Congestion to hit London as mourners flock in their thousands
Congestion is expected to hit London as hundreds of thousands of mourners flock to the capital to pay their respects to the Queen.
There are currently up to 750,000 people lining the streets of Westminster queuing to see the Queen’s coffin, in contrast with Westminster Hall’s capacity to process 350,000.
Network Rail stations across London reported an 8 per cent increase in passengers yesterday compared with the previous Monday, as the network expects “unprecedented levels of travel.”
“Where possible, we will be running some extra services, including a very limited service operating through the night on some routes, and postponing engineering work,” said a Network Rail spokesperson.
“The rail industry is doing all it can to ensure people can travel to pay their respects during the period of mourning.”
Morning Wire understands that 200 additional services will run to support the laying in state.
Transport for London (TfL) – which in the past few days has issued several congestion warnings – reported a seven per cent uptick in passenger numbers on both the tube and buses.
The public network called on people to check before they travel, as stations – especially in central London – will be busier than usual.
Short-term safety measures such as queuing, closures, non-stopping trains or changes to the way customers enter or exit a station might also be necessary.
To ease traffic, National Highways announced today it was postponing the planned closure of motorways serving London – including the M25, M4 and M11 – until after the state funerals next Monday.
Closures in the rest of England will be put off until the end of the Bank Holiday weekend.
John McNeill, head of service delivery in the east of England for National Highways, said: “We expect the roads to be busy with people looking to travel into the capital and to other royal residences over the weekend.
“Our traffic officer patrols will be out on the network to help anyone who might get into difficulty, but it’s important people remember to check their vehicle before setting off.