Night trains and extra services put on for crowds to attend Queen's Lying in State

Crowds queue outside Buckingham Palace following the Queen's death. Credit: PA

Travel operators are scheduling night trains and extra services to cope with the demand of thousands of people travelling to London to pay their respects to the Queen.

Rail companies say they will do their best to aid those wanting to travel to London during the period of national mourning, following the monarch's death last Thursday.

Major operators have released information on the extra services they plan to put on to ensure there is enough provision for mourners hoping to get into central London.

Network Rail

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “Where possible, we will be running some extra services, including a very limited service operating through the night on some routes."

Planned engineering work will also be cancelled to to allow a larger volume of trains in and out of the capital

People queue to pay their respects as the Queen lies at rest at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. Credit: PA

It's anticipated that a large proportion of travellers will also head for London to take part in commemorations leading up to the Queen's funeral on Monday.

There were long queues leading to St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh to see the Queen Lying at Rest with an estimated 26,000 already said to have filed past the coffin.

Those arriving in London to attend the Queen's Lying-in-State are asked to check the many rules in force and also the weather forecast for the week ahead.

The Queen unveils a plaque to mark the Elizabeth line's opening at London's Paddington station in May 2022 Credit: PA

Transport for London

Transport for London (TfL) has warned passengers should be wary of short-notice temporary Tube station closures.

TfL has also asked people to consider walking to their final destinations in London, especially around the Buckingham Palace area with Green Park set to be particularly busy.

Normal service will run on the London Underground with extra trains running on the Elizabeth Line on Sunday, 18 September from Paddington to Abbey Wood.

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast will also be running additional services on their Manchester to London route this week.

A spokesperson said: "We want to ensure that everyone who wants to travel on our trains to pay their respects can do so."

It plans to run eight more services between London and Manchester, which will add around 16,000 available extra seats.

LNER

London Northeastern railway said they expect services over the next few days to be very busy as people gather to mourn the Queen.

The Operator are advising passengers where possible to have a seat reservation, so people can avoid standing.

London Northwestern

London Northwestern has announced plans to make it easier for people to get refunds if they are unable to travel during the mourning period.

"Anytime, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak ticket holders will be able to get fee-free refunds on tickets which have been purchased before the announcement of Her Majesty the Queen’s death on 8 September," the operator said.

"The usual £10 administration fee will be waived."

Greater Anglia is also waiving refund fees on tickets purchased after the Queens death.

Southeastern

Southeastern train services have announced additional night trains during the period.

Services will run approximately every two hours as follows, stopping at a limited number of stations. 

  • London Victoria to Dartford, Gillingham, Orpington and Ashford 

  • London Charing Cross to Orpington, Tunbridge Wells

  • St Pancras International to Ashford International. 

Southwestern

Southwestern has also said it will run additional services - but it has not specified when those will be.

They did say that on the bank holiday a normal service will be operating.

National Express, bus, and coach services

There is also expected to be increased disruption on the roads with many companies planning to run additional buses down to the capital.

Running a normal schedule but with extra seats, National Express will open a pop-up coach station at Wembley with London's Victoria Coach Station out of use.

It says online enquiries for travel on London routes increased by 40% this week compared to last week and that the majority of tickets to London have sold out.

National Express says it will also take into account passengers' different needs in all areas of the country.

In the West Midlands, it plans to run local services on a Sunday timetable to allow staff to watch the funeral.

On a smaller scale, Yorkshire Rose Coaches in Barnsley, South Yorkshire told ITV News: "More and more people keep enquiring about our buses to London. We're already close to selling out."

Members of the public file past the Queen’s coffin in St Giles’ Cathedral Credit: Peter Byrne/PA

National Highways

To try and lessen the strain on the road network, National Highways plans to stop planned roadworks and road closures.

A spokesperson said: "All closures for roadworks on motorways in and out of London will be paused from the start of this week until after the State Funeral on Monday 19 September.

"All other closures on the motorway network nationally will be postponed forthe duration of the extended bank holiday weekend. Existing roadworks will also beremoved where possible."


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