The Rail Delivery Group says rail companies are looking at a range of possible future scenarios for life post-lockdown.
The comments come as several of the national newspapers report of the potential of major event-style queuing systems at main stations and one-way systems.
Space on trains is likely to be significantly reduced as a result of the challenges faced around social distancing.
The Rail Deliver Group statement said: “Rail companies and our people are doing all we can to support the country throughout this pandemic and we will play our vital role in getting the country moving again.
“Changes to travel guidance during the next phase of the pandemic will be a decision for government and rail companies are looking at a range of possible future scenarios.
“Our priority continues to be the safety of our staff and passengers, and we will work closely with government and unions on how services can be returned to normal safely to support the economy and public health.”
Meanwhile the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London have unveiled their ‘London Streetspace’ programme which aims to rapidly transform its streets to accommodate a possible ten-fold increase in cycling and five-fold increase in walking when lockdown restrictions are eased.
With London’s public transport capacity potentially running at a fifth of pre-crisis levels, millions of journeys a day will need to be made by other means. If people switch only a fraction of these journeys to cars, London risks grinding to a halt, air quality will worsen, and road danger will increase.
To prevent this happening, TfL will rapidly repurpose London’s streets to serve this demand for walking and cycling. This includes:
- The rapid construction of a strategic cycling network, using temporary materials, including new routes aimed at reducing crowding on Underground and train lines, and on busy bus corridors.
- A complete transformation of local town centres to enable local journeys to be safely walked and cycled where possible. Wider footways on high streets will facilitate a local economic recovery, with people having space to queue for shops as well as enough space for others to safely walk past while socially distancing.
- Reducing traffic on residential streets, creating low-traffic neighbourhoods right across London to enable more people to walk and cycle as part of their daily routine, as has happened during lockdown.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The capacity of our public transport will be dramatically reduced post-coronavirus as a result of the huge challenges we face around social distancing. Everyone who can work from home must continue to do so for some time to come.
“The emergency measures included in our major strategic London Streetspace programme will help those who have to travel to work by fast-tracking the transformation of streets across our city. Many Londoners have rediscovered the joys of walking and cycling during lockdown and, by quickly and cheaply widening pavements, creating temporary cycle lanes and closing roads to through traffic we will enable millions more people to change the way they get around our city.
“I urge the Government and boroughs to work with us to enable Londoners to switch to cleaner, more sustainable forms of transport – and reduce the pressure on other parts of our transport network – once the lockdown is eased.”
Meanwhile Grand Central, which paused services during the coronavirus crisis, has launched an open-ended survey to gauge public attitudes as it looks to shape a return to services.
This follows an initial two month ‘hibernation’ period which Grand Central bosses will review this month.
Click here for more details on the survey.
Photo credit: Transport for London
