Written evidence from Virgin Atlantic Airways (TOG 21) Introduction

Transcription

1 Written evidence from Virgin Atlantic Airways (TOG 21) Introduction 1. Virgin Atlantic Airways welcomes the Committee s inquiry into transport plans for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and is pleased to submit comments for consideration. 2. Virgin Atlantic was established in 1984 to provide a competitive customer service oriented alternative for business and leisure passengers on long haul routes between the UK and major destinations. We have grown to become the UK s second largest global airline, serving 32 destinations, operating from 4 UK airports, and flying 37 wide bodied aircraft. We connect Britain to the world s leading established and emerging economies and top tourist destinations, serving business and leisure travellers and uniting families and friends. 3. Virgin Atlantic is the UK s 12 th largest private company. We employ around 9,000 people in the UK and in overseas locations. Our total revenue was 2.7 billion in , with over one third of our ticket sales made overseas, generating 1 billion in exports for the UK economy. We carried 5.3 million passengers in 2010, and carried 210,000 tonnes of high value cargo in the holds of our passenger aircraft. 4. Although, like all other businesses reliant on London s surface transport infrastructure for our staff s ability to get to work and our customers ability to get to their flights, we have a keen interest in the contingency planning and provisions being made to ensure the smooth running of the capital s buses, trains, tube and roads, we have focussed our comments on the potential impacts on, and solutions for, aviation. The impact on public transport, including aviation, of increased demand during the Games 5. Virgin Atlantic welcomes the Government s focus on protecting business as usual operations, as this recognises the importance of maintaining the connectivity of the UK for consumers, businesses and all the other sectors of the economy that rely on air transport links with the rest of the world. This is particularly important at Heathrow as, operating at nearly 100% capacity, it could not without significant disruption have accepted additional flights, particularly those by Heads of State with the particular security and operational complexities entailed. 6. This focus on business as usual is essential as, for Virgin Atlantic, and we believe this is common to many other carriers, the London Olympics will have relatively little impact on overall passenger volumes, since capacity is constrained and the Olympics coincide with the peak summer travel season when flights are already full. However, whilst overall volumes will not be greatly affected, it is anticipated that there will be spikes in arrivals and departures at the beginning and end of the Games and Paralympic Games. 7. With this is mind, we welcome the actions taken by Government to temporarily designate a number of airports in the South East of England, to ensure that non scheduled traffic is diverted away from the UK s main international gateways. Ensuring that filed flight plans must be accompanied by pre agreed landing and take off slots is also very helpful. 8. The passenger mix will also be very different from normal around the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with a larger proportion of passengers starting or ending their journeys at Heathrow Airport, rather than transferring through Heathrow on to other regional or international flights. They are also likely to have significantly more baggage and athletic and/or mobility equipment with them, adding significantly to an already strained system. We are of course working closely with the BAA and wider airport community to ensure that Heathrow is well prepared for the Games. Ensuring that appropriate equipment is in place to support

2 Paralympians in particular, and improving the accessibility of all airport facilities, will be to the benefit of all passengers with reduced mobility in the future. 9. However, despite the best efforts of the industry and other stakeholders, there is a significant risk that the UK border will be unable to cope with the higher than usual proportion of inbound non EU passengers and the associated peaks in demand. It is essential that all UK arrivals, whether members of the Olympic family or business as usual passengers, are processed quickly and efficiently without disrupting normal operations. It is inevitable that the Border Agency s resources will be stretched as they are required to maintain a presence not only at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and City Airports but also at all the other temporarily designated airports in the South East of England. 10. It is essential that the Border Agency works closely with the airport operators, the airline community and all other stakeholders to ensure that sufficient trained border personnel are available for these peaks in order to avoid major disruption. We would appreciate assurances from the Border Agency that they have such contingency plans in place, based on sound modelling of likely travel patterns and staff resource requirements, and that they would be able to share these in detail with the industry. 11. As well as the airports, the UK airspace will be under considerable capacity strain for the duration of the Games and Paralympic Games. NATS has taken a very proactive approach in alerting the industry and the Regulator of concerns related to airspace resilience during the period. With sections of airspace over the capital restricted for security reasons, increased demand on Greater London airspace associated with additional arrivals and departures by private, charter and general aviation aircraft; the risk of any disruption (such as weather for example) having a severe impact on the overall system and particularly Heathrow is a real concern. 12. We understand that there remains a question around whether under the terms of NATS license as regulated by the CAA, NATS is able to prioritise commercial air traffic over and above general or other aviation traffic in the event of highly constrained airspace capacity or periods of disruption. 13. A clarification of this area of the license should be found urgently, or a temporary amendment of the license considered, so that maximum volumes of passenger flows are prioritised, in the interests of both the travelling public and the international reputation of the United Kingdom. This would be in line with the Government s focus on protecting business as usual operations. NATS has created a log of topics and possible mitigations that require policy decisions, we would expect that these are addressed soonest at appropriate levels. 14. It is clear that the most efficient use of constrained airspace is achieved and the greatest consumer benefit ensured when, for example, a 350 seat commercial aircraft is given preference over a small private jet carrying only half a dozen passengers. It would be very helpful for NATS and the CAA to confirm that they will indeed apply this principle. If this requires a change in protocol it is important that NATS has the time to adjust its processes to enable them to deliver the best possible airspace resilience during the period, with the strong cooperation and support of all stakeholders.

3 Delivering a transport legacy for the Games 15. The Games and Paralympic Games represent a fantastic opportunity for the UK to market itself to the rest of the world as a great place to visit and to do business. As 75% of people visiting the UK arrive here by air, the aviation sector will play a key role in delivering on this legacy. 16. British airlines generate nearly 3billion of overseas sales each year, and collectively spend many millions of pounds on marketing the UK as an attractive destination. The UK should be proud of its innovative and world leading aviation sector, which offers a variety of different business models to the benefit of both UK originating consumers and potential visitors. 17. However with further increases on 1 April this year to what is already the world s highest air passenger duty, and visa charges that at uncompetitive in comparison with the Schengen countries regime, we are concerned that Government policy will hinder airlines ability to deliver on this legacy. March 2012

4 Written evidence from RMT, the National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (TOG 22) Introduction The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Transport Committee Call for Evidence: Transport & the Olympics. The RMT is the largest of the rail unions and organises 80,000 members across all sectors of the transport industry. We negotiate on behalf of our members with some 150 employers. Issues surrounding appropriate remuneration for Games time working RMT have secured a number of high profile agreements on appropriate remuneration for Games time working. These agreements recognise the role of transport workers throughout the Games, and the additional pressures that they will be working under such as changes in rostering and additional workload. However, RMT remains deeply concerned by the fact that, to date, no agreement has been reached with either London Underground or Transport for London. London Underground is London s largest transport employer and will be absolutely central to the delivery of the Games. RMT has noted the negative impact this lack of agreement has had on the morale of our members working for LUL and TfL, who will be heavily burdened with additional responsibilities and workload throughout the Games, when their colleagues elsewhere on the transport network are being appropriately remunerated for their additional work. RMT believes that the extra passenger volume, extended working hours and heightened safety and security concerns necessitate a substantial pay rise for our members for the duration of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the preparatory period. In addition to this, any training made essential by the Games should result in extra remuneration for all employees. The increased workload and high pressure of Olympic Games and Paralympic Games working, accentuated by increased health, safety and security concerns, demand an improvement in the conditions in which our members work for the duration of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and the preparatory period. In addition any changes to rosters will have to be negotiated with the Union and preferably through a single body with representation from all transport Unions and all London transport operators. Given the forecast increase in the volume of passengers during the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the additional forecast increase in London s population, RMT believes it is necessary to permanently increase the levels of staffing at all London Underground and Overground stations, and those stations elsewhere in Britain that will be important components in the transport plan for the Games. The difficulties which will be faced by transport workers in taking leave whilst the Games are on is another issue which necessitates an additional payment for the duration of the Games. RMT notes that the Games will take place during the school holidays which is the time period in which many employees with children take leave. Therefore, any difficulties in taking leave will cause considerable expense to employees in terms of childcare.

5 Increased demand during the Games, the management of travel and the impact on passengers and staff Given the forecast increase in the volume of passengers during the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the additional forecast increase in London s population, RMT believes it is necessary to permanently increase the levels of staffing at all London Underground and Overground stations, and those stations elsewhere in Britain that will be important components in the transport plan for the Games. Over the duration of the Games, the Olympic Transport Plan will need to develop a network that can transport each day: 55,000 athletes, officials, media & VIPs 500,000 spectators 120,000 staff and volunteers It is important to note that the figure calculated for spectators refers to the number of ticket holding spectators and does not include the large number of people who will travel to the Olympic site to enjoy the atmosphere but not necessarily attend the Games. This is in addition to the millions of public transport users who use the network each day to go about their daily business. According to the Greater London Assembly, the resident population of Greater London as at 30th June 2010 was estimated to be 7.83 million, an increase of 71.6 thousand from the previous year, with growth of 1.01 million to a 2031 total of million 1. This massive growth highlights the need for major investment in the transport network, and demonstrates the necessary permanence of any investment, including staffing, for the Games. The increased demand during the games will have a major impact on transport workers. This impact has been massively compounded by the attacks which London Underground and Transport for London staff have been subject to over the last 2 years. Since March 2010 over 1,500 jobs have been lost on London Underground and in Transport for London. The majority of the posts on London Underground were of ticket office staff and station staff front line staff who will be at the forefront of service delivery throughout the Olympics. Additionally, hundreds of jobs disappeared when Metronet was taken back in house. RMT welcomes the bringing back in house of contracted out work but objects to the fact that the workforce have been made to pay for the failures of the PPP. Also, the lack of manpower now employed on the maintenance of the tube has had a significant impact on its performance. The GLA Transport Committee reported in September 2011 that the increase in delays in 2011 may have been a blip in the long term trend or sign of a more worrying decline. RMT believes the latter to be true. These attacks have continued since then, and LUL workers are now facing further mass redundancies through Project Horizon. The short sightedness which LUL has shown towards its staff has been clearly demonstrated by the fact that recently they have had to create a further 300 posts for Customer Service Assistants. This is 1 GLA 2010 Round Demographic Projections

6 a clear indication that the desire to reduce headcount on London Underground overrode sensible management decisions. Furthermore, RMT is currently in dispute with Transport for London following its ban on annual leave during the Games. RMT believes that this is directly due to the redundancies announced previously. Staff are being told that the Company will buy back leave, which incentivises those with financial problems to sell their leave. This is an extremely dangerous scenario as staff will be doing jobs that they haven t done before, such as back office staff dealing with members of the public, which will undoubtedly cause additional stress and without proper time to recuperate. These cuts have an obvious impact on the morale of transport staff. Transport workers are constantly told of the importance of their role throughout the Games, yet they continue to be attacked by their employers. Understaffed and unstaffed stations are entirely unacceptable and problems relating to safety, security, efficiency and the international perception of London may arise. In addition to this, extended waiting times cause unrest and will have a detrimental effect on staff, including the possibility of a greater number of cases of verbal and physical abuse. For this reason RMT argues for booking offices to be staffed to capacity for the duration of the Games and to maintained at a high level following the Games, to allow for ease of use of ticketing and information services by both the travelling public and international visitors to the Games. Unstaffed stations must become a thing of the past for all of the reasons outlined above. Training of staff There are two main issues regarding the training of staff to work during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Firstly, RMT is in agreement with both the Olympic Delivery Authority and the TUC in arguing that an important component of the Games transport will be the training of all staff to deal with the diverse requirements of all client groups using the system. This must include specialist training regarding the needs of Olympic family members and spectators who have a disability. Secondly, RMT is of the opinion that the extra staffing requirements that the Games bring creates the potential to permanently increase the numbers of fully trained transport workers in London, Weymouth and elsewhere. It is necessary for these staff to be directly employed as soon as possible in order for them to receive adequate training and to gain a sufficient knowledge of the transport network. This means that their contribution to a successful Games will be increased massively. RMT has seen plans from London Underground for the extensive use of ICSAs during the Olympics. We have serious concerns that they will be used beyond their remit, and that despite not being fully qualified, London Underground may count them towards minimum staffing numbers, in breach of the 2008 dispute settlement between RMT and LUL. ICSAs (Incident Customer Service Assistants) are London Underground employees in other grades who are rushed through an inadequate "training course" and then given a licence to work as a Customer Service Assistant on London Underground stations in certain circumstances (eg. during industrial action). Where the decision is taken that a greater number of permanent employees cannot be employed, the use of relief staff is acceptable only if they are employed on the same terms and conditions as

