Rail and traffic delays ahead of Olympics

Date: 23/7/2012

Days before the start of the Olympic Games the capital has been struck with a number of delays on both the Tube and traffic routes into the city.

Lanes were closed on the A12, A13 and A40, leaving queues of up to two hours, as measures came into force ready for the Games.

A total of 120 key junctions have been changed and 1,000 traffic lights rephrased in order to aid the transportation of athletes and officials during the event.

The disruption today was compounded by the fact that the Olympic torch was also in town, but the full Olympic Route Network does not come into force until Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Transport for London had warned: "Several major routes into London will be exceptionally busy on Monday morning as the capital continues its transformation into a huge sporting and cultural venue."

Central London also saw delays with Whitehall, Shaftesbury Avenue and Trafalgar Square particularly effected and the Mall will be closed throughout the entirety of the Games.

Any driver who breaches the regulations surrounding the special Olympic lanes will face a fine of £130.

Meanwhile those travelling by Tube also saw delays with parts of the Central Line suspended and the Jubilee Line running very slowly.

A combination of factors led to the delays including a passenger on the line, faulty platform edge doors and a signalling failure which cannot be blamed on the Olympics.

Both Transport for London and the government have been encouraging people to work from home wherever possible during the Games or seek alternative methods of transport such as bikes.

This is due to the extra pressure which will be put on infrastructure as an increased number of people try to navigate around the city.

Employers are also being asked to be lenient with staff and allow them to travel into work at non-peak times to help ease the situation.

The Olympic Games start on Friday when those people travelling in London will have to adapt their journeys accordingly.