A million people are expected to head to London on Monday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Image source, Getty ImagesQueues are likely at London Underground and train stations on the day of the Queen’s funeral, rail bosses have said.
Monday will see one of the UK’s biggest transport operations with more than a million people expected to travel to the capital, Transport for London said.
Major London train stations will be open all night on Sunday and on Monday. There will be about 250 extra train services with some through the night.
Network Rail says, however, these will mainly serve stations within the M25.
Transport bosses are expecting particular pressure on London’s transport system on Monday afternoon and evening following Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral.
They are asking those who do not have a long way to travel home to not rush off straight after the service to ease the pressure on Tube and railway stations.
Transport staff will be around to help elderly or vulnerable passengers and are advising people to keep an eye on the most up-to-date travel information.
Andy Byford, the commissioner of Transport for London (TfL) said: “The day of the funeral will be one of the busiest, biggest, challenges TfL has ever faced,”
He said the capital had seen “huge numbers of additional passengers” since the Queen died at Balmoral on 8 September, but demand will “reach a climax” on Monday.
He told the PA news agency: “We’re ready for probably one of the busiest days Transport for London has ever faced…we’re preparing for potentially a million people just within the footprint of the royal palaces and Hyde Park.”
London train stations including Victoria, Waterloo, Charing Cross and Euston will be open throughout the night across the Bank Holiday weekend.
Three Tube stations – Westminster, St James’s Park and Hyde Park Corner – will be closed for most of Monday morning to avoid being overcrowded.
Some stations will also have stationary “welfare trains” so people have somewhere to shelter at all hours. Many shops, restaurants and toilets will remain open in train stations as well.
LNER, which is not running “night trains”, has already announced an Azuma train will be stationed at London King’s Cross station all night, with staff on-hand to assist.
Avanti is also putting on extra charter services this weekend to help ease congestion between Manchester and London. Four extra services a day will run on Sunday and Monday.
TfL says it will invite customers on its services to observe the national one-minute silence at 20:00 BST on Sunday 18 September, and the two-minute silence at around 11:55 on Monday.
TfL says buses will pull over for these, if it is safe and practical to do so, and switch their engines off. The Underground, Overground and other rail services in London will also invite passengers to take part but services will continue to run.
As it will be a bank holiday, peak travel restrictions have been lifted.
Although trains and Tubes have been busy in the past few days, particularly in central London around mourning events, overall passenger usage remains below pre-Covid levels.
Many commuters and business people are thought to have stayed away from the city centre.
Anyone who bought Anytime, Off-Peak, or Super Off-Peak train tickets can get full refunds during the mourning period if the tickets were bought before the Queen’s death was announced.
Road closures and diversions are expected to continue for several days after Monday, as event infrastructure is removed, TfL said.
National Highways is also warning people to allow extra time travelling in out of the London this weekend, as motorways and major roads will be very busy.
Motorists are advised to avoid central London because of road closures.
Motorway service stations will remain open, although there might be reduced levels of services at some locations on Monday.
Heathrow Airport has also warned people to take public transport instead of driving to the airport on Monday because of road closures around Windsor.