Providing accessible and reliable transport for some 800,000 spectators on the busiest day of competition during the Games and ensuring that athletes, the stars of the show, get to their event quickly is a huge challenge.
On Tuesday we took a major step towards meeting this challenge and realising our goal of hosting a ‘public transport’ Games by releasing the first formal edition of the Transport Plan for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
To shape this plan, the ODA Transport team, led by director Hugh Sumner, consulted widely on the Consultation Draft it released one year ago – nearly six years out from the Games. As part of this consultation, the ODA collected more than 2,500 individual comments. This discussion is vital, as delivering successful Games transport will be a joint effort with our transport delivery partners and stakeholders.
Being relatively new to London 2012 – but not to the industry - the launch gave me a great chance to talk with our key transport partners about the Games and the feedback was very positive.
Me (right) with London Underground Managing Director Tim O’Toole (left) and TfL Commissioner Peter Hendy (middle):
The launch of the Transport Plan hit the headlines of the daily press, including the front page of The Times. The media coverage was largely positive, though of course we are not planning to ‘ban cars’. But it is correct to say there will not be public car parking available at the Olympic Park site, so we will be encouraging people to make use of the massive transport enhancements that will be in place before, during and long after 2012.
The venue, called the Gymnasium, provided a fantastic mix of sport and transport history. One of the first purpose-built gymnasiums in Britain, the Gymnasium was the place for the first ever ‘National Olympian Games’ in 1866, which pre-dated the Modern Olympic Games, first held in 1896. It is located next to the key transport hub of St. Pancras International Station, where the High Speed 1 route to Paris and Brussels will start operating next month. By 2012, the high-speed Javelin® shuttle service will run on the same tracks from St. Pancras International to Stratford International station in just seven minutes.
As we are still more than four years out from the Games, it is important to remember that the Transport Plan is a ‘living’ document and will continue to evolve. While this edition has a strong focus on rail, the mode by which some 80 per cent of spectators are expected to travel, the next plans will increasingly focus on other modes, such as buses, coaches, cycling and walking.
However, future editions of the Transport Plan will continue to be underpinned by our key strategy: to host a ‘public transport’ Games and provide a real and lasting transport legacy that can be enjoyed by generations to come.
