The capital’s transport system expects to be under its greatest strain for a decade this weekend, with hundreds of thousands of extra visitors in the city centre for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth or events associated with the final royal journey.
Check before your travel: there will be operational changes at several city centre Tube stations
“Areas around Westminster, Waterloo and Trafalgar Square, as well as along the South Bank, will be exceptionally busy,” Andy Byford, the Transport for London Commissioner, said today.
“This will lead to busy services and station closures.
“We are doing everything we can to keep our city moving and ensure that people can travel safely over the long weekend, including cancelling all planned engineering works and enhancing some services.”
TfL has issued the following travel advice.
If you are travelling to the Lying-in-State or the State Funeral, plan your journeys and check status updates regularly.
Visit gov.uk for more information about the ceremonial events.
From today, Friday September 16, to Monday 19 September:
Tube
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Funeral procession: huge queues have filed past the Queen’s coffin since the Lying-In-State began on Wednesday
Tube services will be running as normal, however some stations will be busier than usual, and some short-term safety measures such as queuing, closures, non-stopping or changes to the way customers enter or exit a station may be necessary
- Green Park station is exit only between 10:00 and 22:00 until Monday 19 September, due to the high numbers of customers expected. Please avoid this station if possible to keep capacity for customers who need step-free access
- Westminster, St James’s Park, Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner stations will have changes to the way they operate on Sunday 18 or Monday 19 September
- Other stations expected to be busier include: Charing Cross, Embankment, Victoria, Waterloo and Lancaster Gate
- Night Tube and Overground will run as normal Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September
Elizabeth line
- The Elizabeth line will run a special service with 12 trains per hour on the central section (Paddington-Abbey Wood) on Sunday 18 September to provide further transport options for customers
Buses
- Due to road closures, some buses will stop short of their destination, be on diversion or run a reduced frequency. These changes will remain in place into next week
Walking
- Parts of London will be very busy. The Westminster area will be exceptionally busy as ceremonial events take place
- Walking journeys may take longer due to crowds and road closures associated with ceremonial events
Cycling
- Some cycle routes, such as C3, will be impacted by road closures
- Santander Cycles will operate as normal, but some docking stations may be closed
- If you are using your own bike and want somewhere safe to leave it, cycle parking can be found at most Network Rail stations
Roads
- Road closures will be in place across the weekend, and will significantly increase on the day of the State Funeral
- These closures will remain in place into next week
Taxi and private hire
- Taxi and private hire services will be affected by the road closures and some taxi ranks will be suspended
- There are a number of temporary ranks in place around central London
Coaches
- Victoria Coach Station will be closed due to road closures in the area. Coaches will be diverted to Hillingdon and Wembley Park
River services
- River services will be operating as normal
From Tuesday 20 September: There will be ongoing road closures and bus diversions as event infrastructure is removed. This is expected to take a number of days.
During this time, please make sure that you:
- Plan ahead – using Journey Planner or by downloading TfL Go
- Check before you travel – by visiting TfL’s Status updates page
- Allow more time for your journeys
And for more information, visit the TfL website.
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