HomeHSEQPlans in place for royal wedding as more than 100,000 expected to...

Plans in place for royal wedding as more than 100,000 expected to travel to Windsor

Listen to this article

The British Transport Police (BTP) has revealed it has spent months piecing together plans to ensure the travelling public get to their destination safely for the royal wedding on May 19.

More than 100,000 people are expected to head to Windsor to catch a glimpse of the wedding procession as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

As part of the force’s enhanced police presence, specialist BTP units will be drafted in to patrol the railway.

In addition to visible and covert officers patrolling key stations across routes into Windsor, as well as in the town itself, specialist firearms units, behavioural detection officers, police dogs and the specialist response unit will be deployed.

BTP Chief Superintendent John Conaghan has also urged passengers to remain vigilant.


Like this story? Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with rail industry news


He said: “Officers will be highly visible at stations throughout London and the South East and will be on hand to offer help to anyone who needs it.

“We’ve worked closely with our partners at other police forces, local authorities and train companies to ensure that we can respond quickly and decisively to any incident – whatever it may be.”

He added: “Passengers are the eyes and ears of the rail network and with thousands of extra people travelling to Windsor, I’d urge them to stay vigilant and report concerns to us. Nothing is too trivial or insignificant – report it to us, and our specialist police officers will investigate.”

Operators South Western Railway (SWR) and Great Western Railway (GWR) will be putting on additional services to Windsor to get passengers to and from their destination as quickly as possible.

SWR will increase its service frequency to four direct, ten-carriage services an hour from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside, and GWR has said it will run to its maximum capacity on the Windsor Branch Line, increasing from two to four-carriage services, which will run every 20 minutes throughout the day.

However, they have both warned passengers that these route will be extremely busy and that long queues are likely.


Read more: Gender pay gap – How is the rail industry performing?


 

Recommended