Thousands will line the streets on Monday to pay tribute to the late monarch (Picture: PA)
Large parts of central London will be closed to traffic for the Queen’s funeral, with drivers warned to avoid the area.
Those with their own car, or who are planning to get a taxi or Uber, should look at their route before travelling on the days surrounding it.
The state funeral will be on September 19, with a procession before and after taking the Queen’s coffin for the service in Westminster Abbey and then on to Windsor Castle, where she will be buried with her husband.
There is expected to be major travel disruption on the day itself and on the days before and after, with even flights affected.
Road closures and bus diversions in London will continue well into next week as the removal of barriers and other event infrastructure is expected to take several days.
Maps show the roads that will be closed, with so many that they just indicate the wide area rather than name the streets individually.
Click to enlarge: Roads marked in red will be closed for the funeral
Click to enlarge: Roads marked in orange will be closed for the funeral
Main roads in areas including Notting Hill, Kensington and Earl’s Court will be closed as far south as the Thames and as far east as Sloane Square in Chelsea. Roads around Hyde Park, St Jame’s Park and Whitehall will also be closed.
Surrounding roads which are open will also likely be busier due to the displaced traffic.
As well as the procession and funeral, there is a major security operation as world leaders including US President Joe Biden will be in the city for the event.
Transport for London advice said: ‘Avoid driving in central London if you possibly can.
‘There are major road closures in central London (especially Westminster). Some of these will continue in the days after the State Funeral.
‘Allow extra time for your journey and consider an alternative route.
‘Road closures may be changed or extended during the mourning period.’
National Highways is deploying additional traffic officers on motorways and major A roads around London to carry out patrols, keep vehicles moving and assist the emergency services in clearing incidents.
It is advising drivers to avoid returning home straight after the funeral ‘to avoid the busiest mid-afternoon period’ and to check the National Highways website for travel updates.
Click to enlarge: The route of the queue to see the Queen lying in state
There was a 6% increase in traffic using six London-bound sections of motorway on Thursday compared with the same day last week.
TfL also announced that buses will pull over ‘if it is safe and practical to do so’ and switch their engines off during the one-minute silence on Sunday at 8pm and the two-minute silence on Monday at around 11.55am.
Most planned closures of major roads serving London have been suspended until Tuesday to reduce congestion.
Train services in London are also expected to be busy.
Three central London Tube stations will be closed for the Queen’s funeral to prevent overcrowding, with passengers prevented from starting or ending journeys at Westminster, St James’s Park and Hyde Park Corner stations for ‘most of the morning’ on Monday.
Meanwhile, more than 100 Heathrow Airport flights will be cancelled to prevent aircraft noise disturbing proceedings at Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle.
The west London airport announced that 15% of its 1,200 flights due to take off or land on Monday will be disrupted.
British Airways – the most-affected airline – will cancel 100 short-haul flights due to the restrictions.
Virgin Atlantic said it will cancel four flights.
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.
— Transport for London (@TfL) September 12, 2022
London’s transport commissioner Andy Byford said TfL is ‘working around the clock’ to ensure mourners travelling around the capital can pay their respects to the Queen.
He went on: ‘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.
‘We will be running a safe, reliable and frequent service to help ensure that everyone can travel home safely after paying their respects.
‘We would encourage people to consider making use of the wide range of facilities open across London for refreshments after the state funeral.
‘As well as allowing time to continue to pay respects, this will help ensure smoother journeys home for everybody.’
Network Rail’s London stations will remain open overnight to provide shelter for people waiting for trains home.
These include Charing Cross, Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Victoria and Waterloo.
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/09/16/drivers-told-avoid-central-london-with-major-road-closures-for-queens-funeral-17390746/