7 permanent staff doing the same work, and if they are experienced railway workers from other parts of Britain. RMT has referred this issue to ACAS. The use of volunteers Volunteers and casual staff should not be used to undertake any work for which safety training is required on the rail network. For this reason, RMT believes it is unnecessary for volunteers and casual staff to receive training in practices for which they do not have the necessary experience or knowledge of the operating environment to carry out. Whilst RMT acknowledges that the use of volunteers is a necessary component of delivering a successful Games, there are a number of concerns which the Union have particularly regarding training and safety. RMT welcomes the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) recognition of the fact that the involvement of volunteers should complement and supplement the work of paid staff, and should not be used to displace paid staff or undercut their pay or conditions of service. LOCOG have assured the RMT that no LOCOG volunteers would be working on the London Underground or on railway stations. LOCOG areas of responsibility do not cover the London Underground or other railway stations. It was, however, highlighted that the Mayor s City Volunteer may be different as it focuses on visitor traffic pinch points. The Mayor s plan is not specific as to what roles the volunteers will be undertaking or where they will be working. RMT believes that all staff, whether permanent, relief or volunteer should work under existing health and safety arrangements. RMT considers the safety implications of having untrained and inexperienced staff to be greater than any benefits they would provide on the railway. The huge additional passenger volume brought about by the Games necessitates the immediate improvement in safety standards, particularly evacuation procedures, communication methods, overcrowding, response time, the training of volunteers and casual staff, and contingency measures. Safety The huge additional passenger volume brought about by the Games necessitates an immediate improvement in safety standards, particularly evacuation procedures, communication methods, overcrowding, response time, the training of volunteers and casual staff, and contingency measures. In addition, the participation of athletes and the arrival of spectators and media from over 200 different countries will cause communication difficulties. RMT has consistently called for an immediate improvement to safety since it was announced that London would host the 2012 Games. To date no improvements have been made. 1. Security Following the appalling attacks by terrorists on London s public transport network on 7 July 2007the issue of security for the travelling public and staff on London s transport system is now even more of a key issue. RMT believes that the presence of visible well trained railway staff is one of the essential components in sustaining public confidence in the network. In addition Network Rail will have to have in place comprehensive security arrangements.

8 RMT notes that the current UK threat level, as defined by the security services, is Severe. This means that an attack is highly likely. It is reasonable to argue that the threat level will increase during the Games, due to the historical trend of terrorist activity during the high profile event (Munich 1972 and Atlanta 1996). To date Britain s transport infrastructure has been the primary target of the current terrorist threat (London Underground, London Bus & Glasgow Airport). Furthermore the Train Operating Companies on the national mainline should desist from destaffing booking offices but should rather move to re staff currently understaffed and unstaffed stations. 2. Evacuation Procedures RMT welcomes the exercise which took place at London Bridge station and which simulated a terrorist attack. However, RMT maintains that a mock evacuation of the entire network is necessary in order to assess the requirements of the sheer scale of any evacuation that may take place. It is important to note that were a mock evacuation across the entire network undertaken this would still not give an accurate picture of the requirements during the Olympics when the footfall on London s stations will be greatly increased. The London Underground procedures call for the evacuation of passengers to be managed by the crew who are trained in this role and who have a good knowledge of the operating environment. For this reason RMT believes that fully trained and experienced staff will be needed to carry out any evacuation. The sheer scale of the Games, and the potential for a greater proportion of passengers having a disability, requires additional permanent staff to be employed as soon as possible in order to develop a good knowledge of the operating environment. 3. Communication methods Two years ago RMT made clear that a review of the communication methods in use on the Underground was urgently required in order to adequately deal with the increase in passenger volume during the games. The potential for difficulties regarding radio communications to develop as a result of mobile phone use on a mass scale should not be underestimated. RMT believes that in order to ensure that contingency measures are in place regarding communication, staffing is a key issue. As noted previously, further communication difficulties will develop due to language difficulties arising from the participation of athletes, spectators and media from over 200 countries. This will cause additional stress for staff on the transport network. RMT has raised these issues with the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety and RMT representatives have met with the British Transport Police to discuss issues regarding communications and response times to incidents throughout the Games. It is hoped that a radio channel will be made available by the MoD to ensure that staff can communicate effectively throughout the games. This will be necessary due to the potential difficulties of communicating by other means when, for example, a large number of mobile telephones are being used and the communication networks reach capacity.

9 RMT believes that safety is a central issue for the upcoming Games, but is one which cannot be considered independently of adequate staffing and security provisions. It has not yet been addressed. 4. Overcrowding Overcrowding remains a key problem on the railway network, including the Underground, and is one which can become increasingly difficult to manage due to any issues regarding the punctuality of trains. For this reason, and bearing in mind the additional passenger volume brought about by the Games, RMT believes it is vital for additional experienced staff trained in crowd management to be employed prior to the Games beginning and to be retained post Games to cope with the growing population of London. It should also be noted that the GLA Transport Committee reported in September 2011 that any improvement to Tube capacity since the start of the upgrade programme have been outstripped by rising demand. 5. Response Time RMT has concerns that congestion throughout London during the Olympics will significantly increase the response time of the emergency services to any incidents. Safety procedures call for the evacuation of passengers to be managed by the crew who are trained in this role and who have a good knowledge of the operating environment. This again demonstrates the necessity of having fully trained and experienced staff in place, and highlights the additional difficulties volunteers or casual staff would create on the Underground. 6. Contingency measures RMT believes that any contingency measures put in place must begin with an assurance that staffing will be carried out at the maximum possible level in order, using only professional and experienced rail staff, to ensure that any incidents are dealt with as efficiently and effectively as possible. Transport legacy RMT welcomes the enhancements made to the transport network prior to the Games including on London Underground which has seen, extra capacity on the Jubilee line with a signalling upgrade, extra capacity on the Central Line and the development of step free access to Southfields and Green Park, Stratford Regional Station, the East London Line and the North London Line, and the Docklands Light Railway. RMT believes that at Stratford International station, the class 395 high speed domestic trains should continue to provide the Javelin shuttle service between St Pancras, Stratford International and Ebbsfleet after the games and make this service a key part of the Olympic legacy. This would allow for Stratford Regional Station to maintain itself as an international station and so inviting further investment into the area. Additionally, RMT believes that the integration by Network Rail, London Underground and other transport operators of real time travel information that has been introduced for the Games should be maintained. RMT is also keen that some desperate measures taken with regard to staffing during the Games and do not leave a negative legacy afterwards. For example temporary staffing measures have been introduced as opposed to establishing a network staffed to a high standard.

10 No transport network should ever be dependent on the enlistment of volunteers or inadequately trained staff such as Incident Customer Service Assistants. The preparations for the Olympics have clearly demonstrated the need for London Underground, and mainline London stations, to be adequately staffed to a high standard. This makes clear the need to reverse the recent cuts to staffing levels on London s transport network, and begin to increase the levels of staffing to an acceptable standard. The need for a central negotiating body has been obvious throughout the preparations for the Games. However, although this has not come to fruition due to the resistance of private train operators there has been some progress in getting industry stakeholders around one table to discuss the challenges faced by the industry throughout the Games with high level roundtable meetings taking place involving the unions, the TUC, Network Rail, TfL and other transport operators, along with representatives of the ODA and LOCOG. RMT argues that to have a consistent approach to safety, security and industrial relations there needs to be one body which is mandated to conduct the negotiations on behalf of London transport operators including Thames Clippers, Train Operating Companies, London Overground Rail Operations Ltd., London Underground Ltd., and the infrastructure companies including Tubelines. As a starting point, RMT believes that the forum which has been established for the Olympic period continue to operate after the Games. Olympic Route Network In relation to the Olympic Route Network, RMT welcomes the decision to allow Network Rail vehicles to use the Olympic Route in order to deal with engineering and maintenance emergencies. March 2012

11 Written evidence from ITS UK (TOG 23) 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The Transport Committee launched its Inquiry into the transport plans for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on 25 th January The Terms of Reference and Call for Evidence invite organisations to respond to a series of questions regarding transport arrangements for the games. The Committee is particularly interested in: The impact on the road network resulting from Games Lanes and the Olympic Route Network (ORN) Measures taken to manage travel demand during the Games The impact on public transport, including aviation, of increased demand during the Games The effects of travel disruption for businesses and services Delivery of a transport legacy following the Games 1.2 ITS United Kingdom, referred to hereafter as ITS (UK), is a not for profit public/private sector association financed by members' subscriptions providing a forum for all organisations concerned with ITS. The Society works to bring the advantages that ITS can offer in terms of economic efficiency, transport safety, and environmental benefits to the United Kingdom and at the same time expand the ITS market. Membership, over 150 UK organisations, comprises Government Departments, Local Authorities, Police Forces, consultancies, manufacturing and service companies, and academic and research institutions. ITS United Kingdom encourages discussion on issues such as public/private co operation, standards, legislation, information provision and new technology. ITS (UK) was a key contributor to the Parliamentary POSTNote 322 Intelligent Transport Systems published in Jan Intelligent Transport Systems, ITS, is the term used to describe combinations of sensors, telecoms, information processing and location referencing to deliver improved transport systems and services including information before and during a trip for travellers by all modes. Some examples ITS can improve the efficiency of transport through traffic control and enforcement of traffic regulations and enhance road safety through in vehicle systems for collision avoidance and better lane keeping. Many commercial organisations use ITS to manage vehicle fleets, both freight and passenger, through the provision of real time information and two way communication between manager and driver. Electronic ticketing (by means of Smartcards, for example) enables faster, easier travel by public transport. In addition Intelligent Transport Systems have beneficial effects on the environment by reducing air and noise pollution on highways and by helping to create traffic free zones in cities. 2.0 General Observations 2.1 Staging an Olympics Games is likely to be a unique experience for the host country as there are very few precedents to guide planning. Olympic Games are four years apart and the host nations are remarkably dissimilar in their nature, political outlook, population, economy, composition, prosperity and travel infrastructure. As a consequence the lessons that can be drawn are minimal. London as a Games host is different from most of the sites over the last 25+ years in that it was always the plan to hold many of the Games fairly close to the City centre. However London is a mediaeval city which poses a unique challenge with no scope for installing bespoke transport infrastructure (compare Beijing and its new 8 lane motorway).. Partly as a consequence the London games have been designed from the beginning as the Public Transport Games. 2.2 London has pledged that in staging the Games: All athletes and officials will be delivered to their events in good time

12 All members of the extended Olympic family will be at their workplace without delays No event start will be delayed because of transport issues Impact on London s normal travel patterns will be minimised The management and technology experiences from London will become part of the Games legacy These various factors have driven the London games high level transport strategy: Install new infrastructure where possible Expand the capacity of existing infrastructure where possible Find new ways to manage infrastructure to squeeze out more productivity Install new infrastructure monitoring so that problems, incidents etc are detected as quickly as possible Deploy new coordination techniques so that the existing management regimes for London s transport, national rail, national highways, Government, the security and police services can work together more effectively and become a fast response control team Deploy new network control techniques that can be switched on or off to manage all or part of the Olympic Route Network Deploy new techniques for amending traveller and freight services behaviour with the four themes of Reduce, Re time, Re route and Re mode. Added to this is the necessity to provide additional protective measures resulting from the ongoing threats to UK s security 2.3 Implementing the Games strategy has relied heavily on ITS. The main areas where additional, or in many cases new, resource has been deployed are: Real time information services Urban traffic management systems including links to neighbouring regions and the national highway network New games related websites linking to information services and journey planners Incident detection and decision support systems for network managers Network modelling including new visualisation techniques 2.4 The London 2012 Transport Coordination Centre has been created to provide the effective coordination of partners involved in the delivery of transport during the London Games, on a nationwide basis. Its mission is to promote the provision of safe, secure, reliable and timely transport services to all client groups of the Games, while minimising the impact to the travelling public. The Transport Coordination Centre will be the one stop shop for transport information and coordinated problem solving and will operate as a 24/7 Operations Centre, comprising representatives from across Transport, Games, Security & Government agencies. 3.0 The Committee s Questions 3.1 The impact on the road network resulting from Games Lanes and the Olympic Route Network (ORN) The introduction of the Olympic Route Network is expected to result in variations in the time taken, and sometimes the routes permitted, for routine journeys by personal or commercial motorists. However the effects of these changes should be minimised by taking advantage of network resilience to cope with any additional demand. A great deal of effort has been put into smart management to ensure that the access controls needed to deliver the ORN remain in place for the shortest time necessary and for the smallest area possible. Doing this relies on signal control complemented by constant real time information feeds to travellers for use by public

