Transport
The Park will come to be one of the best-connected and most accessible places in Europe, with excellent rail, tube and bus services, complemented by a network of safe and friendly walkways, cyclepaths and waterways. There will be direct connections to a third of London's rail and underground stations, due to extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and improvements to the Jubilee Line.
Throughout the area we will be working to reduce reliance on cars by promoting greener alternatives. Where possible we will favour more sustainable modes of transport, such as walking, cycling and public transport, with neighbourhoods designed to be accessible and safe for pedestrians.
However, all areas of the Park will still be accessible by vehicle, and the main routes through the Park will be properly maintained.
Long before the Olympic bid was won, Stratford station was a busy east London interchange. Now it's also the gateway station to the Olympic Park and the main transport hub for the Games, not to mention the home of the largest urban shopping mall in Europe - Westfield Stratford City.
By 2012 there will be a total of ten public transport lines feeding into Stratford station, after the Games this will increase to eleven. This means that a train can arrive at the station every 15 seconds. By 2016, it's estimated that the number of passengers using Stratford station each morning will reach 83,000.
Passengers are already benefiting from the work at Stratford to make it more accessible and easy to use. Many improvements will be finished by the end of 2010, providing a better station well before the Games.
Down the road from Stratford station, the Dockland Light Railway extension will connect Stratford International station directly to the London public transport network and also serve the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, providing a high-speed international connection to St. Pancras and Eurostar. The extension will also create a permanent link to Stratford station and become a key part of the public transport network for the Games and beyond.
We're committed to making the Park accessible for local people and visitors in the most sustainable ways possible. We will aim, alongside our partners, to enable and encourage the following:
- a reduction in dependence on cars by carefully designing the use of the land and planning transport routes and connections
- creating safe and accessible neighbourhoods that encourage walking and cycling
- environmentally-friendly travel by promoting cycle routes, bike hire schemes and secure cycle storage
- linking key destinations with a prioritised bus loop
- making more of the rivers and canals and their pathways and towpaths
- ensuring accessibility for all across all transport types where possible
London 2012 hopes to be the greenest Games ever. As part if this organisers aim to get everyone to the Games by public transport, walking or cycling. See how existing transport is being improved and what new links are planned across London and the UK. Visit the Transport section on the London 2012 website.
