Organizers for London’s bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games say they have an “ace in the hole” with a shuttle service on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
The BBC reports that upgrading the rail link would move 320,000 people an hour into the Olympic zone. Ten 12-car trains could run each hour along the track from St. Pancras to Stratford, east London and Kent. The link Channel Tunnel high-speed link will run for 109 kilometres (68 miles) between St. Pancras station and the Channel Tunnel when the last section is completed in 2006.
Other proposals include rebuilding Stratford station to double its capacity, extending the Docklands Light Railway to Woolwich, and running park and ride services from outside the M25.
Bid organizer Hugh Sumner said that transport is significant and critical to London’s bid.
Also, fast-track Olympic lanes are planned for major routes such as the North Circular Road in Barnet. London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone is asking the government for an extra 900,000 pounds a year to fund major transport projects.
A bill published today to create themed national lottery Games with proceeds going to raise 750 pounds towards the cost of London’s bid could help pay for transport projects.
The horserace betting and Olympic lottery bill will mean that, for the first time, players will in effect choose where lottery money goes by deciding to buy “Olympic” tickets rather than others.
The legislation, which will go through its formal first reading in the House of Commons today, would give the go-ahead for a daily “penny lottery” draw – with tickets that cost as little as one penny – Olympic scratchcards, and a range of other themed games to be launched by Camelot, the lottery operator.
But the lottery will only go ahead if London wins its bid.
Another 340 pounds of lottery money will come from Sport England and UK Sport. The total lottery contribution would reach 1.5 billion pounds.