13 transport customers as well as car users planning trips. The impact is being reduced as far as possible by measures to reduce the normal background demand at the expected peak periods (see 3.2). 3.2 Measures taken to manage travel demand during the Games There are a number of initiatives in place designed to address travel demand during the Games. A key objective is to influence enough people, enough... in order to generate transport capacity to accommodate the increased demand from the Games. The goal is to amend the background demand by influencing current travellers with an overall need to travel and persuade them to reduce their demand a little, re time it, re route it away from the ORN or other sensitive spaces, or revise their mode of travel. A good example of this method is the website that offers advice on passenger congestion on public transport and options to get to the Games venues. Additional real time traveller information will be available in a variety of formats such as and Spectator Travel Information Games Travel Pages to be found at and the Spectator Journey Planner which is at Additional support for commercial operators can be found via Travel Advice for Business that was launched in November 2010 as a self help toolkit either distributed and/or available online. This offers site specific advice for the 475 businesses (424 in London, 26 in Eton Dorney and 25 in Weymouth employing in total over 545,000 people) that have signed up. Businesses in London have agreed to channel advice and information to their members on the Games time transport challenge The Road Freight Management Programme is a set of procedures for engagement and solutions to provide freight operators and drivers with information, advice, guidance and a tool for better planning deliveries. The website offers a variety of material such as case studies, out ofhours trials, a Code of Practice, and maps in addition to an Olympic Freight Journey Planner The key features of this interactive planner are a display of Games related restrictions and disruptions on the ORN, primary and any other road network roads. These will detail closures, banned turns, parking restrictions, suspended loading, bays and ongoing event locations and duration. This planner will enable freight operators and drivers to assess if the destination is affected at the time of travel by any additional parking restrictions that are related to the Games and/or any parking suspension at the nearest loading bay. To help resolve any potential obstruction or congestion the planner will indicate the closest available legal stopping point/loading bay as an alternative Many of the demand management techniques routinely used in city centres, which have been significantly reinforced for London, are also deployed for the sailing events in Dorset where a new infrastructure has been installed to enable large numbers of visitors to attend the sailing events. A series of ITS enhancements and infrastructure has been introduced that will give immediate benefits to the Games visitors whilst also providing a long term legacy benefit Estimation of visitor numbers has proved to be difficult. The IOC required plans to ensure an additional capacity of 5000 visitors/ day. The Olympic Bid based its transport estimate on an additional 15,000 / day (5,000 by train and the remainder by car) The Park & Ride facilities have capacity of around 10,000 spaces which is suitable for the planned influx however latest estimates suggest that visitor numbers could be as large as 60,000 per day. Nevertheless Dorset County Council is confident that it can manage owing to its previous track record of events such as the Annual Carnival (50,000) and the Tall Ships Races As with London sites the challenge has been to provide safe, secure and reliable transport for all whilst keeping Weymouth and Dorset moving and ensuring that a legacy and facilitate regeneration is left in place once the Games have finished. To deliver the target Olympic Route

14 Network journey times within a challenging geographical location that has a limited road access and a notable lack of traffic control (including an almost non existing ITS) required major investment which has been finished Major engineering projects on Dorchester and Weymouth roads have removed roundabouts with inadequate capacity, introduced signalisation at critical junctions (SCOOT) and improved reliability across Weymouth town and its environs. In addition the bus stop infrastructure has been improved across 300 bus stops. The Weymouth Showcase is a 5M ITS Programme intended to improve access to the Games venues and includes real time passenger information, car park guidance, strategic VMS, CCTV, air quality monitoring, and ANPR. Finally the Travel Dorset web site has been upgraded to add advice and guidance to visitors All of the techniques described above draw heavily on the core ITS technologies set out in Para The impact on public transport, including aviation, of increased demand during the Games Central London is likely to be faced with three main public transport issues during the games: large peaks in air travel and associated surface transport links as the athletes, officials and media arrive and depart; additional loads in peak periods as athletes etc move about; and additional loads as spectators, many of whom will be unfamiliar with London s transport, go to the games then move about the city. The management of the ORN has been dealt with in sections 3.1 and 3.2. ITS (UK) is not in a position to comment on aviation issues A key resource in dealing with these issues is Transport Direct s Spectator Journey Planner website, an advanced multi modal trip planner. The purpose of this Journey Planner website is to assist the London 2012 Games to be perceived as the Public Transport Games. Transport Direct s challenge is to match the transport supply to a much enhanced demand during the peak hours. Travel demand management will predominate using such techniques as giving travellers a series of options (including accessibility information for passengers with disabilities) when they seek a route from A to B that steers them away from known hotspots or overcrowded lines. Similarly for travellers going to games events journey times to venues will be calculated with some additional access time to ensure spectators get to their intended venues in adequate time for the events that they have come to see We will not know until midway through the games how successful the measures to reduce the background transport demand have been but it only takes small percentage changes to deliver significant benefits. If London s regular travellers do take steps to reduce, re time, re route and re mode (especially moving to cycling and walking) then with the increased infrastructure capacity and smart demand management it is highly probable that the additional spectator and tourist loads will be accommodated with little aggravation. 3.4 The effects of travel disruption for businesses and services As with public transport we will not know until midway through the games how successful the various demand management measures have been. At the time of writing it looks as if the daytime restrictions on freight vehicle movements and the additional demands of delivering food and other supplies to the various venues will be broadly offset by relaxing out of hours delivery restrictions. The temporary restriction measures will undoubtedly be unpopular but for many SMEs participation in the Route Freight Management Programme may well show them ways to become more efficient in normal times and may similarly show customers alternative and more effective ways to manage stocks and their supply chain. 3.5 Delivery of a transport legacy following the Games

15 3.5.1 There will be three types of transport legacy from the Games. First there is the physical infrastructure the enhancements to rail and road networks and the vehicle fleets in both the Greater London area and Dorset. The second group is the operational and system enhancements: staging the Olympics has prompted the design and deployment of state of the art techniques to detect network disruption or incidents at the earliest possible moment and then linking to decision support systems for the network managers. Decisions can then be implemented using traffic management systems with links to neighbouring regions and the national highway network coupled with broadcasts of changes etc through games related websites linking to real time information services and journey planners A third bloc of legacy material will be the practical experience of managing transport demand and establishing what techniques work, how they are perceived by users and the best communication channels for future use The final set of legacy benefits is new ways of working. The London 2012 Transport Coordination Centre has brought together a number of agencies who have been satisfactorily operating relatively independently but for whom the exceptional circumstances of the Games required a stronger measure of co working. In many cases it has already been demonstrated that continuing a close coordination improves services, reduces costs and enhances efficiency and delivers a measure of future proofing against the steady build up of London s transport. Similarly, the need to work more closely with London s freight industry both customers and suppliers is supporting planning and the identification of better ways of working for all parties. 4.0 Summary This submission is intended to highlight the reliance that the London Games planners are placing on the use of proven as well as state of the art ITS techniques. It is anticipated that these systems will prove invaluable not only during routine day to day activities but when and where spontaneous incidents occur. It is during these incidents that the real value and impact of the ITS systems will be fully realised as effective and timely solutions to additional unexpected and dynamic demands can be quickly identified. The delivery of these systems will not cease when the exceptional circumstances of the Games finish as the deployment of these tools in normal business should bring long term benefit to users in both London and Dorset. March 2012

16 Written evidence from British Airways (TOG 24) 1 Introduction 1.1 British Airways welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Transport Select Committee s inquiry into Transport and the Olympics. British Airways is proud to be the official airline sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This continues a long standing tradition of British Airways support for major UK and national sporting events at home and abroad. 1.2 British Airways has used London 2012 Games as a great opportunity to review and improve processes within the business and these changes will remain in place after the Games have finished. 1.3 Great Britons is a scheme that British Airways has launched to support home grown talent in celebration of London It is a flight bursary, open to anyone who has a talent or passion in a field that could be enhanced by having the opportunity to travel. 1.4 British Airway s lasting legacy is about supporting British talent to help it succeed. We have helped over 1,500 athletes in the run up to the London 2012 Games and will continue to offer support where we can. Our commitment to the London 2012 Games goes far beyond transport. We want to help create a legacy for the entire nation by supporting the regeneration of London, investing in communities and supporting British talent. 1.5 British Airways is one of the world s largest international airlines and the UK s largest international scheduled airline, carrying approximately 32 million passengers worldwide annually, on around 750 daily flights. The airline employs around 40,000 people, the vast majority of these at its sites throughout the UK, and has an annual turnover of 8.5 billion. 1.6 The airline s two main operating bases are London s Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with a smaller base at London City airport serving New York and European business destinations. From these three, British Airways flies 237 aircraft to 152 destinations in 75 countries. In addition to passengers, the airline also transports cargo more than 750,000 tonnes of cargo are carried around the globe each year. 1.7 In 2010, the airline completed its merger with Iberia of Spain to create the International Airlines Group (IAG). Our combined business offers flights to 205 destinations throughout the world on a fleet of 415 aircraft. It also commenced a joint business agreement with American Airlines, which further extends benefits for its customers. The combined network of British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines serves 433 destinations in 105 countries with more than 5,180 daily departures. 2 The impact on the road network resulting from Games Lanes and the Olympic Route Network (ORN) 2.1 British Airways has been working closely with the BAA roads team to understand the impact on the road network, in particular, the effect on the peak departure days. We have highlighted any planned road closures to our suppliers and they have all prepared Business Continuity Plans (BCP) for the period to ensure that we do not suffer any decrease in our service levels.

17 2.2 It is important to recognise the possible impact on our customers and staff members being able to get to the airport, especially London Heathrow and London City, because of the Games Lanes and the Olympic Route Network. We will be advising both our customers and staff to allow extra time during this busy period, but Transport for London and BAA will play a vital role in keeping people informed. British Airways staff will also receive regular and clear communications nearer the time reminding them of any road restrictions and potential disruptions on public transport. 3 Measures taken to manage travel demand during the Games 3.1 During the Games British Airways will be working with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to coordinate when the Athletes and their coaches will be arriving and similarly we will be working with BAA to enable the smooth implementation of the special Games terminal for the athletes. This special Games Terminal will be the departure point for 10,100 athletes. Along with bag collection from the Olympic and Paralympic Village, this will help the airport to manage the huge increase in departing bags and passengers anticipated on the day after the closing ceremony. August 13, 2012 is expected to be the busiest day in the airport's history, and Heathrow is forecasting 35 per cent more departing bags than on a normal day. British Airways is working very closely with BAA to ensure that Heathrow operates well throughout the Games and that all customers using the airport have the smoothest possible journey. 3.2 Travel demand during the Games is being managed by British Airway s Revenue Operations department. This dedicated team will prepare contingency plans for arriving and departing passengers. We have put in place some restrictions on group travel, but the numbers will be monitored closely and relaxed in a controlled manner as bookings increase. Our core business areas have been trained to cope with the demand so that we are well prepared. 3.3 British Airways has been working hard to ensure that our passengers with special needs will be well catered for during the Games period. We have communicated to our key business teams our capacity for the number of wheelchairs we can accommodate during the Games period and processes are in place to monitor the number of people booking with wheelchairs. A full review of our wheelchair access policy has been carried out and throughout 2012 British Airways will be organising a number of roadshows for teams across the business with British Paralympians in order to ensure their needs are met. 4 The impact on public transport, including aviation, of increased demand during the Games 4.1 During the Games period there will be no increases in the flight schedules at London Heathrow (LHR) as BAA and Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) have effectively closed LHR to additional traffic and all airfields in the south east have been put under slot co ordination rules to enable NATS to control the airspace. However, LHR cannot be looked at in isolation and the wider airspace must be taken into consideration. British Airways believes that the volume of General Aviation traffic (i.e. the operation of civilian aircraft for purposes other than commercial passenger transport, including personal, business, and instructional flying.) permitted to book into smaller airports around the south east is too great. Despite the additional controlled airspace that NATS will manage, the impact of the forecast extra 3000 business aviation flights and an extra 700 commercial flights will increase the potential for delays on choke points in and out of the UK Flight Information Region (FIR), such as through the Dover sector. Furthermore, these potentially significant delays would be exacerbated

18 should any thunderstorms impact upon the airspace around London, as the flexibility of NATS to manage the complicated traffic flows, both in and out of the major airports, would be greatly reduced. Indeed, the experience of British Airways during thunderstorms in 2010 was that the major airports suffered a significantly greater amount of delay than regional airport traffic even though flights were planned along similar routings. In order to ensure the greater passenger volumes on commercial flights are protected from adverse disruption, the CAA should grant a temporary alleviation to the NATS operating license in order to remove the requirement that all traffic must be treated equally on a first come first served basis. 4.2 British Airways has concerns over the continuing, high volumes of passengers passing through immigration at our London airports, due to the problems passengers experienced during the February 2012 half term period at Heathrow. We strongly recommend that the UK Border Agency make full use of the passenger arrival and departure data that we already provide to them. Such information would allow BAA and the UK Border Agency to better anticipate the number of immigration officers needed at Border Control. 4.3 When an airport becomes congested with queues, it impacts on the airport as a whole. Such congestion can then have knock on effects on other parts of the airport including the baggage operation, with potential for attendant health and safety risks. British Airways is working with both BAA and CAA to ensure that airport operations are as robust as possible in order to prevent any congestion during the Olympic Games period and beyond. 5 The effects of travel disruption for businesses and services Please refer to section 2. 6 Delivery of a transport legacy following the Games 6.1 Aviation has a major role to play in creating a positive legacy following the Games, so it is vital that operations at Heathrow and airspace are managed effectively. A Games period without any major travel disruption will give London a major boost in attracting increased tourism and business in the future. 7 Other issues to consider 7.1 Since autumn 2011 the major airlines, airport operators, National Air Traffic Service (NATS), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Department for Transport (DfT) have been meeting as part of the Airport Facilitation Group (APFG) to discuss the issues surrounding air traffic control and airspace management during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games and to consider appropriate mitigation. It has become apparent that there is no clear owner for some of these issues and something of a reluctance to set any precedents on the part of the authorities, so little progress has been made. For example, the APFG group proposes that aircraft operating to temporarily coordinated airports should be directed to plan any diversions to airports outside of the London Terminal Control Area (LTMA). The CAA suggests they cannot mandate such a direction. In addition, British Airways is concerned that Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) slot allocation process for major airports and the

19 temporary arrangements put in place for the Olympics at smaller airfields takes no account of directionality, meaning there is nothing to stop operators or private individuals attempting to fly identical routes at the same time. Furthermore, there is no centralised decision making body that can quickly order changes to standard procedures to effect immediate recovery from critical situations. We support the APFG recommendation that National Airspace Crisis Management Executive (NACME) be this body. 7.2 Heathrow is currently trialling a range of operational freedoms which allow the airport some flexibility to reduce disruption and delays to arrivals. However operational freedoms are biased towards arriving traffic and some of the measures can adversely impact upon the departure rate. There are some additional measures that could be of benefit: Temporary use of mixed mode operations during disruption would enable Heathrow to recover more quickly. For example, an afternoon thunderstorm invariably results in both significant arrival and departure delays with the knock on effect that the airport has to extend its operation well into the night period. British Airways believes that consideration should be given to the inclusion of a temporary mixed mode operation for use on disrupted days. This would result in a much quicker recovery, with both arrival and departure delays being reduced. The net impact would be that the days operations at Heathrow would be completed earlier than would otherwise be the case, resulting in a lower likelihood of extending operations into the night period. Vectoring away from the standard noise preferential routings will also give NATS the flexibility to better cope with the directional demand that often impacts upon the Heathrow departure rate as these are more often biased towards southerly routings. These measures would ensure that the operating authority would be better equipped to deal with potential disruption at the airport, resulting in much improved passenger experience. 7.3 British Airways believes that consideration should be given to the temporary relaxation of restrictions on night flights during the Games period, to permit maximum flexibility and to reduce delays and flight cancellations. The restrictions on landing before 0601 is often a source of delay in itself as it creates airborne holding because aircraft have to await the end of the night ban before landing when they have arrived early, if they have no approval for a night movement. Early arrival is often as a result of circumstances beyond their control, such as excessive tailwinds across the Atlantic. 7.4 Activation of military and managed Danger Areas need to be reduced to the absolute minimum, consistent with State and event security during the period this includes neighbouring Flight Information Regions (FIR s) such as Belgium and France. For example, CBA 1 is a French Danger Area that has the potential to impact upon traffic flows through the Dover sector; suppression of this Danger Area during the Olympics would ensure an optimal flow of traffic. March 2012

20 Written evidence from the Department for Transport (TOG 25) Introduction 1. The Government welcomes this inquiry and the opportunity to outline our ongoing work, and that of other parties, to prepare London and the rest of the United Kingdom for the transport challenges that will accompany our hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in summer We would like to highlight the strong working relationships between the Department for Transport and our delivery partners. Transport for London (TfL), the Greater London Authority (GLA), the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Network Rail and the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) have jointly prepared a submission to the Committee that highlights the collaborative approach that is being taken. We fully endorse the evidence that they have put forward and have therefore not felt it necessary to duplicate the detail that they will provide to the Committee in our own submission. 3. There is a role for Government in assuring the Olympics transport programme which, as of January, is being managed through the Cabinet Committee on the Olympics. These meetings will be held with increasing frequency as we approach the Games and will cover the full range of issues associated with successful delivery. 4. While there are outstanding risks around the successful delivery of transport during the Olympic Games, we are confident that these have been mitigated, or are on track to be mitigated, to an acceptable level by the summer. We were pleased that the Major Projects Authority agreed with this view in their recent assessment, where they rated the overall Olympics transport programme as Amber/Green. This indicates that successful delivery appears probable, however, constant attention will be needed to ensure risks do not materialise into major issues threatening delivery. 5. The following aspects of the Olympics Transport Programme have a specific delivery responsibility for the department for Transport; the implementation of the Olympic Route Network, the Whitehall section of the Travel Demand Management programme and the aviation arrangements for the Games. We have focused on these three areas in our evidence submission, to supplement the evidence provided to the Transport Select Committee by our delivery partners. The Olympic Route Network (ORN) TfL estimate that around 70% of road traffic in Greater London will be unaffected The main ORN routes in London will represent just 1% of the road network The vast majority of roads forming the ORN will be fully open to other traffic Games Lanes will only operate on approximately 30 miles of the ORN (i.e. a third of 1% of London s road network) and only where there is another lane, in the same direction, for normal traffic A key principle in designing the ORN has been to minimise the impact that it will have on non Olympics traffic while meeting the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC). This work has been carried out by the ODA and TfL with input from the Department for Transport. The Secretary of State has responsibility for the initial designation of roads forming the ORN (completed in 2009), and giving consent to the ODA s Traffic

21 Regulation Orders (TROs) which give authority for the detailed temporary traffic management measures needed on sections of the ORN (in progress). The Secretary of State also sets the level of penalty charges for civil contraventions of all TROs made for Games purposes. We have received proposals from the ODA, which are under consideration, and will liaise closely with the Mayor, who has responsibility for decisions on proposals made to him by London Councils and TfL for parallel temporary changes to the penalties for contraventions of existing TROs. Measures taken to manage travel demand during the Games Information campaigns aimed at businesses and individuals are in place and their effects are being monitored through regular independent survey work Whitehall travel reduction trials have aimed to decrease journeys through travel hotspots by 50% Travel Demand Management programme 6. We fully support TfL s Travel Demand Management programme which encourages businesses and individuals to make plans to adjust their travel during the Games. The campaign providing advice to businesses has been ongoing since 2010 and the first communications direct to individuals began in January The launch was led by Peter Hendy, Commissioner of TfL, and the Secretary of State for Transport. A specific session for MPs whose constituencies are directly affected, e.g. due to venues or the ORN, was then held on 31 January, chaired by the Secretary of State for Transport. TfL plans to provide more information to individuals and businesses over the coming months, as we get closer to the Games. Whitehall Travel Demand Management 7. The Department for Transport is leading a cross Government initiative to ensure Government is leading by example in managing its own travel at Games time. 17 departments are committed to an ambition to positively change 50% of their travel over the summer. 8. The Department for Transport and 12 other Whitehall Departments have recently taken part in Operation StepChange a travel reduction trial week to test the resilience of department s plans and engage staff in considering their travel options. Staff were encouraged to re time, re route or re mode their journeys or to work remotely, at home or at offices out of London. Within the Department for Transport we positively changed 71% of our commuting trips, as well as reducing business travel and deliveries/collections to our London building. We are in the process of collating the results and lessons from across Whitehall and will be able to share them with the Committee at the oral evidence session, if required. The impact on aviation of increased demand during the Games Heathrow will be most impacted by increased demand but plans are in place to manage this 9. Forecasts suggest a net addition to baseline passenger numbers of 240,000 commercial air passengers between 17 July and 16 August 2012 across South East Airports. Heathrow will be the most heavily impacted with 80% of Games Family expected to travel through Heathrow on scheduled flights (although there will be no additional flights). 10. Heathrow has detailed operational plans in place for the Olympics. They and other airports are working closely with LOCOG and DfT to deliver the best possible arrivals and departures experience. Heathrow is planning for a 45% increase in arrivals passengers on 26 July and a 45% increase in departing passengers on 13 August, the respective peak days. The latter is expected

22 to be Heathrow s busiest ever day with baggage levels in excess of the airport s normal maximum capacity. BAA fully understand the level of reputational risk and have acted to bring together all those involved at the airport in Team Heathrow and are putting in significant investment. This includes measures around security, advance baggage check in at the Games Village and construction of a temporary terminal for use by departing athletes, and additional provision for passengers with disabilities. 11. Heathrow is the official port of entry for the Games and will handle the majority of international arrivals and departures, though a wide range of other airports, ports and St Pancras International will also be used. The anticipated volume of private flights will also put pressure on already crowded airspace during peaks. To address this, and avoid disruption to scheduled flights, a slot booking system has been put in place covering 40 airports and airfields across Southern England. Measures have also been taken to increase airspace capacity and resilience. 12. Full border checks will take place at all ports of entry and mobile teams will be in place to meet general aviation flights in small ports. It will be important for UKBA, airlines and airport operators to cooperate in order to minimise queues. Work is ongoing to assure: (i) arrivals modelling and associated operational plans; and (ii) communications activity targeting passengers before and on arrival, and the smart management of waiting passengers. March 2012

23 Joint written evidence from Transport for London (TfL), Greater London Authority (GLA), Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Network Rail and the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) (TOG 26) 1. Introduction 1.1. London 2012 will be the public transport Games, with almost 100 per cent of spectators travelling by public transport, walking or cycling, and the Games workforce also travelling by mass transport. The provision of travel for the Games Family (athletes, officials, media and others working at the Games) through a network of roads forming the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and the Paralympic Route Network (PRN) is a part of the Host City Contract, and is needed to ensure guaranteed reliable journey times although the Games Family will also be encouraged to use public transport where practical A significant programme of investment, service improvement and operational planning is in place in London and across the UK to meet these objectives, to minimise the impact of the Games on residents and businesses, and to maximise the economic benefits of hosting the Games. Additional mainline trains will run and where possible services will consist of more carriages and leave later. TfL is planning to extend the hours of London Underground, Overground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) services during the Games, and bus services will be enhanced for the benefit of visiting spectators and Londoners. Timetables and schedules have been written and bookings are being taken for strategic directly managed coach services and Park and Ride sites respectively, and the Spectator Journey Planner is now available Investment is also ensuring that the public transport network is able to meet the demand from an increased number of disabled spectators. This includes funding infrastructure projects that improve the quality, performance and reliability of accessibility facilities and Games time operational solutions During the Games, the transport domain will be coordinated through a state of theart Transport Coordination Centre (TCC) where transport operators will be colocated to enable collaborative working. There will be liaison officers ensuring that the TCC works together with other domains, including Government. This structure is being thoroughly tested culminating in a final full dress rehearsal in early May to coincide with LOCOG s Olympic park test events A recent Major Projects Authority (MPA) review gave the overall Games transport programme an Amber/Green rating. This indicates that the Games transport programme is on track, but that a small number of issues require resolution. This is not surprising given the complexity of the task and that there are still several months to the start of the Games. Updates are regularly being provided to appropriate governance bodies, including the Cabinet Committee for the Games. ORN, PRN and Games Lanes 2.1. An ORN is made up of a number of roads that link all competition and other key venues to provide reliable journey times for the Games Family. An ORN has been a

