Widespread travel disruption across London as city shuts down for Queen’s funeral

With much of central London secured and inaccessible ahead of the Queen’s state funeral, travel disruption is widespread.

Very large crowds have gathered at the official viewing areas set up in St James’s Park, Green Park and Hyde Park.

City Hall, the home of London government, has told people travelling to the capital: “Large crowds are expected, and be prepared to queue to enter. Follow the directions given by stewards and police, who will monitor crowd numbers and ensure everyone can enter safely and securely.

“After the procession or the state hearse has passed through your viewing area, you will exit the viewing area through the point you entered. Police and stewards will help direct you to the dedicated entrances and exits, and to nearby transport hubs.”

With crowds forming from early in the morning, members of the public are being directed to a screening site in Hyde Park. It will show the day’s events, including the state funeral, the ceremonial processions through London and Windsor, and the committal service.

Anna, a passenger from Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, travelled in to be at the events in Hyde Park. She said: “I was in the Mall for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and I wanted to be here as a mark of respect.”

Transport for London (TfL) is warning of “unprecedented travel demand in the capital”.

Many of the key roads in the centre of the capital are closed, with dozens of bus routes curtailed.

Tube lines running west of central London are under extra pressure due to the complete closure of the GWR terminus at Paddington, following an overhead wire failure at Hayes & Harlington.

While the Tube is running largely normally, Westminster station is closed to passengers hoping to enter or exit. Only connections within the station are possible.

At around 9.20am, trains on the westbound Jubilee line through central London were temporarily halted for what was described as a “passenger incident” at Green Park station – the closest to Buckingham Palace.

On Saturday Green Park was one of six Tube stations that experienced passenger numbers well in excess of the corresponding day in 2019. The others were Bermondsey (the closest to Southwark Park, where the queue for paying respects at the lying-in-state began), Charing Cross, Hyde Park Corner, St James’s Park and Westminster.

Victoria Coach Station, which normally runs 365 days a year, closed at 2am on Monday because of the state funeral and procession to Windsor.

Most National Express services are running to and from Wembley Stadium, northwest of central London. Links from Dover and Ramsgate start and end at Stratford in east London, while airport services – the A1 to Luton and A6 to Stansted – serve Baker Street.

Megabus services are operating to and from Hillingdon Underground station, five miles north of Heathrow airport. Normal operations will resume shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning.