Everyone attending Friday’s opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics are praying for good weather. And with London temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius and above this week, for once, it appears that our prayers have been answered.
Unfortunately, as seems to be the case with all things Olympian this year, even the beautiful weather conditions are causing problems for commercial properties involved with the running of the Games.
This time, the issue is brought to us by the Greater Anglia rail company, who have ordered train drivers not to stop at Stratford commercial property train station on many services running throughout the day. Those of you who read MOVEHUT’s previous blog explaining the controversy surrounding Hackney Wick commercial property station’s closure will realise that Stratford is, in fact, the closest public transport hub to the Olympic Park.
Health and Safety is playing a substantial part in the latest transport malfunction, as overhead power cables that line the railways are unable to cope with trains travelling at normal speeds should the temperature reach higher than 30 degrees. In order to minimise delays, Greater Anglia rail company have decided to bypass Stratford station on some services altogether.
The main issue with the cables is expansion due to overheating. As the wires within the cables increase in mass due to having to absorb the extra heat, sagging occurs, meaning that the likelihood of an accident happening is also increased. Should the cables above a commercial property station, for example, sag enough to be able to connect with an earth bound structure, or become close enough to allow the electricity to jump between the cable and the structure, a significant risk to life would occur for passengers and passers-by in the vicinity of the station, as well as in the trains themselves.
Slowing the trains down will allow the cables some leeway for the increasing summer temperatures, as they will not have to cope with overheating both from the air temperature and trains travelling at high speeds between commercial property stations. However, while this increases the safety of passengers, it will make for some significant delays while the problem is rectified.
Network Rail have stated that the overhead cables, which date back to the 1950s, are in the process of being replaced, and reassured passengers that the majority of services will still stop at Stratford station. They also apologised for any disruption caused.
So far, Greater Anglia rail company have confirmed that a minimum of nine services running between Norwich and Liverpool Street railway stations would be bypassing Stratford entirely. Services terminating in Colchester, which also stop at Stratford on the normal timetable, will be subject to revision and cancellations.
A spokesman for Greater Anglia said; “There are some revisions in place to our mainline timetable.
“We are working with Network Rail to minimise the disruption for our customers.”
The most recent news came after the transport network in London was said to have failed its first “test run” for the Olympics following rehearsals for the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium commercial property on Monday night. Performers participating in the ceremony itself were late for the run through after a rail buckled due to the heat on the North London line, which makes up a large part of London’s underground network, leaving several stranded at underground stations across the city.
As replacing the overhead power cables will take a significant amount of time, disruptions to train stations across London and the South East may continue well into the Games. However, with the weather set to cool over the weekend, perhaps this latest weak link in the Olympic rings will not have such a drastic effect as some of the other controversies surrounding London 2012.
Do you think the London transport network and associated commercial properties were really as prepared as we were led to believe for the Olympics? Which of the issues affecting the Games do you think will prove to be the biggest sticking points after London 2012 has concluded?
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