24 feature of every Games city since Sydney 2000, in response to transport issues in Atlanta The ORN and PRN were part of London s successful bid to host the 2012 Games and are a requirement of the host city contract with the IOC In London the main ORN routes represent just 1 per cent of the road network and only one third of that (about 30 miles) will have Games Lanes on it, generally on the offside (and only where another lane in the same direction remains for normal traffic). During the Paralympic Games, the PRN will operate at a significantly reduced size All except two of the roads forming the ORN will remain open to other traffic, and with road congestion limited to hotspot locations at certain times on certain days, around 70 per cent of road traffic in Greater London will be unaffected during the Games. However, at certain times and in certain locations in London, roads will be affected by Games operations or by the traffic displaced by Games operations. Games venues, road events and the ORN and PRN will all affect how roads in certain places operate during the Games. Areas around affected roads will also be much busier than usual TfL and the ODA have carried out extensive informal public engagement on the ORN and the statutory Traffic Regulation Orders have been formally advertised. The order making programme for the ORN is scheduled for completion in May The ORN also extends to some of the Games venues in the south of England, outside London. These routes are being delivered by the ODA. There is only one Games Lane outside London, on a small section of the A30 Egham bypass in Surrey To efficiently manage the ORN, additional traffic signal instrumentation technology has been installed and has been assisting in smoothing traffic and providing benefit to drivers in London for over 12 months. This will provide a lasting legacy after the Games The temporary measures on parts of the ORN (e.g. parking suspensions, banned turns, traffic signal retiming, removal of bus lanes, Games Lanes) will start operation just a couple of days before the Olympic Games begin. On routes to venues, they will be discontinued as soon as the Olympic use of the venue is over and the route is no longer required. Operation of the ORN will end a couple of days after the Olympic Games; and a similar pattern will be followed for the smaller scale PRN. The ORN will typically operate between 0600 and midnight. Traffic management measures will be focused on the main routes, known as the Core and Venue ORN. Designation of the ORN also includes an alternative network (AORN) for use when parts of the main network are not available (e.g. on road event days, such as the marathon or cycle road race, or in the event of an incident on one of the main routes), and links to some training venues Games Lanes will also operate only during the hours needed, typically 0600 midnight. During these times only vehicles carrying athletes, officials, media and others working at the Games, media being the largest group of users, and emergency vehicles under blue light conditions will be able to use the Lanes Protocols have been agreed in partnership with TfL and the emergency services in London regarding use of the ORN and Games Lanes for emergency response and for

25 other time critical operations. TfL and the ODA are also meeting with taxi driver associations to ensure taxi drivers understand the arrangements Around 80,000 Games Family members will require transport at the Games, including through the ORN. Most will travel in buses, coaches or shared cars. All Games Family members will also be given free travel on public transport in London, and encouraged to use it as much as possible There may be certain places and times of the day where Games Lanes prove to be more lightly used. To ensure best use of the road network, TfL will use a network of variable message signs, which will allow the Games Lanes to be managed in real time and de activated when not required. This will also enable communication with drivers on a range of other messages. The full operational impacts of this proposal are still being investigated Games transport delivery partners have worked hard to mitigate disruption during the Games; we have improved resilience on the road network to improve traffic flows and are ensuring transport infrastructure is completed, in operation and delivering an early legacy ahead of the Games. In addition, planned roadworks and utility works on the ORN and most A and B roads in London will be banned during the Games, which together with the reduction in traffic due to school holidays and use of variable message signs will advise road users of traffic conditions and significantly reduce the risk of disruption TfL is working with the Metropolitan police, ODA and local authorities to plan, operate and enforce the ORN and PRN, and the use of the Games Lanes. Managing the operation of the Games Lanes is focussed on compliance rather than enforcement, with drivers being made aware of the restrictions and potential fines well in advance, along with clear signage. On street enforcement will however consist of enhanced levels of Metropolitan Police Service Traffic Police Community Support Officers (TPCSOs) and local authority Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs). There will also be a dedicated vehicle removal service to clear any vehicular obstructions impacting traffic flows on the ORN, and moving traffic contraventions including Games Lane access will be enforced via CCTV and automated number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras Only accredited vehicles with Games Lane access Vehicle Accreditation and Parking Permits (VAPPs) will be able to use the Games Lanes. LOCOG will provide TfL with information on all vehicles that will be issued with Games Lane access VAPPs for operational management purposes. Vehicles with the appropriate VAPPs to use Games Lanes will enter London 2012 venues via vehicle screening areas. The accreditation of all passengers will be checked at this point. Only individuals with the correct accreditation will be entitled to remain in the vehicle and enter the venue. Individuals accessing accredited vehicles leaving London 2012 venues will also have their accreditation and eligibility checked VAPPs are an integral part of the way in which the Games operate, forming part of the Technical Manual which is accepted along with the Host City Contract. The primary function of a VAPP is to provide a vehicle with access through a checkpoint that other vehicles would not be allowed through, access to park or drop off at venues, and where appropriate, give access to the Games Lanes. Accredited vehicles will include buses, coaches and cars as part of the Games fleet, but also vehicles not

26 provided by LOCOG such as broadcast vans, photo journalist cars and broadcasters own logistical vehicles. VAPPs will also be issued to Games operational vehicles such as delivery vehicles, which will need access to venues but not necessarily to Games Lanes. Other vehicles may need access to set down and pick up areas outside of venues, such as accessible spectator buses, blue badge passes booked with ODA, and residents or businesses that are inside the vehicle permit checkpoint. All VAPPs will be issued with guidance on appropriate usage according to the nature of each vehicle. VAPPs will enable all the Games Family client groups to fulfil their Games time commitments, each with their own locations, operational requirements and access needs LOCOG is responsible for developing Local Area Traffic Management and Parking Plans (LATMPPs) for all Olympic and Paralympic venues together in partnership with the relevant local authority. These are designed to prevent spectators from driving to the Games and parking their cars around venues. This will minimise disruption to the community; protect local residents and businesses parking; ensure that all those required to stage the Games athletes, officials, media, and key workforce can get to the venues safely, securely and on time; and finally will manage how spectators arrive and access the venue An ORN public information campaign will be launched in spring This follows the release of detailed road network hotspot information to business in November 2011, and to the public in January 2012, and the ongoing public engagement for LATMPPs. 3. Travel Demand Management (TDM) and Effects on Businesses 3.1 The transport domain has twin objectives: to deliver a great 2012 Games and to keep London and the UK moving and benefitting economically from the Games. London and other host towns and cities will be very much open for business during the summer of Recognising this, efforts have focussed on working with businesses to ensure that they are ready for the Games. This work confirms that businesses are making sensible preparations to make the most of the Games and help us manage demand for transport. The latest independent Games readiness research from Deloitte, issued in January 2012, has found that 46 per cent of businesses expect to be able to re time, reroute, revise the mode or reduce travel by between 10 per cent and 29 per cent. A recent Whitehall Travel Demand Management trial, labelled Operation StepChange, has also demonstrated positive results, with further information included as part of the Department for Transport evidence submission. 3.3 TDM is essential to the success of transport during the Games. The ODA developed a TDM programme for London 2012, to target key groups of travellers during the Games, including commuters, spectators, visitors to London, businesses and the freight industry. TDM has a national remit with a specific focus on London and the venue areas of Eton Dorney and Weymouth and Portland. The responsibility for the delivery of this programme has since moved to TfL, who will lead UK wide TDM efforts. 3.4 Ultimately, TfL cannot control the choices of those using the system; however, TfL has successfully demonstrated many times that it is possible to reduce the

27 underlying demand for transport in London during major events (e.g., London Surrey Cycle Road Race), and will benefit from the Olympics taking place during the school holidays. 3.5 In November 2011, TfL made available detailed information about road and public transport hotspots, with leading businesses and organisations, including John Lewis Partnership, Boots, Sainsbury s, Canary Wharf Group, Deloitte and the London Evening Standard welcoming the information. Since then, a major public information campaign was launched on 30 January to encourage individuals to plan their travel during the Games. The campaign advises regular users of the transport network to start planning their travel during the Games and to visit the Get Ahead of the Games website ( The website will act as the first point of contact for all users looking for Games related travel information. The launch event received widespread coverage from a wide range of media, and included presentations from the Secretary of State for Transport, Mayor of London, TfL Commissioner, LOCOG chairman, and Olympic and Paralympic athletes. A specific session for MPs, whose constituencies are directly affected, e.g. by venues or the ORN, was held on 31 January. The website will shortly be extended to include Network Rail information and will be further updated as additional information becomes available. 3.6 Businesses across London and in Eton Dorney and Weymouth and Portland have also had an opportunity to receive site specific travel advice. The total number of businesses receiving site specific advice, as of 16 February 2012, was 511 which employ over 600,000 people. The focus of the travel advice to business programme is now on the delivery of action plans by those businesses who have received advice. By 16 February, 221 draft action plans had been received from businesses, employing over 300,000 people. 3.7 TDM also works with 74 Business Intermediary partner groups across London and in Eton Dorney, and Weymouth and Portland with a combined membership of over 210,000 businesses. There have been TDM presentations at 213 Business Intermediary events attended by representatives of over 13,000 businesses. 3.8 Workshops for SMEs, multi site businesses and London Boroughs continue to prove popular. To date, 700 businesses, employing over 34,000 people, have attended workshops. 3.9 The TDM Business Influencer campaign launched in November 2010 and targeted businesses in London, Eton Dorney and Weymouth and Portland urging them to plan for the impact of the Games. The campaign included adverts in local newspapers and online and ran throughout A holidaymakers campaign also took place in Weymouth and Portland in the summer of 2011 aimed at those people who return to the area for their annual holidays A monthly Freight Forum, chaired by industry, has been formed to discuss challenges presented by the Games. This includes the Traffic Commissioners and 50 organisations including London Councils, individual London Boroughs, the Freight Transport Association (FTA), Road Haulage Association, large businesses (Sainsbury s, Tesco etc) and operators (DHL, TNT etc).

28 3.11 A road Freight Advice Programme, targeting suppliers and customers who will be most affected by the Games, launched in January The first two workshops were held in January and were attended by representatives from 61 businesses. Another 160 workshops are planned in London and 75 nationally to ensure that businesses and freight operators both inside and outside London have access to the correct information to plan for Games time. As part of this programme advisors are working directly with eight major hospitals and the five wholesale markets in London to provide specific advice to ensure that they are prepared for the impact that the Games may have on operations One method of reducing peak time freight traffic will be to increase the number of out of hours deliveries. This involves providing guidance around the complex mixture of regulations that govern this activity and making deliveries that do not disturb residents. A critical first step has been the successful work with the Traffic Commissioners and the amendment contained in the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Act 2011 to facilitate short notice changes to operator licensing where necessary. To provide backup to this the Traffic Commissioners have written to those operators with environmental conditions on their licence and TfL is writing to all HGV operators nationwide advising of these changes and the process for requesting amendments A series of trials of quieter out of hours deliveries have been conducted with a number of London boroughs and a range of businesses, including supermarkets, pubs and hotels. The results of these trials have shown that the use of a code of practice can help businesses to overcome many of the issues that would otherwise prevent them from being able to deliver at night during the Games. Further trials are ongoing and results are being released on the TfL website as they become available Games Travel Pages for spectators were launched on the London 2012 website in March 2011 and the Spectator Journey Planner went live in July The plans for communicating with spectators and other users during Games are well developed. There will be consistent way finding signage across public transport and hostboroughs, helping people to both navigate the transport system and events of interest across London. These advise spectators to use certain routes to spread the number of spectators across the system. 4. Increased Demand and the Impacts on Public Transport (excluding aviation) 4.1. On the busiest days, an extra three million public transport trips are expected on the network (compared to about 12 million today); the network will be very busy. However, TfL will suspend planned engineering work on the Underground, DLR and Overground networks, and around two thirds of Tube and DLR stations will see no impact in terms of additional time taken to board a train Significant investment has been made to improve the public transport infrastructure in and around London, which is already delivering an early legacy benefit. The upgrades and improvement works mean that ten different rail routes will serve Stratford station during and after the London 2012 Games, making a previously neglected area of the capital one of its best connected destinations Transport improvements which have been delivered include extra capacity on the Jubilee and Central lines, 50 per cent increase in DLR capacity with the line extended

