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London transport chaos on first day of WTM
Suspensions and delays are severely impacting London transport this morning as thousands of exhibitors and delegates make their way to ExCel for the opening day of World Travel Market.
The DLR, Hammersmith & City, Bakerloo, Circle, District, London Overground, and Metropolitan lines are all affected due to power cuts, derailments, and signal failures.
South West trains is warning of disruption all day after a train partially derailed at low speed between Wimbledon and Clapham Junction. Around 300 people were evacuated from the train and there were four minor injuries.
Getting to WTM this year was already going to be more difficult as one of the main stations, Custom House DLR station, is closed.
Custom House, which WTM vistors use to enter ExCel via the West Entrance, has shut as part of the station’s infrastructure improvement for the new Elizabeth Line
Visitors are advised to use DLR Prince Regent station, serving ExCel’s east entrance, instead.
Emirates Air Line cable car, which goes to the West Entrance of ExCel, is giving all WTM delegates free travel during the three-day event.
The cable car can be accessed from the Thamas Clipper boat service, which sails from Westminster, stopping at Embankment, Blackfriars, London Bridge, Canary Wharf and The O2 (for the cable car).
A Thamas Clipper spokesman said: "We ask all commuters to allow additional time for their journeys as tube disruptions do cause considerable demand on the river."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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