Olympic Transport

This morning's transport committee  heard evidence from TfL and the railway companies. The subject was the transport legacy resulting from the Olympics. Obviously a £7 billion capital spend has left valuable infrastructure but we were even more interested to hear if lessons had been learned and procedures improved.

The Javelin Service from St Pancras to Stratford was still running, without the distinctive name and incorporated into commuter routes serving Kent and the South East. Six trains per hour stop at Stratford International and the demand will be kept under review as Olympic venues reopen and residential sites are developed.

Eurostar is more of a disappointment, with the trains flying through the station without stopping. Furthermore there are no plans to introduce a Eurostar service. Darren Johnson felt that the name 'Stratford International' was fraudulent as no international services were available. Perhaps the station should change its name - 'Stratford Westfield' would create a sponsorship opportunity...

Maintenance had also improved, with Network Rail using a helicopter to identify faults along the main line. This has proved so successful that a second helicopter is on order and engineering work is being targeted to reduce disruption.

Opportunities to move goods trains outside the capital are also being sought. A surprising 28% of goods traffic passes through Stratford on route from the East Coast ports. More of this is being sent via Felixstowe and Nuneaton, leaving spare slots to run more commuter trains into Liverpool Street.