29 to Woolwich and Stratford International, enhanced bus services, refurbished and extended London Overground services on the East London and North London lines, and King s Cross St Pancras and Stratford Regional stations essentially rebuilt and expanded, with step free access and extra capacity. Outside London, enhanced crowd safety measures and improved access and egress infrastructure has been installed at the Coventry Arena venue, and the installation of improved accessibility facilities are underway at Weymouth Rail Station. The Games has also been the catalyst for the completion of the Weymouth Relief Road and the Weymouth Transport Package, both delivering significant long term enhancements to the local road network in West Dorset In addition to the suspension of planned engineering work on all key National Rail lines, nearly 4,000 additional services will run. This includes later trains to cities such as Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff and Manchester. Normal morning and evening peak hours will be extended and a number of additional early trains will run, at full length, from major cities to enable spectators to reach London in time. Rapid response units will operate to keep key routes running Despite this planning and investment, there will still be a number of transport hotspots likely during the Games. In addition to detailed transport hotspot information covering London s road network, descriptions of anticipated levels of congestion at Tube and DLR stations have also been produced, day by day and at half hour intervals. The results demonstrate that particular attention needs to be paid to hours in the late afternoons and early evenings at specific stations, which are generally in Central London and around Games venues. Work to finalise similar information for Network Rail s stations in London and at other key locations across the country and to cover the period of the Paralympic Games is currently taking place. This further information will be released in the spring All direct coach service routes to the Games from across locations in England and Wales have been finalised and all Park and Ride sites have been acquired. There will be additional rail services to designated stations with shuttle bus runs to venues We continue to promote and encourage disabled spectators to use the accessible coach services provided across the UK and the use of Park and Ride schemes. The accessible journey planner will maximise the route options available to disabled people and provide the best possible spectator experience In addition to measures targeted at reducing travel demand, the Active Travel Programme was launched on 24 October 2011 alongside the eight 2012 Games walking and cycling routes and a new London Cycle Guide for the Olympic Park. The London 2012 Active Travel programme will promote the enhanced walking and cycling routes as well as encourage more walking and cycling in the lead up to, during and after the London 2012 Games. In legacy, cycle parking facilities will be provided in the Olympic Park River services will also offer an attractive journey option for Games spectators travelling to River Zone competition venues, and the River Thames already has a well developed network of passenger services that carries more than five million passengers a year. The intention is to utilise spare capacity for Games spectators and provide some additional capacity at key times of the day. Contracts are in place with operators to maximise these services, and since July 2011, river operators have been

30 selling tickets for Games services via their own online booking systems. This process is complimented by links to and from the spectator journey planner Given the size, complexity and open nature of much of the public transport network, there will understandably be some interruptions to services during the Games as there are today. However, with enhanced infrastructure, appropriate operational planning and engagement, the organisations responsible for providing public transport for the Games are confident, but not complacent, in our ability to deliver. 5. Delivery of a transport legacy following the Games 5.1. In addition to capacity enhancements to the public transport network referred to in paragraph 4.3, the Games will offer a wide range of legacy benefits Additional traffic signal instrumentation technology has been installed to efficiently manage the ORN and has been assisting in smoothing traffic and providing benefit to drivers in London for over 12 months. This will provide a lasting legacy after the Games The accessibility of the public transport network has been greatly improved in the lead up to the Games. Improvements include: a. By July 2012, 65 LU stations, including Green Park and Southfields, will be step free from street to platform and a further five will provide step free interchange; b. Lifts will be installed at four London Overground stations, which will all have step free access; c. Lift upgrades on the step free DLR network to improve lift reliability and speed, and thus hourly capacity; d. New lifts and facilities at key National Rail stations serving venues including Slough (for Eton Dorney), Loughborough (for Team GB s Olympic training centre), and Wembley Central (for Football, Badminton and Rhythmic Gymnastics); e. Accessibility information in TfL s Journey Planner is to be enhanced to provide better planning for those with access needs; f. Additional signage is to be introduced on the public transport network to assist passengers with accessibility requirements, and to help with the wayfinding of step free routes; and g. ATOC s Passenger Assist booking system, part funded by the ODA, will provide vastly improved pre booking service for disabled passengers for many years to come. There are also operational legacy benefits including the opportunity to have trialled and tested products not previously considered and the raising of staff awareness TfL expect a number of the changes in freight and servicing activity during the Games to have legacy benefits. Key areas are: a. Increased out of hours loading/unloading, thus reducing daytime congestion, managing efficiency along with potential air quality and cycle safety benefits;

31 b. Greater understanding by businesses of their supply chain and their ability to influence it, saving costs and increasing standards; c. Increased use of freight consolidation; and d. A better working relationship between the freight industry, TfL and the regulatory authority TfL has developed a legacy action plan in conjunction with the Games host boroughs which is soon to be published. This will ensure expected transport legacy benefits are monitored and realised following the Games. These include: a. Improving connectivity (including access to jobs, education, sport and health care) through enhanced Games infrastructure such as the DLR extension, Cable Car and Tube upgrades; b. Improving highway network reliability through schemes such as improvements to bus infrastructure; c. Improving the built environment through projects such as the expansion of Legible London mapping; and d. Increasing walking and cycling through schemes such as the Active Travel Programme and enhanced walking and cycling routes The benefits of legacy investment are already being realised by way of better transport options, particularly for people living in east London, and will in due course assist millions of people and support economic development for generations to come As well as the physical legacy, there are also the broader legacy benefits that will define the Games. These include the working practices and planning lessons learnt from transport operators working together holistically. The customer experience of a low carbon public transport Games can also reach out and persuade long term behavioural change, not just for sporting events but in day to day life. March 2012

32 Supplementary written evidence from the Olympic Delivery Authority (TOG 26a) Dear Louise At the oral evidence session on 23 May, as part of the committee s inquiry into transport preparations for the Olympic Games, there was an exchange between Paul Maynard and Robin Gisby (Q84) about ramp access at Hackney Wick station. In his answer, Robin agreed to provide further details. On looking into this issue, however, it is not relating to ramp access to and from the station itself as this already exists, but rather access to the Olympic Park from the station. Hackney Wick is a small station on the London Overground line that will not be used as a main Gateway Station for the Olympic Park. Spectators to the Olympic Park will have a smoother experience at Stratford Station, which has been specifically designed to cater to large spectator numbers as well as access requirements. Hackney Wick is located on the opposite side of the Olympic Park to the main spectator access at Stratford. Both Hackney Wick station and the surrounding infrastructure are not designed or able to handle the significant crowds expected at the Olympic Park during both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Olympic Delivery Authority contributed over 100m to a substantial upgrade of the London Overground line, and it is already heavily used. At Games-time, trains travelling on this line are likely to already be quite full when they reach Hackney Wick, and operators will be taking care not to overload trains. In addition, and importantly for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the resources to assist people with reduced mobility are focused at stations where there is space and capacity for the Olympic Park this is at Stratford, where we have significantly upgraded and reconfigured the station to cater for increased demand and greatly improved access. I hope this addresses your concerns, please contact me should you require any further information. Yours sincerely, Hugh Sumner Director of Transport Olympic Delivery Authority June 2012

33 Written evidence from the South & Western Transport Action Group (SAWTAG) (TOG 27) 1 This material is submitted to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Transport, as a means of ascertaining the truth of two particular matters concerning Olympics public transport that the Committee is currently investigating. 2 The Call for Evidence on Transport and the Olympics refers to the Olympics Delivery Authority (ODA) transport plans, including an overview of the proposed transport arrangements for the 2012 Olympic Games at Stratford. 3 The two matters highlighted, are the third and fifth (the last), of the five listed that the Transport Committee state they are particularly interested in. 4 Respectively, these are: The impact on public transport, including aviation, of increased demand during the Games; and Delivery of a following the Games. transport legacy 5 In brief summary the broad public transport impact derives from seven particular elements. These are: (i) Optimising 20 Railway track lanes between Central London, and the Olympics site at Stratford. All of these will be diligently compared with the inherent themes of Games Lanes, the Olympic Route Network (ORN); and both the delivery of present Legacy ; and the 1908 and 1948 London Olympics delivered legacies surviving. Furthermore, outstanding capacities of the 20 Railway track lanes identified, are extolled in the associated legacy delivery of further co ordinated capacity The Impact of Parliamentary Legislation 6 (ii) The consequent revision is vitally required of the Olympics Act 2006, the Crossrail Act 2008 and others including Energy Act 2008, and the Planning Act 2008, to accord with the overarching context of the Climate Change Act The latter aims to achieve 80% reductions in carbon dioxide emissions by The requirements will not be met except minimally at the margins by the ODA transport plans unfocussed ethos. Utilising World leading Turbines to achieve Statutory Climate Change Act exacting targets 7 (iii) This report now highlights that a world leading mechanism exists 1

34 to achieve the Climate Change Act 2008 statutory requirements. This is essentially achieved through installing La Rance Barrage, St Malo Brittany, France type low head double acting pump turbines. These lead the world and generate the cheapest electricity in France most virtuously, and cumulatively with the power being non carbon, non polluting, predictable and renewable. La Rance type low head turbines can utilise heads of water of 3 metres (10 feet). The question is put who would want more than this? 8 The installation of such excellent La Rance type turbines is forthwith advocated in five fluvial referenced A to E broad locations. 9 (A) In the Lower Lea Valley, particularly in the fivefold braided channels originally created for watermills around the environs of the Olympic site. Readers are thus asked to be aware of the historic generation of water power at Abbey Mills and the advocated true regeneration. 10 Furthermore 6,000 watermills are catalogued countrywide in King William the Conqueror s Domesday Survey of (B) In the Royal Docks curtilages the Thames Barrier will be held closed from (about) November to March. 12 Navigation will be diverted through the Royal Docks; via the west, middle and east locks. Turbines are to be installed in strategic locations in the Royal Docks curtilage. 13 (C) Lord Foster has recently forwarded a future Thames Estuary Airport at Hoo, Isle of Grain. This incorporates, as a major element, a Second Thames Barrier, to protect London against Climate Change induced future rises in sea levels. 14 It is specified as providing a cross Estuary road and rail routeway incorporating turbines. It is submitted that these must be of the world leading La Rance type, as required above. 15 (D) Further Thames Crossings, intended either by tunnel or bridge, are presently in their early stages of investigation by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London. It is submitted that these should be revised in the clear theme of this report, as barrage crossings of the Thames. 16 Specifically they are to be based on the La Rance Barrage configuration of joint road and rail crossings, with locks and sluices, and particularly with La Rance type turbines below the flood protection causeway. 17 The ethos of this report is that as many such installations as possible, are needed to try to make up for the Olympics Act 2006 severe deficiencies in the lack of legacy in countering Climate Change. 18 (E) Re create the 1200 to 1820/30 historical Old London Bridge. This ethos would include turbine(s) as logical updating, with lock(s) and a pedestrianised historical street. The original contained waterwheels to supply London with drinking water, before Thames pollution became a great danger to health. 19 If Old London Bridge had survived, today its outstanding features would be a key World Heritage Site, like Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster; and the Tower of London. Undergrounding 2

35 20 (iv) The principle of undergrounding previously overhead grid transmission lines, at Stratford Olympics site and its wider landscape setting is supported and welcomed. Readers are asked to refer to the related press notice and understand the transport of electric power is being dealt with. 21 There is much less visual intrusion at Stratford Olympics site, by virtue of this 200 millions well considered investment. Best Practice The Transport Committee is requested to view favourably further undergrounding, especially of integrated infrastructure, co ordinating power lines, rail transport, water and sewerage pipelines, and other utilities. 22 (v) This report invokes best practise at other recent Olympics, and requests the Transport Committee to view favourably three items. 23 One, draws on the experience of the Sydney, Australia, Millenniary Olympic Games of The new Chairman of Network Rail, Sir David Higgins, is Australian, and was involved in the broad arrangements there in He has appeared before the Transport Select Committee a year ago. 24 The main lesson for Stratford is that Sydney has double deck trains, that served the 2000 Olympics. Furthermore, they provide almost double the previous capacity, as a boon to crowded passengers. 25 The Transport Committee is requested to recommend a double deck enlargement rolling programme; that steadily upgrades and optimises the 20 Railway track lanes between Central London, and the 2012 Olympics site at Stratford. 26 This double deck enlargement rolling programme will be similar to the freight rolling programme enlarging routes to major ports for increased container sizes. 27 This has improved rail access to ports such as Southampton and Felixstowe, to allow 2.9 metres (9½ feet) larger container to continue to be transported by rail. 28 The Transport Committee is informed of two key factors involved in this. The first is that, if third or third/fourth rail electrification systems are utilised, then double deck stock can be accommodated more optimally, often within the loading gauge of existing infrastructure, than the expensive enlargements necessitated if overhead wiring (25 Kv) is used. 29 Thus, much less enlargement of bridges, tunnels and other structures is needed if third or third/fourth rail electrification systems are used. Furthermore the latter systems have eminent characteristics of efficiency, lesser weight and both use less power and permit regenerative braking; than the 25 Kv overhead wiring visually intrusive system. 30 The Brunel s Thames Tunnel of will be discussed later. Suffice it to say at this point; that I.K. Brunel was Engineer to the GWR in the first two decades of the Victorian epoch. In this capacity he built the GWR to meet the test of time with a very large loading gauge usually sufficient for double deck stock today. 3

