Complete guide to travel disruptions across London today during the …
coronation article top embed[1]
Millions of people are expected to flock to London and Windsor this weekend to celebrate King Charles’s Coronation today. [2] But wellwishers have been advised to plan ahead as road closures, bus diversions and changes to rail timetables risk causing travel chaos for many. Here, The Telegraph outlines everything you need to know before making a journey into the capital.
Road closures in the capital
Those looking to get to London to witness the King’s Coronation have been warned against trying to access the centre of London by car.
Transport for London (TfL) has advised anyone trying to secure a spot along the procession route to use public transport, with all services running as normal. There will be a number of roads closed throughout central London, with an area in Westminster along the River Thames cordoned off to road traffic. An area stretching from Vauxhall Bridge to as far as Southwark Bridge will be closed, along with an area from the river to Hyde Park.
Meanwhile, a large section around Waterloo on the southside of the river will also be closed.
King Charles III Coronation: Road closures during the Coronation[3]
Concerns have been raised about the parking situation along the procession route, as Westminster City Council traffic wardens have announced they will strike on the day of the Coronation[4]. Motoring groups have predicted that most people will avoid London across the weekend, but there are likely to be traffic pinchpoints elsewhere. The RAC said it expected particularly high levels of traffic around Windsor, reaching a peak for the Coronation concert[5] on the Sunday.
Rod Dennis, an RAC spokesman, said: “While Saturday in central London will be a ‘no-go’ area for drivers, on Sunday the focus shifts to Windsor’s Coronation concert. “We expect an increase in traffic on routes in and around the town, especially the M4, A4 and A308. We advise drivers to plan ahead carefully and expect long delays.”
Royal fans have already started waiting on The Mall near Buckingham PalaceCredit: Henry Nicholls/Reuters
The AA warned that roads around rail stations could be busier than usual on the day of and days leading up to the Coronation, as people look to get the train into the capital.
The RAC and traffic data experts Inrix have estimated that the Coronation bank holiday will see a spike in road traffic, with an extra two million cars on the roads. In a bid to ease congestion across the country’s motorways, National Highways is lifting 700 miles of roadworks specifically for the Coronation weekend. This will mean 96 per cent of the whole motorway network will be free from any works.
National Highways warned that routes heading towards London, such as the M40, M1 and M4, are expected to be busy. However, it noted that 11 miles of roadworks on the M1 around Hemel Hempstead and Dunstable will be removed in time for the weekend. It also said that 12.5 miles of roadworks will also be removed from the M11 around Cambridge and Harlow.
Coronation Shop Puff (in Article use)[6]
How will national trains be affected?
Instead of laying on hundreds of extra services, rail firms are planning to run additional carriages to cope with demand.
Bosses have concluded that because people will travel to London or Windsor for several days rather than embark on day-trips, the peaks in demand[7] experienced before and after Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral will not be repeated. Nevertheless, trains are expected to be busy with train operators already planning queuing systems. Some additional services will also be laid on.
Great Western Railway is planning to run extra trains in the early morning of May 6 into London Paddington from south Wales, south-west England and the Thames Valley. It will also put on an enhanced service running between Slough and Windsor.
South Western Railway will run additional services between Windsor and Eton Riverside and Waterloo. It will also continue to run services back into London in the early hours of Monday morning.
All railworks between London and Windsor have been halted. Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Gatwick Express, Southern, and Thameslink, has also said it will run “more carriages than normal” on some of its services.
How will the London Underground be impacted?
The entire London Underground network, including night services, will run as normal across the weekend. St James’ Park tube station will be the only station closed on Saturday, while Hyde Park Corner will be exit-only for travellers.
However, there may be temporary closures at stations depending on traveller numbers. TfL has warned that Westminster, Green Park, Charing Cross, Embankment, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Temple and Marble Arch stations, will be particularly busy.
Short-term safety measures will be put in place at particularly busy stations, which include queuing, closures, non-stopping trains or changes to the way people enter or exit a station. To give the tube network a Coronation twist, a number of train stations will see their signs topped with “Crowndels”, bearing a likeness to the St Edward’s Crown[8].
Rail passengers will also be greeted by the King warning them to “mind the gap”[9], with recordings of the King and Queen set to be played at train and Tube stops. The special messages, which will run from Friday until Monday, will include the King saying: “My wife and I wish you and your families a wonderful Coronation Weekend[10].” You can read all of the up-to-date tube and TfL information here[11].
Will flights run as usual?
Heathrow Airport is facing a second round of strikes by security staff[12], who are set to walk out on Coronation day and the days leading up to it.
Around 1,400 security staff working at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 will take action, with the airport looking to implement contingency plans. Last month, during the first wave of strikes, British Airways was forced to cancel hundreds of flights[13] ahead of time. Heathrow also called on airlines to limit sales to help them cope with the high numbers of Easter travellers.
Heathrow security staff holding a strike outside the airport in MarchCredit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
However, Heathrow believes this will not happen again. “Passengers can expect to travel as normal during the Coronation and half-term peaks, regardless of further unnecessary strike action by Unite,” it said.
No other airports have revealed changes to operations before or during the Coronation weekend. Over recent months, there have been continuous strikes by French air traffic control staff[14], which has led to widespread cancellations from UK airline operators. As of yet, there are no strikes planned for the Coronation weekend.
Unlike Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, when 100 commercial flights were cancelled due to restrictions before and after the two-minute silence, there will be no similar restrictions for the Coronation.
However, there will be some flying restrictions for light aircraft and drones travelling[15] below certain heights to make way for the Coronation fly-past travelling over central London.
King’s Coronation – flypast route[16]
Will London buses be re-routed?
TfL has advised that some of the bus routes travelling through or near the Coronation route will be diverted.
It said that diversions will mainly impact routes travelling in the Westminster area, but advised travellers to check its bus updates page[17] for the latest news.
References
- ^ coronation article top embed (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ celebrate King Charles’s Coronation today. (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ King Charles III Coronation: Road closures during the Coronation (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ strike on the day of the Coronation (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ the Coronation concert (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Coronation Shop Puff (in Article use) (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ peaks in demand (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ bearing a likeness to the St Edward’s Crown (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ King warning them to “mind the gap” (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Coronation Weekend (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ here (tfl.gov.uk)
- ^ second round of strikes by security staff (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ British Airways was forced to cancel hundreds of flights (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ continuous strikes by French air traffic control staff (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ be some flying restrictions for light aircraft and drones travelling (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ King (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ bus updates page (tfl.gov.uk)