2012 Games Rail Information
This page gives information about the services that Train Operating Companies will be providing for customers during the 2012 Games. Please click on the Company name in the table below to view their travel information.
Details about the venues, and the travel options available for them from National Rail are available here.
To plan your journey to the 2012 Games events, please use the Journey Planner.
Arriva Trains Wales
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Wales, central and North West England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Old Trafford, Manchester |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | During events at the Millennium Stadium, a queuing system will be in place after the matches to ensure customer safety at the station. Cardiff Queen Street station is closed during events at the Millennium Stadium - customers should travel via Cardiff Queen Street. |
c2c
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Between London and Southend |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Olympic Park, Stratford (via West Ham) - London venues - Hadleigh Farm (via Leigh-on-Sea) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended timetable will be in place during the Games, with additional trains at West Ham and Leigh-on-Sea on event days. Additional carriages will be added to c2c trains during the Games periods, with extra staff to assist customers travelling to and from events. West Ham station is a short walk from the Olympic Park via a dedicated walkway. |
Chiltern Railways
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London and Central England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium (via Wembley Stadium station) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended timetable will be in place during the Games, with additional trains calling at Wembley Stadium on events days. Additional late-night trains will be running from London Marylebone. |
CrossCountry
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Services throughout England, Scotland and Wales |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Weymouth & Portland - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Hampden Park, Glasgow - St James' Park, Newcastle - Old Trafford, Manchester - City of Coventry Stadium |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | CrossCountry services to/from Bournemouth will be extended to run to/from Weymouth during the Games for spectators visiting the sailing events. During events at the Millennium Stadium, a queuing system will be in place after the matches to ensure customer safety at the station. |
East Coast
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - Hampden Park, Glasgow - St James' Park, Newcastle |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | East Coast will operate two additional early-morning and four additional late-night trains to/from London Kings Cross during the Games. |
East Midlands Trains
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London, central England and Yorkshire |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - Old Trafford, Manchester |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | East Midlands Trains will provide more late night trains and additional capacity on a number of services throughout the Games. Five additional late night services will run from London St Pancras International every night during the Olympics and Paralympics, providing greater travel options for spectators returning home to Northamptonshire, the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. On Sundays during the Olympic period, there is a revised timetable which offers improved journey times. |
Eurostar
| Areas / Routes Covered: | International train services to and from London |
| Use for travelling to events at: | London venues and the Olympic Park |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | Eurostar services start from and terminate at London St Pancras International, and call at Ebbsfleet International in Kent. During the Games Southeastern will operate 'Javelin' train services from London St Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International to Stratford International for the Olympic Park. Journey times from London St Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International to Stratford International will be only seven minutes. |
First Capital Connect
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London, Southern and South East England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - Wimbledon |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended timetable will be in place during the Games, with additional late-night trains from central London. |
First Great Western
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London, South West and Western England, and South Wales |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - Eton Dorney (via Maidenhead or Slough) - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Weymouth and Portland |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended timetable will be in place during the Games, with additional early-morning and late-night trains to/from central London. For connections to Eton Dorney, Maidenhead station should only be used during the Olympic Games, and not the Paralympic Games. During events at the Millennium Stadium, a queuing system will be in place after the matches to ensure customer safety at the station. |
First Hull Trains
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Between London and Yorkshire |
| Use for travelling to events at: | London venues and the Olympic Park |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | A normal First Hull Trains service will run during the Games. |
First TransPennine Express
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Northern England and Glasgow / Edinburgh |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Old Trafford, Manchester - St James' Park, Newcastle - Hampden Park, Glasgow |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | A normal First TransPennine Express service will run during the Games. |
Gatwick Express
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Direct trains between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria |
| Use for travelling to events at: | London venues and the Olympic Park |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | A normal Gatwick Express service will run during the games. The Games Travelcard will not be valid on Gatwick Express services. |
Grand Central
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Between London, Yorkshire and North East England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - St James' Park, Newcastle (via Sunderland) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended service will run between London and Bradford Interchange (details to be confirmed). At Sunderland, connections are available with Northern Rail or Tyne & Wear Metro services for Newcastle (Journey time is 20mins by Northern Rail, 30mins by Tyne & Wear Metro) |
Greater Anglia and Stansted Express