36 31 Two, draws on the experience of the Beijing (Peking), China, Olympic Games of At the closing ceremony the UK presented a red double decker London bus, as an indicator of the next Games, when the Olympic flag was handed to London for the 2012 Olympics at Stratford. 32 So, there is an underlying theme of double deckers for Stratford. Beijing was much criticised for severe pollution, despite much traffic being banned for the duration of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 33 The operative anti pollution alleviatory measures, and congruence to the Climate Change Act 2008 are emphasised herewith. The latter Act is subject to the strictures of the Durban, South Africa, UN Climate Change Summit in December The situation is urgent and tackling it is doubly essential, given the threats of Middle East wars and historically high oil prices at 125 dollars per barrel at the time of writing. In history, the Olympics took place during a general peace, and despite continuing hopes this will in fact prevail, the recent Aldwych Tube exercise of February 2012 is a precaution. 35 Furthermore the forthcoming Rio de Janeiro mid 2012 UN Environment similar Summit, will be almost coincident with the London Olympics It is hoped that the Transport Committee will recommend an accumulation of commensurate measures, based on those virtuously propounded herewith, with Rio plus 20 in view, to alleviate Climate Change induced rises in sea levels, and extreme climatic events. Seemingly, with their heads in the sand, the DfT strangely still predicts that oil will be 60 dollars a barrel in the future; despite it being for long now almost double that. The Transport Select Committee is implored to urgently require these socalled predictions to be forthwith raised, in correction, so they are based on the real world. 36 Athens wished to host the millenniary 2000 Games, but was outbid by Sydney. It is a startling fact, but the Athens Olympics 2004 financing, has been cited by come correspondents as the origin of Greece s EU difficulties financially. 37 The point made for the Transport Select Committee s careful attention is that an austerity Olympics 2012 may be no bad thing. This is of course, with respect to the possible default of countries, the slippery slope in the general context of expensively overdoing things. This theme will be returned to later. Rail Public Transport, Aviation, and the Olympic Games 38 (vi) This item for the Select Committee highlights the statement that it is particularly interested in (as regards Transport and the Olympics)... the impact on public transport, including aviation, of increased demand during (and presumably immediately before and after) the Games. This theme is to be co ordinated carefully with the next but one criteria Delivery of a (road, rail, rivers Lea and Thames, water supply, communications; and requisite aviation sector, generally integrated and comprehensive) transport legacy following the Games. 39 In brief, due to time constraints, limited particular items will be highlighted herewith. Initially, readers attention is drawn to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution ( RCEP) published their report on Transport and the Environment of October There were several far reaching transport recommendations but time does not permit their reiteration, save Recommendation 109 on air versus rail. 40 The gist of Recommendation 109 was that rail was to be favoured over 4

37 short distance aviation, for domestic (not over water), and near European journeys. At the time of RCEP publishing this, the Channel Tunnel had just opened in mid Amazingly, France had simultaneously constructed a High Speed Rail Line from Paris to Calais. 41 In Britain, President Mitterand, the progenitor of the Channel Tunnel, travelling on its opening in 1994, pointed out: 'In Britain, one has time to admire the scenery, Eurostar travel speed in England from remained uncompetitive with air. 42 This was a result of English Eurostar Speeds until 2007, to Waterloo International Station in London, being less than half the 180 mph speeds achieved on France s 1994 High Speed Line. 43 A fleet of Sleeper Trains had been set in train to serve the provinces, extending from the channel Tunnel on its opening in However, when the Channel Tunnel was opened in June 1994 by the Queen and President Mitherand (the son of a Station Master); there was no High Speed Line to London, a general denigratory attitude (oil will last for ever); and, unbelievably, the Conservative Crossrail which formed the next link in the chain westwards was cancelled. 44 After a period of mothballing and hibernation, the Sleeper Trains were largely sold to Canada. However, there was a silver lining in this cross Atlantic situation. Canadian Pension Funds recently said more please, and purchased a long term interest in the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), opened 2007, for 2 billions. 45 Paris was also in competition for the Olympic Games in It is believed that London won narrowly by about in Singapore. Now Paris claimed it had far better integrated rail and air facilities, than London had then, or could be reasonably expected to set in train. Thus a direct comparison shows the French super advanced technology of high speed double deck trains TGV DUPLEX, are model examples for London to utilise extensively 46 Returning to the theme of paragraphs 25 to 30, previously where it was advocated that a rolling programme of double deck enlargement is to radiate from Stratford and High Speed One (HS 1), the sufficiently sized ex Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL). The latter obtained Statutory Authorisation by virtue of the Major Government s Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act TGV Duplex high speed trains were introduced in Paragraph 45. The Transport Select Committee is requested to set in train, a test of DUPLEX trains on HS 1 through Stratford. The German version of High Speed trains viz, ICE, has indeed been tested on HS 1 through Stratford. It is believed that the entry into service from Germany to London of the latter ICE trains, has been delayed to This is also the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo The main advantage of utilising Duplex trains is that they require only half the length of the extremely long Stratford and St Pancras International Stations platforms. If this theme is utilised for HS 2 and beyond, then existing stations will suffice. Construction costs will be greatly reduced in this manner. 49 News reports have highlighted that Stratford International Station lacks any direct International trains; and will be denied these indefinitely, even for the actual duration of the Olympics. It is a travesty that the expensive 200 millions Stratford International Station belies its name in contradiction. The Transport Select Committee is requested to 5

38 recommend that, at least, an adequate service of International trains serve Stratford for the duration of the Olympic Games. 50 This report discerns that the default pattern at Old Oak (south of Willesden) (HS 2) Station is likely to inflict similar Levels of non stop trains on Old Oak as at Stratford. Therefore the Transport Select Committee is requested to establish convenient cross platform interchange between HS 2 and rerouted Crossrail at Old Oak. Furthermore this crossplatform interchange must be closely linked with upgrading and convenient interchange on the existing 7 lines radiating from there, as is basically achieved at Stratford generally. New linked platforms are propounded as essential interchange, between the same dozen railway routes focussing on Old Oak, which it is suggested should be renamed ACTON WELLS. 51 The Transport Select Committee is further requested to ensure that Crossrail must obtain an overarching and multi purpose Crossrail 2 Act of Parliament. Besides providing a Chelsea to Hackney (near Stratford) route, the overall provision must facilitate Crossrail joint fast lines over and above the Crossrail Act 2008 slow lines for trains stopping at all stations. The route from Stratford for Crossrail 2 is Homerton, Dalston Junction, Shoreditch (as existing), New Tunnel to Cannon Street, existing track with slight variations to Charing Cross, thence New Tunnel to Oxford Circus and Paddington. As established in Paragraph 50 convenient cross platform interchange, at ACTON WELLS (ex Old Oak Common), is most essential for inclusion in the forthcoming Crossrail 2 + Act of Parliament. This is in order to facilitate the required key joint HS 2 and Crossrail re routed, one level across platform easy exchange of passengers. Furthermore the latter must be closely linked with convenient interchange on the existing 7 lines focus at ACTON WELLS, particularly by diligently re planning and revisiting the Crossrail Depot revisions of the Crossrail Act 2008 hereabouts, and including the relocation of the Heathrow Express Depot. 52 There are parallels in the Parliamentary progress of the Jubilee Line Extension Act 1991, (abridged here to JLE) the Channel Tunnel Rail Line Act 1996, and the East London Line Extensions procedures in the Transport and Works Act (TWA) context in the late 1990 s. 53 The three major railway projects above, in being planned in isolation, had significant interchange deficiencies, besides not forming adequate capacity networks. Salient examples of this are now outlined, especially concentrating on Stratford, as the focus of the Olympics 2012, near the Prime Meridian of Longitude. 54 The JLE of 1999 to Stratford encompasses 11 new stations, and 8 of these enjoy the radical change of double sliding doors, opening in unison, between station platform and train. This exceptional new technology will be discussed further later (in paragraph...) 55 However with not even one station of eleven 0%, the JLE did not represent progress, as regards cross platform interchange facilities. The Victoria Line of was the previous comparator. The Victoria Line encompasses 17 stations, and 5 of these are of cross platform interchange configuration. The latter line had the technological first of automatically driven tube trains. 56 The JLE had been diverted to serve the Millennium Dome at North Greenwich in Docklands. However, it was not possible for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link route to be changed, when Stratford was designated as the London Olympics 2012 site. 57 Four outstanding variations of vastly improving the Stratford Olympics rail situation continue to demand attention. 6

39 (A) Moving the JLE Stratford Station a short distance northwards; to form a bridge between the Network Rail station and the International Station adjoining the Olympics site. 58 (B) Revising the layout of connections while retaining the two cross platform interchanges at Stratford Network Rail Station. The westbound Central/Ilford and Romford cross platform interchange will remain unchanged. However, the existing eastbound such interchange will be reconnected to form a westbound DISTRICT (ex Epping to Mile End, with future capacity for double deck trains) to DLR or Crossrail interchange. 59 Eastbound Ilford and Romford trains will be accommodated on a new line and platform to the north. Similarly, DLR and/or Eastbound Crossrail access will be reconfigured. Lastly, Central eastbound trains will be moved northwards to new dedicated tracks, optimally located for inter change. 60 The principle invoked in the changes above is that the greatest use of interchange between the busiest lines is in the morning peak for journeys to work. In the evening peak there are not such great pressures. March

40 1. Background to Comments Written evidence from the Westcombe Society (TOG 28) 1.1. The Westcombe Society is a voluntary local amenity society, which aims to protect, preserve and promote the interests of the Westcombe Park community. It covers an area bounded by Greenwich Park, Blackheath, the A102 and the Greenwich railway line. During the Olympics, we believe the Westcombe Park area will be unique in that it is enclosed on all sides by designated ORN routes and there will also be serious disruption to services at both the area s railway stations (Maze Hill and Westcombe Park) Local residents are used to various events, such as marathons, severely restricting movement in and out of the area by car, and seriously disrupting local bus services. However, all these events occur at weekends, last no more than a few hours, and do not disrupt train services or pedestrian and cycle routes through Greenwich Park. During 2012, not only will there be severe disruption of all forms of transport over the actual period of the Olympics and Paralympics, but both the road through the park, (heavily used by rush hour traffic), and the locally important pedestrian and cycle routes through the Park, will be closed for a full two months from early July. 2. Transport Planning, Communication and Consultation General Points 2.1. Against this background, the handling of transport issues has been woefully inadequate: there has been no serious attempt to engage with the local community (contrasting sharply with constructive dialogue over activities actually within Greenwich Park) the whole process of transport planning seems to be way behind schedule there seems to have been no attempt to take an integrated view, looking at the combined impact of disruption to separate transport modes on particular localities 2.2. Overall there is no evidence that LOCOG is trying to strike a reasonable balance between the requirements of the Games and the need to enable local residents and businesses to carry on regular activities Greenwich Council has failed to properly establish the Olympic Transport Consultative Group, as required by the Greenwich Council Planning Board Decision of 23 March After three early meetings (at which the LOCOG representatives seemed relatively uninformed or were absent because of the test event) there have been no Transport meetings involving local representatives since July There has been no opportunity for local input to, or discussion of, local transport plans. There is now an urgent need for a meeting which brings together representatives of the Council and local amenity societies with train, bus and riverboat operators, and with those controlling pedestrian and cycle routes, to produce a detailed and fully coordinated traffic management plan which takes due account of the interests/needs of local residents and businesses All transport arrangements need to be underpinned by an integrated transport communication strategy to ensure that all local residents and businesses know who has overall responsibility, are made fully aware of what is planned, and are able to make their views known to the relevant authorities. 3. Summary of Recommendations for Action the Westcombe Society would like implemented Transport Consultative Group: Reconvene the Olympic Transport Consultative Group, as originally required by the Greenwich Planning Board, to ensure full and transparent consultation with the local amenity organisations so as to take proper account of local circumstances and needs and especially to determine the most effective detailed implementation of the following: Cycle and pedestrian routes: Maintain existing routes for as long as possible, and specify safe alternatives for when they have to close Disabled, medical and care needs:

