London, United Kingdom: As the United Kingdom continues to mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Transport for London (TfL) is all set for unprecedented travel demand in the capital on Monday (Sep 19), the day of Her Majesty’s State Funeral.
TfL says it is preparing for around 1 million people to visit the British capital Monday for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. Transport for London chief Andy Byford said Sunday (Sep 18) that the capital has seen huge numbers of additional passengers since the queen died on Sept. 8.
Tfl also issued a press release stating, “Monday (Sep 19) State Funeral is set to be one of the biggest events the capital has ever witnessed. Those travelling to central London for Her Majesty’s State Funeral are advised to plan their journeys using our travel app TfL Go or the TfL Journey Planner to ensure they have the latest travel information. Once they are in London, they should continue to check TfL’s real-time tools, such as TfL Go, to be aware of any delays and changes on the day, such as short notice, temporary Tube and rail station closures due to the unprecedented demand.”
TfL data have shown large increases in the numbers of people walking across London’s bridges, as people make their way around central London. The number of people crossing Blackfriars Bridge is up 50 per cent, while the number of people crossing Tower Bridge is up 67 per cent from the same time two weeks ago. On Friday (16 September) TfL saw 3.02m Tube journeys across London – up nine per cent compared to last Friday and concentrated in central London and around 72 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. On buses, there were 5.33m journeys across London – up five per cent compared to last week and around 83 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
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Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “We are continuing with preparations for Monday (Sep 19) State Funeral so that Londoners and visitors can safely pay their respects to Her Majesty The Queen and travel around the city. We’re doing everything we can, working extremely closely with our partners to help keep London moving and I urge all our customers to check before they travel and before making their return journey, using the TfL website or TfL Go app.
“It is going to be extremely busy in London tomorrow and there may be short notice changes and queues to enter stations due to the large number of people travelling. We will be running a safe, reliable and frequent service to help ensure that everyone can travel home safely after paying their respects. We encourage everyone to consider making use of the wide range of facilities open across London for refreshments after the State Funeral. As well as allowing time to continue to pay respects, this will help ensure smoother journeys home for everybody.”
