"It will be business as unusual," said the Mayor of London today after joining Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, Culture and Olympics Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Dennis Hone, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, on the first test run of the Docklands Light Railway link from Stratford International to the Stratford 'Gateway' station.

"People shouldn't expect their journeys to be run-of-the-mill during the Olympics.

"If you are going eastbound on the Jubilee Line during the Games you have to realise that it will be a different experience.

"But it doesn't mean people have to leave the city."

This morning's outing, which was also shared by media and guests, replicated the separate routes that many spectators will take when they travel to the Olympic Park in 2012.

The first part of the journey, from St Pancras International to Stratford International was aboard one of the High Speed Southeastern trains which will operate the Javelin service during the Games.

There followed the first trip on the new DLR extension - due to open to the public later this summer - which provides a link into Stratford as well as a key link between Stratford and other Olympic venues at the ExCel Exhibition Centre and Woolwich Arsenal.

The Culture and Olympics Secretary took up the theme of Londoners needing to be flexible during the Games.

"I think we are getting ready for the Games, but there is still a lot more to do," Hunt said.

"We are very confident that transport in London will be resilient during the Games, but businesses in the capital will need to change the way they operate.

"A lot of businesses in Canary Wharf, for example, are going to ask people to work from home during the period of the Games.

"I think changing work patterns is one of the prices to be paid to make the best possible use of our transport facilities during that time."

Speaking at a press conference in the new Northern Ticket Hall that will link Stratford Station to Westfield Stratford City when it opens in September, Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, recalled the pledge he had made when bidding for the Games in Singapore in 2005:


"We said we would use these Games to make substantial changes to the lives of people, not just in the capital, but the whole country, I can't think of a better and more discernible legacy than where we are standing today."

Hone added: "This is a very important milestone for us as it means the main part of our transport infrastructure is now in place, a year ahead of the Games.

"Seventy five per cent of spectators on their way to the Olympic Park will come through Stratford, which has tripled in capacity.

"Passengers are already benefiting from that.

"We are in good shape to provide the Public Transport Games."

The Transport Secretary recalled how, when London first won the right to stage the Games, "people had said London wouldn't get it right on time, and wouldn't be able to fix things like transport."

He added: "All parties have worked together to make sure we have these huge improvements a year ahead of the Games.

"Now we have to work at changing our behavioural patterns and to show we can manage every day the travelling of Londoners alongside the needs of the thousands of visitors who will be here for the Olympics."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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