Last week I visited the Olympic Park with my colleagues from London Underground's Stakeholder Communications team, to take a look at how progress on the sporting venues is shaping up.
Ensuring travel for London 2012 runs smoothly
James, London Underground, 28 Aug 2008
During the 30-minute tour we saw the site of the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and a number of smaller venues for sports such as Hockey, Handball and Basketball.
The size of the Park and the scale of the construction project that is being undertaken was really brought home to me, with the site feeling more like a mini city than a conventional construction site - it even has its own bus network to move construction workers and engineers from location to location.
Transport will be just as vital during the Games themselves, and London Underground is working hard to ensure that spectators, athletes and members of the Olympic Family will have no difficulties travelling to and from the Park. West Ham and Stratford Regional Stations have been designated as 'gateway stations' to the Olympic Park, and will see improvements to help them deal with tens of thousands of customers, and make sure they present London’s best face to the world. In particular, at Stratford Station a new platform will be constructed for the Central Line, a third subway will be opened up and a new ticket hall on the northern side of the station will be put in place to allow access directly into the Park.
More generally London Underground is planning improvements, including the provision of step-free access at Southfields Station (close to Wimbledon, which will host the Tennis events) and Baker Street and Green Park Stations (for events in the Central Zone). Work has already also started on putting in place plans for transporting the many thousands of people around the city, and ensuring they find the Tube to be safe, quick and reliable.
Having seen the Olympic Park we all felt that the magnificent facilities being constructed at the moment, combined with the transport improvements being made across the city, will ensure a very successful Games in 2012, and equally importantly, a lasting legacy for the people of east London.
The size of the Park and the scale of the construction project that is being undertaken was really brought home to me, with the site feeling more like a mini city than a conventional construction site - it even has its own bus network to move construction workers and engineers from location to location.
Transport will be just as vital during the Games themselves, and London Underground is working hard to ensure that spectators, athletes and members of the Olympic Family will have no difficulties travelling to and from the Park. West Ham and Stratford Regional Stations have been designated as 'gateway stations' to the Olympic Park, and will see improvements to help them deal with tens of thousands of customers, and make sure they present London’s best face to the world. In particular, at Stratford Station a new platform will be constructed for the Central Line, a third subway will be opened up and a new ticket hall on the northern side of the station will be put in place to allow access directly into the Park.
More generally London Underground is planning improvements, including the provision of step-free access at Southfields Station (close to Wimbledon, which will host the Tennis events) and Baker Street and Green Park Stations (for events in the Central Zone). Work has already also started on putting in place plans for transporting the many thousands of people around the city, and ensuring they find the Tube to be safe, quick and reliable.
Having seen the Olympic Park we all felt that the magnificent facilities being constructed at the moment, combined with the transport improvements being made across the city, will ensure a very successful Games in 2012, and equally importantly, a lasting legacy for the people of east London.
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Comments for this post:
28 Aug 2008, 03:37PM, Zobiya_LFC said:
Can't Wait For London 2012 Olympics :) x
28 Aug 2008, 06:47PM, 2012GOLDENGIRL said:
London 2012 is going to be brilliant. I want it to come sooooo quickly! xx
29 Aug 2008, 03:50AM, ZwE said:
I'm waiting))))
29 Aug 2008, 10:17AM, daddyo said:
Looking forward to the transport improvements to East London. Strange there are no plans to improve Leyton tube station as it is the nearest tube station to facilities such as the velodrome, wheelchair archery and the huge new coach park on Hackney marshes. Any ideas why not?
31 Aug 2008, 12:00PM, missdenmark said:
im DYING! i cant wait to 2012 :D :D i allready signed up to be a volunteer :bhey, could anyone tell me how to create a blog-thingy (i cant remember what its called! :D). hihi (;
31 Aug 2008, 06:20PM, priyanka_120792 said:
2012 is goin 2 be great !!!!!CAN'T WAIT !!!!!!
1 Sep 2008, 02:43PM, Iain - ODA Transport Sustainability said:
As part of our transport strategy for the Olympic Park, three stations have been identified as the ‘Olympic Park Gateway Stations’. They are: Stratford Regional Station, Stratford International Station and West Ham Station. Leyton Underground Station was reviewed, however these other stations were preferred because of a variety of strategic reasons:
- the location of Stratford Regional Station in relation to the Olympic Park;
- the location of West Ham Station in relation to the southern spectator entrance;
- the variety of services and therefore journey opportunities available through both Stratford Regional and West Ham Stations; and
- the potential for the high speed Javelin® service using the High Speed 1 (HS1) line to Stratford International Station.
The ODA has set out the requirements for the underground during and after the Games and the ODA’s Transport team will continue to monitor and ensure delivery of this. The ODA will also continue to work closely with London Underground on the operational planning for the Games and further information has already been given in the Transport Plan for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games First Edition. Please see the plan here for more information -
http://www.london2012.com/plans/transport/getting-ready/transport-plan.php
Under the tube investment programme, Leyton station has received upgraded public address and CCTV systems, as well as improvements to the décor on the platforms and in the ticket hall. This means that customers at Leyton benefit from a more secure and pleasant station, and are better informed about how the service is running.
1 Sep 2008, 05:40PM, said:
the transport system sounds g8 and very organised- hopefully it will all go 2 plan :-)
2 Mar 2009, 02:06AM, Gustafson said:
I am sooooo excited for the 2012 Olympics. My friends and I are planning on staying in a hostel, living up the night life and truly enjoying as many events as we can get in
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Gustafson