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Greater Anglia: London and Eastern England. Stansted Express: Direct trains between Stansted Airport and Central London |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Olympic Park (via Stratford) - London venues - Lee Valley White Water Centre (via Cheshunt) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | Amended Greater Anglia and Stansted Express timetables will be in place on all routes, with an enhanced service via Stratford, and additional early-morning and late-night trains to/from Stratford and central London. Stratford station is a short walk from the Olympic Park via a dedicated walkway. The Games Travelcard will not be valid on Stansted Express services, and will only be valid to/from Cheshunt on event days. |
Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Direct trains between Heathrow Airport and Central London |
| Use for travelling to events at: | London venues and the Olympic Park |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | Normal Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express services will run during the games. The Games Travelcard will not be valid on Heathrow Express services, and only valid on Heathrow Connect services between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington. |
Island Line Trains
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Trains on the Isle of Wight |
| Use for travelling to events at: | None within the Island Line network. Ferry connections are available between Yarmouth and Lymington for customers to connect with CrossCountry or South West Trains to/from Weymouth via Brockenhurst. |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | A normal Island Line Trains service will run during the Games. |
London Midland
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London, central and North West England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - City Of Coventry Stadium - Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium (via Wembley Central station) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended timetable will be in place during the Games, with additional late-night trains running from London Euston. |
London Overground
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Central London and surrounding areas |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Olympic Park (via Stratford) - London venues - Earls Court (via West Brompton - see below) - Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium (via Wembley Central station) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended timetable will be in place during the Games, with enhanced services running to and from Stratford. West Brompton is the station closest to Earls Court, but customers are recommended to use London Underground services to/from Earls Court rather than National Rail services due to a limited station capacity at West Brompton. |
Merseyrail
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Liverpool area |
| Use for travelling to events at: | None within the MerseyRail network |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | A normal MerseyRail service will run during the Games. |
Northern Rail
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Routes across Northern England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Old Trafford, Manchester - St James' Park, Newcastle |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | A normal Northern Rail service will run during the Games. |
ScotRail
| Areas / Routes Covered: | Routes across Scotland, and Sleeper Train services between London and Scotland |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Hampden Park, Glasgow (via Mount Florida) - London venues and the Olympic Park (via ScotRail Sleeper services between Scotland and London Euston) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | A normal ScotRail service will run during the Games, including overnight Sleeper services between Scotland and London. During events at Hampden Park, queuing systems may be in place at Glasgow Central or Glasgow Queen Street before, and at Mount Florida after the matches. |
South West Trains
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London and South West England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - Eton Dorney (via Windsor & Eton Riverside) - Wimbledon - Weymouth and Portland |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | South West Trains has drawn up a special timetable that will provide more late night services throughout the Games. Additional capacity will be provided on many services, and a number of late evening services from London Waterloo will also be extended to serve even more stations. Other late night services have been re-timed to depart later than usual, providing greater travel options for the thousands of spectators returning home after the Games. |
Southeastern
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London and South East England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - Olympic Park (via Stratford International) - London venues - North Greenwich Arena (via Charlton) - Greenwich Park (via Blackheath and Greenwich) - Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich (via Woolwich Arsenal) - Brands Hatch (via Sevenoaks, Paralympics only) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | Southeastern will be significantly involved with getting customers to and from the Games, especially with their High Speed 'Javelin' services running frequently between Stratford International and London St Pancras International / Ebbsfleet International. The journey time will be just seven minutes between central London and Stratford International. More details of the service arrangements are available from the Southeastern website. |
Southern
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London and Southern England |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium (via Wembley Central station) - Earls Court (via West Brompton - see below) |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | An amended timetable will be in place during the Games, with additional late-night trains running from central London. West Brompton is the station closest to Earls Court, but customers are recommended to use London Underground services to/from Earls Court rather than National Rail services due to a limited station capacity at West Brompton. During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Southern will not be able to accommodate ordinary cycles on some trains. This applies to all trains travelling towards London, Kensington (Olympia) or Brighton, and trains leaving London, Kensington (Olympia) or Brighton between 27 July and 9 September 2012. On all other services, our usual Peak time Cycle Policy remains in place. Folded cycles are welcome on all trains at any time. |
Virgin Trains
| Areas / Routes Covered: | London, North West England, North Wales and Scotland |
| Use for travelling to events at: | - London venues and the Olympic Park - City of Coventry Stadium - Old Trafford, Manchester - Hampden Park, Glasgow |
| Special arrangements during the Games: | Virgin Trains has drawn up a special timetable that will provide more late night services throughout the Games. Additional capacity will be provided on many services, and a number of late evening services from London Euston. Other late night services have been re-timed to depart later than usual, providing greater travel options for the thousands of spectators returning home after the Games. |
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