1 Introduction
1. In Singapore on 6 July 2005 the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded London the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games. The London Olympic Games will take place from 27 July to
12 August 2012, and the Paralympic Games between 29 August and
12 September. Excellent transport will be essential to the success
of the Games, and the Committee launched an early inquiry in August
2005 into the proposed transport arrangements for the 2012 Olympics.
AIM OF THE INQUIRY
2. The aim of this inquiry was to identify
at an early stage emerging problems and areas of concern in Olympic
transport planning. It is relatively early in the process of preparing
for London's Games, and we did not therefore expect to find final
delivery structures in place and fully operational. We did however
wish to satisfy ourselves that planning for the Games was as far
advanced as possible. What we have found is set out in detail
in the following paragraphs.
3. This report represents a first look only at transport
planning for the London Olympics. We are committed to pursuing
the issues uncovered here and shall be inquiring periodically
into their resolution over the following years to 2012.
4. Our main terms of reference were:
- What level of funding will
need to be directed at transport improvements? Will the Government's
Spending Agreement with the Mayor provide adequate funding? What
role will the private sector play in delivering this infrastructure?
Will funding be diverted from other transport projects?
- How will the transport projects needed for the
Games fit into an integrated and long term transport plan for
London? Will the transport legacy be appropriate to the needs
of east London in the next two to three decades?
- What effect will the Games have on security,
congestion, overcrowding, air quality and emissions in London?
What impact will there be on transport in the interim?
- What lessons for transport can be learned from
the experiences of other Olympic cities?[2]
VISITS
5. We inspected the main Olympic site at Stratford
in the East End of London, where we received a presentation of
the draft Olympic Transport Plan by Transport for London's Olympic
Transport Strategy team and London Organising Committee of the
Olympic Games.[3] Visits
to the Stratford International station on the Channel Tunnel Rail
Link (CTRL), currently under construction, and the Docklands Light
Railway extension to London City Airport, followed. We are grateful
to Transport for London (TfL) for organising these visits, and
to London and Continental Railways (LCR) for enabling us to visit
the Stratford International station site.[4]
6. Mr David Clelland MP, a Member of the Committee,
took the opportunity of an unrelated visit to Athens in November
2005 to view the Olympic sites there. Mr Vassilios Vavakos, a
former member of the Athens Olympic Transport Organising Committee,
and one of our specialist advisers for this inquiry, was Mr Clelland's
host on this occasion.[5]
EVIDENCE
7. We received sixty seven written submissions, and
heard oral evidence from the following witnesses: the London Boroughs
of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Hackney and Greenwich,
Dorset County Council, the Thames Gateway London Partnership,
Network Rail, London and Continental Railways (LCR), the Association
of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), the Disabled Persons Transport
Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the Disability Rights Commission (DRC),
London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), Transport
for London (TfL), Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP, Minister of State,
Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Ms Karen Buck MP, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport, and Mr Ben
Stafford, Team Leader 2012 Olympics, Department for Transport.
We also took evidence by video link from Mr Jim Sloman, the former
Chief Operating Office at the Sydney Organising Committee for
the Olympic Games. We are grateful to all those who contributed
to our inquiry, in particular our three specialist advisers, Mr
Drummond Robson, Mr William Tyson and Mr Vassilios Vavakos.
2 Transport Committee Press Notice, 21 July 2005, PN
No 02/2005 Back
3
Since the Committee's visit the TfL Olympic Strategy team has
been renamed 'Interim Olympic Transport' and is referred to as
such throughout this report Back
4
Visit note, Annex Back
5
Visit note, Annex Back
|
