Huge surge in Tube journeys as people pay their respects to the Queen

Charing Cross, Green Park and Hyde Park Corner all see a huge spike in journeys as lying in state begins
William Mata15 September 2022

Nearly 115,000 more Tube journeys were made to or from eight stations in the centre of the capital on Wednesday compared with the same day last week.

Transport for London has said 696,468 entries and exits were recorded at Charing Cross, Green Park, Hyde Park Corner, London Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, St James's Park, Victoria and Westminster stations.

That was up 20 per cent on the total of 581,740 on the previous week.

The operator has been warning passengers about high usage in central stations - with hundreds of thousands coming to the capital to pay respects to the Queen.

The Coffin Carrying Queen Elizabeth II Is Transferred From Buckingham Palace To The Palace Of Westminster
The Queen’s coffin lies in state in Westminster Hall
Getty Images

On Thursday, a queue of mourners waiting to say a final farewell to Elizabeth II stretched 3.5miles from Westminster Hall to Tower Bridge.

Transport for London reported earlier this yearrevenues were down with passenger numbers still not having recovered from what they were before the pandemic.

On Thursday, TfL tweeted: “We're working with our partners to keep London moving and ensure everyone can travel safely during this period of mourning.

“Visit our travel advice webpage for more info and use our travel tools to check your journey before you travel.”

Among the thousands coming to London to pay respects include Andrew Halas, who has been queuing since 6am, but said it had been "a marvellous experience".

The-70-year-old said: "I'm not really a royalist, but I felt I had to come and pay my respects to a really good person."

He added: "I haven't seen the Queen or been with the Queen in any shape or form, but I just feel that somehow, indelibly, she has made a connection with people of my generation.

"It's kind of like closure, because she's, I think, an incredible human being. The whole world knows about the Queen."

John Loughrey is one of a small number of royal well-wishers camping on The Mall for the full 10 days of mourning for the Queen.

The 67-year-old said the experience of camping outside Buckingham Palace in the cold and rain is beginning to take its toll on himself and his friend, Maria Scott, 51.

"We came down immediately and have never gone back - I've forgotten what a bed is like," he said.

"We're lacking food and water at the moment. It's amazing that we are still standing. We are getting three hours of sleep every night."

He said the conditions on Tuesday night, the evening when the Queen's body was returned to London, were particularly tough.

"My tent was soaking wet, my socks were soaking wet... my sleeping bag. It was absolutely flooded. We were soaked to the skin.

"I then said to myself 'John, get yourself together - we're here for Her Majesty to show her respect'."

Mr Loughrey, from south London, said that adding a statue of the Queen to Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth would be a fitting memorial.

"She was the mother of the nation and the mother of the world. She deserves it."

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