41 Establish procedures through which disabled people, residents with medical appointments and carers attending local residents can obtain help and advice when transport disruption makes normal journeys impossible Provide disabled access from Maze Hill to the Kent bound down platform at Maze Hill station Local congestion during closure of road through Park: Establish measures to mitigate unacceptable levels of local congestion during 2 month closure of Charlton Way, Blackheath Avenue and The Avenue Trains: Require South Eastern trains to provide a better level of service during the Olympics to Maze Hill and Westcombe Park stations at least on non Event days. On days where the service is cut compensate passengers by charging lower fares for all passengers (not just Season ticket holders) and arrange for all tickets/oyster to be used on the river boat services at no greater cost than the cost of a travelling by train Bus priority: Implement additional bus priority measures during Games so that the promised service enhancements are effective Parking: Establish clear proposals for how parking restrictions will function during the Olympic period. 4. Detailed Analysis of Issues relating Recommendations for Action 4.1 Pedestrians and Cyclists: The closure of routes through Greenwich Park and along Charlton Way and the northern section of Duke Humphrey Road during much of the construction period as well as during the Games, raises potential hazards, as well as serious inconvenience, for local cyclists and pedestrians. Greenwich Park is the most direct, safe, and well used pedestrian and cycle route between Westcombe Park and Greenwich, and also provides a safe route between Westcombe Park and Blackheath and between Greenwich and Blackheath. Many of the pedestrians and cyclists are school children, especially at peak hours If the claim that the London 2012 Olympics will be THE GREENEST GAMES is to have any credibility, then it must apply equally to non Games journeys which are displaced by the Games. Thus closure periods of normal pedestrian and cycle routes, both inside and outside the Greenwich Park, should be kept to a minimum, and safe diversions should be specified. To date no diversions have been planned, nor is it clear exactly when routes through the Park will be closed. 4.2 Accessibility Issues: Greenwich Council Planning Board was assured in p. 143 of the March 2010 agenda paper that additional rail infrastructure was being provided by ODA to permit disabled access to Maze Hill Station for disabled spectators unable to use the footbridge. However, no such infrastructure is planned. We therefore fully support the submission from Lawrence Smith that disabled access to the departure platform for passengers travelling towards Woolwich and North Kent should be provided Even though previous periods of severely restricted access to the area (e.g. during marathons) have been of very much shorter duration than the Games, we are aware of a number of cases where carers have been unable to visit, or where disabled people have been unable to make crucial journeys. We therefore need procedures to safeguard such vital journeys, including for routine medical appointments. Much can no doubt be arranged in advance, but (since it is inevitable that many of those involved will not foresee the full consequences of transport disruption) there must also be means of responding to problems as they arise, including widely advertised contact phone numbers for those needing assistance. 4.3 Roads Maze Hill and Prince Charles Road (North of Shooters Hill Road): The Westcombe Society is concerned about the significant impact that the closure of Charlton way, Blackheath Avenue and The Avenue during peak hours and over a full two month period

42 will have on traffic levels on Maze Hill and the northern part of Prince Charles Road. This was clearly seen during the Olympic test event when congestion reached unacceptable levels with tailbacks on Maze Hill reaching Highmore Road in both directions well into the morning. This was reported upon as part of the consultation on the ORN and has been repeated in comments on subsequent transport issues. We feel improvements could be made in the northern part of Maze Hill by changing the phasing of lights at the junction of Maze Hill with Trafalgar Road. However, this is dependent on free flowing traffic in Trafalgar Road, which may need other traffic lights to be re phrased, in particular those on Trafalgar Road to the west of Maze Hill Improvement to the tailback at the southern end of Maze Hill could be achieved by re phasing of the lights at the junction of Maze Hill with Prince Charles Road to that which operated before the control box was replaced after a car collided with it a number of years ago. The current phasing (a green light for Charlton Way, both directions, followed by the green light for southbound traffic from Maze Hill, followed by the green light for northbound traffic from Prince Charles Road), causes tailbacks when southbound buses discharge and load passengers in Prince Charles Road. Changing the phasing back to the phasing in place before the accident (a green light for Charlton Way followed by the green light for northbound traffic from Prince Charles Road, before giving the green light to southbound traffic from Maze Hill), would largely eliminate the tailbacks making the removal of the bus stop unnecessary However, it is also essential that any local modifications are complemented by an urgent and concerted effort to persuade commuters, over a very wide area, to avoid the whole area around Greenwich Park, not just for the Games but for the whole 2 month period whilst the Avenue is closed. This should combine effective communication prior to the closure with changes in traffic priorities at earlier points in their inward journey. 4.4 Trains and Buses: There has been minimal direct contact with SE Trains which proposes to impose partial station closures at Maze Hill station and significant service reductions at Westcombe Park without due regard to the adverse impact on Westcombe Park area residents and businesses. There has been no response from SE Trains as to why the Westcombe Park area has been singled out for such drastic cuts in service despite other transport options being severely restricted. Nor has there been any explanation as to why the decisions on rail services were taken in complete isolation, and not as part of a wider transport plan for the area. No compensation has been proposed for passengers who will be inconvenienced by cuts to services We welcome the increase in bus service schedules shown by TfL in Temporary changes to bus services for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, we are concerned that there has been no local consultation about but timetables and that no modelling appears to have been done as to the likely performance of services given expected traffic conditions during the Games, nor has there been any indication of additional bus priority measures. At the very least we would expect a general rule (albeit with occasional exceptions) giving buses maximum priority on the ORN Games Lanes. 4.5 Parking In principle, we welcome the commitment to increased parking controls on Event Days, especially to those bays that are currently free, however, we feel the proposals for parking restrictions are unclear and contradictory. The proposals outlined in the recently distributed Greenwich One Transport Draft v1.1 are unclear. Detailed plans which are clearly understood by local residents urgently need to be produced. The current proposals are ambiguous as to how the CPZs will be enforced, how residents guests are to be accommodated, what is proposed for the currently Free bays in the Westcombe Park CPZ, and what is proposed for those residents who do not currently have permits e.g. those whose properties are in areas with Free bays. March 2012

43 Written evidence from Lawrence Smith (TOG 29) Disabled access at Maze Hill Station as an Olympic Legacy for the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site 1. Executive Summary Detail 1.1. The Royal Borough of Greenwich is committed to ensuring convenient and safe access for disabled spectators to the Olympic Equestrian Events, including access from Maze Hill Station Network Rail, Southeastern Trains and the Olympic Delivery Authority have undertaken to provide the necessary infrastructure at Maze Hill Station to achieve this, but the current plans make no such provision, and disabled visitors using Platform 2 at Maze Hill Station must negotiate a 51 step footbridge, which is clearly impracticable A gently sloping ramp from the roadway to platform 2 and, optimally, a pedestrian walkway alongside the Maze Hill bridge (comparable to the existing walkway at the equally narrow road bridge in Vanbrugh Hill), is the infrastructure required to provide the necessary access. The walkway over the track would avoid the narrow pavement on Maze Hill bridge and enable pedestrians and wheelchair users to reach the Olympic venue safely There is still time to make the changes, at modest cost (none of the other proposed infrastructure such as stepped footbridges over Romney Road and the A2, or inclined ramps over the Ha Ha by the Queens House has yet been started). The ramp and walkway would be a permanent legacy for visitors to the internationally important Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site which is currently inaccessible to disabled visitors arriving from London at the designated rail station After a structural failure threatening the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the Indian Army constructed similar infrastructure in four days flat at far lower cost than the original. No cost of removal the proposed infrastructure (unlike the other elements) would be incurred if it were left as a permanent legacy for visitors to what is a key world, national and local tourist destination currently inaccessible to disabled visitors from the designated Maze Hill rail station less than 200 yards away. 2. Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site 2.1. Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site is a major visitor attraction. It contains glorious architecture such as Inigo Jones The Queens House; the Painted Hall and Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College; the Cutty Sark, Ranger s House; and Vanbrugh Castle, as well as the church of St Alphege, the millennium of whose martyrdom in 1012 is being commemorated this year. It contains world class museums in the Royal Museums, as well as world class collections in the Fan Museum and the Wernher Collection in Ranger s House. It houses the Meridian Line from which there are spectacular views of London and its river The principal rail station for the World Heritage Site is Maze Hill Station, less than 200 yards from Greenwich Park. There are trains every ten minutes from London Bridge station which whisk visitors to the site in an average time of 13 minutes. Maze Hill Station provides stepfree access from Platform 1 to reach to the World Heritage Site and Olympic venue. But disabled visitors using Platform 2 must negotiate a 51 step footbridge which is clearly impracticable. 3. The Olympic Equestrian Events 3.1. Because of its iconic status and its inherent beauty, as well as its proximity to the Olympic Village, Greenwich Park was designated the venue of choice for the 2012 Olympic Equestrian Events. As part of the Planning Process, the Royal Borough of Greenwich committed itself to ensuring convenient and safe access for disabled spectators... as part of a planning condition 1. That commitment expressly included clearly defined spectator 1 See 2010 Planning Board report p143

44 walking routes (including for those who are less able) will be established well in advance including from Maze Hill Station The commitment was based on assurances the Royal Borough had received from Network Rail, Southeastern Trains and the ODA, as stated in the 2010 report, viz: Network Rail and South Eastern Trains, who operate Blackheath and Maze Hill stations, have plans to improve these stations. As an interested party/stakeholder London 2012 will be working with these bodies to explore opportunities to deliver the needed improvements. It is important to note that the Council are confident that effective transport operations for the Events at Greenwich can be delivered by the existing and additional rail infrastructure (being provided by the ODA) 3 4. Maze Hill Station 4.1. Maze Hill station is located on a section of track between two narrow road bridges in Maze Hill and Vanbrugh Hill. Because the pavements over the bridge are so narrow, a parallel segregated walkway has been in place in Vanbrugh Hill for many years for the safety of pedestrians. 5. Proposed Additional Infrastructure 5.1. There is no walkway for the Maze Hill Bridge comparable to the one at the Vanbrugh Hill bridge, notwithstanding the narrow pavements or the fact that a) Maze Hill has been designated part of the Alternate Olympic Route Network, and b) LOCOG proposes that it forms part of the Last Mile route between Maze Hill Station and the Olympic venue For the safety of spectators using the proposed Last Mile route (see Appendix) it seems very desirable to provide a pedestrian walkway on the Maze Hill Bridge. This would enable spectators to cross Maze Hill at a much safer location than currently proposed, to a much wider pavement capable of accommodating bunching of spectators and wheelchair users Provision of a segregated walkway would also enable disabled and other spectators arriving at Platform 1 of Maze Hill Station to use the step free incline on the southern side of the station, cross the railway using the segregated walkway rather than a narrow pavement on the road bridge itself, and cross the road to a wide pavement further from the blind bend in Maze Hill There is currently no step free access for disabled and others spectators using Platform 2 on the northern side of the station comparable to the existing step free access from Platform 1 on the southern side of the station. But the latest application for approval of the Last Mile route from the venue to Maze Hill station still makes no provision for disabled spectators, despite the commitment of Network Rail and South Eastern Trains, together with the Olympic Delivery Authority, to do so There has been continuing delay in submitting proposals for the infrastructure required to enable the Royal Borough of Greenwich to honour its commitment to ensure convenient and safe access for disabled spectators to the venue, including from Maze Hill Station, as part of the planning process. The delay is reducing the time available for consideration and approval of a safe Last Mile route between the venue and the nearest rail station at Maze Hill. The infrastructure this document proposes is shown diagrammatically below: 2 See 2010 Planning Board report p136 3 See 2010 Planning Board report p143

45 Proposed New Infrastructure 5.6. When a bridge collapsed, putting the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi in Jeopardy, the Indian army installed a replacement in four days flat at a far lower cost than the original. It would be equally straightforward to install a gently sloping ramp to Platform 2 paralleling the existing gentle incline to Platform 1. This would provide access to disabled users, parents with pushchairs and others unable use the existing 51 Step footbridge between the platforms, as well as a safer Last Mile route to the venue from either platform. 6. Olympic Legacy 6.1. The proposed new infrastructure would not only enable the Royal Borough of Greenwich to honour its commitment to ensure convenient and safe access for disabled spectators to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian events, but would provide a permanent Olympic legacy for visitors to the World Heritage Site and its Royal attractions (See Appendix). Unlike the pedestrian (stepped) bridges to be built across the A2 and Romney Road, and the inclined ramps to be installed over the Ha Ha at the Queens House, which will all be removed after the Games (at additional cost), there would be no expense required to remove these improvements, which could remain a permanent legacy of the Games Greenwich Park was chosen because the Olympic and Paralympic Games greatly benefited from the use of such an iconic location (at considerable inconvenience to the local community). It seems the least that the ODA could do is to upgrade the station infrastructure as a small gesture of thanks for this great privilege. It would be at relatively low cost and would benefit future generations of visitors to the World Heritage Site when it is restored to full public use. It would also be a legacy for the local community and the Royal borough in this Jubilee year. 7. Recommendation 7.1. The Select Committee is requested to support the provision of a ramp from Platform 2 to the road, and walkway alongside the road bridge, at Maze Hill station to provide safe and convenient access for all visitors, including the disabled, as an Olympic legacy for the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. March 2012