Hundreds of people step onto carriages of a Central line train as I walk towards the end of the platform, looking at each one as I pass. People cram themselves in hurriedly before the doors close. That’s the regular scene I pass during my journey to work from Liverpool Street station… the London Olympic Games are just over a week away as I write this.
“I can’t wait for the games,” “Looking really forward to the Olympics”, “It’s going to be so exciting being in London”- these are just few of the comments I’ve heard about the London Olympic Games 2012 set to open on Friday 27 July. Yes, it will be an historical event and maybe even turn out better than expected, yet in all honesty, one begs to differ. As the games prepare to begin the organisation or more so the disorganisation is quite concerning: travelling via tube is an experience in itself however the issues continue to grow.
From the extensive overcrowding to the minimal step-free access, it’s hard to imagine how London and its public transport services are to cope with 3.5 million passengers a day plus the extremely high number of people expected to fly in from all over the world for the games. Only 64 stations have step-free access out of a total 270 underground stations in use; not exactly suitable for the Paralympic Games, is it? It is disappointing that London, being one of the top 10 cities in the world, may struggle to keep things running smoothly throughout the games.
It was only back in May this year that almost 800 passengers were stuck on a Jubilee line train for TWO hours and then evacuated after another train broke down. Is there any guarantee this will not happen during the games? Should there be, how is going to be dealt with? Earlier this week a bus carrying US olympic athletes went through a FOUR hour journey to their village that should have only taken 45 minutes.. It’s totally disheartening.
“Wi-Fi now available at this station” read the poster on as I walked through the barriers at Liverpool Street station. “Stand back Wi-Fi approaching” read another as I reached the escalators… What an earth am I going to with Wi-Fi when I am fainting? No air conditioning or cooling ventilation which is of affect is installed on any public transport in London. I hope that my views are proved wrong and that the people of London will be spoken of with pride around the world… We’ll just have to wait and see.