Queen’s funeral: Westminster, St James’s Park and Hyde Park Corner tube stations closed on Monday
Three key London tube stations will be closed on Monday to prevent overcrowding ahead of the Queen’s state funeral.
Westminster, St James’s Park and Hyde Park Corner tube stations will remain shut for most of Monday morning up to one million people are expected to flock into central London for the unprecedented event.
Transport for London (TfL) announced on Friday that services at the tube stations will reopen following the state funeral at Westminster Abbey to help people leave the area.
“It is going to be extremely busy in London on Monday and there may be short notice changes and queues to enter stations as a result of the large number of people travelling,” said TfL commissioner Andy Byford.
“We will be running a safe, reliable and frequent service to help ensure that everyone can travel home safely after paying their respects.”
Green Park will remain exit only between 10am to 8pm, while many bus routes into central London will be diverted, amid major road closures in the area.
TfL announced yesterday that most tube lines will remain open – either in their entirety or partially – for an extra hour on Monday night to cater to the huge volume of people.
Byford told City PM recently that this week of mourning will be a bigger challenge for TfL than the 2012 Olympics.
We had the Olympics in 2012, but I actually think this is harder than the Olympics,” Byford said.
“With a sporting event you know where people are going, and you know how many people are going. With an event like this, there are more unknowns.”