London 2012 blog

As part of the London Festival of Architecture we decided to take a canal boat tour, an opportunity to see one of London’s most interesting areas on water and to check on progress at the Olympic Park site. My interest in this trip was both professional and personal. I once lived close to Limehouse Basin (in a ridiculously expensive one-bedroom riverside apartment that I shared with two other impoverished students), I like boat trips (any excuse to be travelling on water) and I work in environmental planning, so the management and delivery of a project on the scale of the London 2012 Games fascinates me.

We assembled at Limehouse Basin on a sunny Saturday morning and were briefed by a man from British Waterways before climbing aboard. We chugged out of the basin at a snail’s pace, weighed down somewhat by the 60 or so passengers. I don’t think the boat had ever carried that many folk before.

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I work pretty hard. I guess I would say that wouldn’t I? But given that our two Handover Ceremonies are only weeks away, we launch our main Education programme to all the UK’s schools in mid September, and we kick off the Cultural Olympiad shortly afterwards, there might be something wrong if I was working nine to five and taking a siesta.

But when life is frantic and there’s the odd stressful moment here and there, thank goodness for days like today – a perfect antidote. Firstly a rare privilege in one of the UK’s pre-eminent galleries, and then, tonight, one of the most remarkable pieces of drama I’ve ever seen – and all from leading organisations we’re working with on plans for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The National Portrait Gallery is brewing some terrific ideas to capture the experience of those preparing for London 2012 over the next few years. Today, however, Sandy Nairne, the NPG’s director invited me to tour the gallery, pick my favourite portrait and then write about it for his 'Face to Face' feature. It was impeccable torture. Like touring a sweet shop full of hand made delicacies but being rationed to just one mouth watering praline.

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No, the trains are no longer stopping at the Park. That’s because new railway sidings at Orient Way were delivered ahead of schedule this week and have freed up a large area within the Olympic Park known as Thornton’s Field.

Thornton’s Field

The Thornton’s Field railway sidings had been in operation for 80 years and were used to 'park' trains leaving Liverpool Street after the morning rush hour, while they weren't needed during off-peak times:



Park and ride

While the new sidings were being constructed, the rest of the Olympic Park was undergoing rapid change. In this picture you can see the trains, at rest after the morning rush hour, with the Olympic Stadium site in the background:



Orient Way

The new railway sidings that have replaced Thornton’s Field have been built at Orient Way, adjacent to the Lea Valley Line to the north of the Park:



Sustainable Games

In building the new 12-track railway sidings at Orient Way, over 3,250 yards of track was lifted and reused. This photograph was taken six months ago when the track laying for the new sidings had just started:



High voltage

During April the new overhead lines were being installed as the project kept ahead of schedule and budget:



Delivered

This week an event was held to officially mark the opening of the Orient Way sidings, which have been operational since June. Standing in front of the trains is Rail Minister Tom Harris and ODA Chairman John Armitt:

Last week I ventured to East Marsh with Celia, Head of Legal, to be involved in the ODA’s archaeology programme ‘discover’. I have been to East Marsh a number of times this year as we created homes for moths, worms, snails and beetles to live as part of the Olympic Park construction programme. The ecology has certainly come to life since my last visit.

Celia and I looking for creatures within a log wall at East Marsh:

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