today's procession and lying-in-state replacing them.
Footfall at the big stations was still below pre-pandemic levels.
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it expected fewer business people would be using public transport and possibly more employees would be working from home. It said the period of mourning would have an effect on business activity, with activities like external meetings being scaled back.
Transport for London (TfL) data show there were 1.66 million entries and exits on London's Tube today before 10:00 BST, about 5% more than last Wednesday.
People have been warned some tube stations may close temporarily to avoid crowding, and they have been told to avoid Green Park station which can currently only be used to exit or change lines.
There was only a small increase in bus usage today compared to the week before. Road closures around ceremonial events have meant diversions on some bus services.
Tickets sales surge for Monday
The online ticket company Trainline says the number of people who have used its platform to book trains to central London stations next Monday - the day of the Queen's funeral - is up 53% compared with Monday this week.
People are being advised to consider delaying train journeys home from London after Monday's state funeral, to avoid everyone rushing at the same time, meaning long queues for trains or crowding.
With road closures in place on Monday, National Express coaches that would have started and finished at Victoria coach station will run from Wembley instead.
Avanti West Coast has added a few more daily train services to its current severely reduced timetable - the result of staff shortages - and is working on the possibility of adding some more at the weekend and on Monday. However, today a number of Avanti trains were cancelled.
Strikes
Train strikes which were originally scheduled for Thursday and Saturday this week have been called off. However, disputes between the rail industry and unions remain unresolved, and new dates are expected to be set once the current period of mourning has ended.
Since the last strikes took place, Grant Shapps has been replaced as transport secretary by Anne-Marie Trevelyan. She has invited the general secretaries of the RMT, Aslef and TSSA unions to meet her.
On Wednesday, a meeting went ahead with Mick Whelan of train drivers' union Aslef. It does not mean the government's position on the ongoing disputes has changed, but suggests the incoming Secretary of State may be looking to approach the situation in a less adversarial manner than that of her predecessor.
- Published14 September 2022
- Published14 September 2022
- Published13 September 2022
