2012 transport plans on track, but huge risks remain

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Getting transport arrangements right remains one of the biggest risks to the smooth running of the 2012 Games. Extensive preparations are underway, but organisers have an enormous challenge on their hands, a new report by the London Assembly Transport Committee says today.

The report – Clearing the hurdles – sets out what is known so far about transport plans, and identifies a number of concerns, particularly about the amount of extra transport capacity required, the Olympic Route Network (ORN), and the need for people to change their normal travel behaviour for the plans to work.

In 2012, events from the Diamond Jubilee in June to the closure of the Olympic Park in September will result in what Transport for London (TfL) has called "around 100 continuous days of extraordinary operation".

Organisers expect a total of 5.3 million people at the Games. On the nine busiest days there will be around 550,000 to 650,000 tickets available to spectators for venues across London leading to more than a million Olympic-related journeys on public transport ^[1].

The report welcomes the completion of most of the promised infrastructure improvements - with the notable exception of the Jubilee line. However, the network is currently operating near capacity, and the 22 anticipated 2012 "travel hotspots" include Tube stations that already suffer chronic overcrowding and some of London’s most congested roads[2].

Chair of the Transport Committee, Val Shawcross AM, said:

"In 2012 London is facing extreme demand placed on a network already creaking at the seams. This is not just about spectators and visitors being able to get to and from events, Londoners will need to go about their everyday business too.

"We are reassured that what can be planned for is being planned for but there is no doubt transport conditions will be extreme in 2012. It’s better to be safe than sorry and the more detailed plans are, the more likely London’s transport network will cope."

The controversial Olympic Route Network (ORN) remains a concern. Organisers have resisted calls to reduce the size of the Games family[3] who will use special ‘Games lanes’ that form part of the ORN, and a lack of awareness about changes and restrictions on the rest of the network may see Londoners fall victim to fines.

The Olympic Delivery Authority needs to "influence enough people, enough" for its transport plans to work. However, the Committee considers the target of a third of Londoners[4] changing their travel behaviour to be very ambitious and has requested more details about how this will be realised.

Accessibility is also an issue. There could be more than 23,000 spectators with reduced mobility trying to travel on the busiest days of the Games. Yet only around a quarter of Tube stations and one-third of rail stations have step-free access from station to platform[5]. The Committee is supportive of TfL’s plans to make improvements, including installing "temporary"[6] ramps and platform humps at certain stations.

The Transport Committee will continue to monitor the delivery of 2012 transport plans in the year ahead. It has asked TfL and the ODA to provide a progress report on the delivery of new transport infrastructure in September 2011 - with updates every three months thereafter - including details of how new infrastructure has been tested and contingency arrangements if it is not delivered as planned.

The Committee will review the issues it has raised in this report after the final edition of the Olympic Transport Plan is published in the spring.

Notes to editors:

Friday 3 August and Saturday 4 August (days 7 and 8 of the Olympic Games) are forecast to be the busiest days. See table of total arrivals at Olympic venues each day during the Games on page 19 of the report.

For example, King’s Cross and Victoria stations, where travel demand measures are already needed nearly every day to control overcrowding; the Embankment and the southern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel – already London’s busiest junction. See pp 19-22 of the report for more details.

Some organisations such as London Councils have in the past called for a reduction in the size of the Games family to the limit the extent of the ORN.

TfL is exploring the creation of "temporary" ramps and platform humps on certain parts of the Tube network by 2012. TfL has stressed that, in this instance, "temporary" could mean for up to 20 years and these ramps and humps would not be removed after the 2012 Games.

The report will be considered for formal agreement at the Committee’s meeting on 17 May 2011.