Stratford station will be the gateway to 2012 Games

If London 2012 wants all spectators to arrive by public transport or walking or cycling, then today is a big day for the Olympics.

Today, it'll be announced that the "gateway" station to the Games - Stratford - is finished. This will be Stratford's welcome to the world next summer.

It will not be fully open to the public yet though - expect that to happen in the summer.

What it means is capacity through that station will have been trebled to 120,000 passengers during peak hours between 7am and 10am. That's 10 Tube and rail lines in and out of Stratford International and regional stations.

A couple of things are also worth noting.

It looks like there's been more slippage on the Docklands Light Railway link between Canning Town and Stratford. It was meant to be open last Autumn. Then we were told late Spring. Now we're being told it will be open this Summer.

The end of that DLR line will link Stratford Regional and International and stop the need for the shuttle bus service that currently runs.

In February, a TfL spokesperson said:

"This delay has been caused by joint venture contractors Skanska and Volker Rail taking longer than expected to progress some technical aspects of the project such as communications system design and installation.

While further work on these systems is required, test trains have started running on the extension. The new link will be ready well in advance of the 2012 Games and provide a lasting legacy to the East London community."

Also, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) the much delayed Jubilee Line upgrade is now due to be completed in July 2011. There's a lot of pressure on TfL to make sure that upgrade works.

When all the bits of the station are finally open though - there's no doubt Stratford will be incredibly well connected.

The ODA press notice says:

"Together, the upgrades and improvement works mean that 10 different rail routes will serve Stratford station during and after the London 2012 Games, making it one of the most connected parts of the capital.

The upgrades required for the Games form part of a £6.5bn investment across the UK to increase capacity and bolster services, enabling 100 per cent of spectators to travel to the Games by public transport, walking or cycling."

So nearly all of the infrastructure is in place. Next step - the unions.