Olympic transport plans on track

Olympic Delivery Authority Director of Transport, Hugh Sumner, said:

"We note the issues raised by the Select Committee. Scrutiny and debate at this very early stage of consultation is important. However, we remain confident in our preparations for 2012. To have our Transport Plan ready six years before the Games is unprecedented and we have hit every one of our milestones to date. We are not complacent, of course there will be challenges ahead, but we have no doubt we will deliver a world class transport system for the Games."

Over the next five years £17 billion is being invested in transport in London and significant progress has already been made on key transport schemes that will serve the 2012 Games and leave a lasting legacy for the capital:

• A 17% capacity upgrade on the Jubilee Line was delivered a year ago with a capacity increase of a further 25% scheduled for 2009.
• Work is well underway to convert the North London Line to DLR use between Stratford Station and Canning Town.
  The orders have been placed for new DLR rolling stock.
  Tunneling to extend the DLR to Woolwich Arsenal under the River Thames is already at the halfway point and continuing to make good progress.
• Phase 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is due to open in late 2007.
• Detailed design work for an improved Stratford Regional Station is almost complete.
• Upgrades to stations serving the new Wembley Stadium and the new western London Underground ticket hall at Kings Cross, have improved key stations for Games venues.
• The £500m contract for the East London Line extension has been awarded.
• West Ham Tube Station is set for a £15m investment to improve capacity by 2010.
• All London’s buses are now fully low floor accessible for wheelchair users.
• London Underground has increased to 83 the number of stations that will provide step free access to platform level by 2012.

The ODA’s draft Transport Plan was launched in October 2006 – an unprecedented six years ahead of the Games. Almost 200 responses were received to the initial phase of consultation, which ended earlier this month.

Initial feedback on the Transport Plan shows that it has been positively received with particular praise for the 'high-quality consultation process'; the Plan’s 'robust' nature; the commitment to sustainability; and the 'significant transport legacy' the Games will deliver.

Feedback from the consultation process is now being assessed, and will be reflected in the first full Transport Plan to be published later this year. The Plan will then continue to evolve in unison with the delivery of key transport projects with further consultation taking place and subsequent editions of the Plan published.

Notes to Editors:

At the heart of the Olympic Transport Plan is the goal of encouraging 100% of spectators to travel to the Games by public transport, walking and cycling. The Plan outlines that:

• One train every 15 seconds will serve the Park, with the rail system carrying 240,000 people per hour – an increase of 100,000 on the usual daily rate.
• The Javelin rail service, the bullet train at the heart of the rail plans, will speed spectators from Central London to Stratford International Station in the Olympic Park in just 7 minutes.
• The on-going renewal of the bus, train and taxi fleets will ensure that London’s transport is at the forefront of low emissions technology and walking and cycling will be encouraged.
• River services are intended to be utilised for spectator transport during the Games providing an alternative connection between venues around Greenwich and Central Zone venues. The ODA is working with London River Services to look at potential legacy benefits of enhancements to existing pier infrastructure and with British Waterways to look at the potential for river services around the Olympic Park.

After the Games 80 kilometers of cycle lanes and walking routes will connect the Park into the wider London networks.

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