The central section of the Elizabeth line, which is currently closed on Sundays will be open this coming Sunday (18th Sept) to help cope with demand as people come to London to commemorate The Queen.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that the Elizabeth line will run a special service with 12 trains per hour on the central section (Paddington to Abbey Wood) on Sunday 18th September. The East and West mainline sections will operate as they normally do on Sundays.

It’s not showing up on TfL website’s journey planner yet but will be shortly.

Apart from the practical utility of the line being open to reduce overcrowding in central London, there is some aptness in having the line named after the Queen running on the eve of the Queen’s funeral.

TfL says that the rest of the London Underground will run as normal; however, some stations will be busier than usual, and some short-term safety measures such as queuing, closures, non-stopping trains or changes to the way customers enter or exit a station may be necessary.

They’re also asking people to avoid Green Park tube station if possible, due to high numbers of people passing through so they can keep capacity for customers who need step-free access.

The other tube stations closest to Buckingham Palace include:

• Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines)
• Hyde Park (Piccadilly line)
• Piccadilly Circus (Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines)
• St James’ Park (District and Circle lines)
• Victoria (District line, Circle line, and Victoria line)
• Westminster (Jubilee line)

Due to road closures in the area, many of the bus routes will be diverted away from Buckingham Palace, so you may find it easier to complete the last leg of a journey on foot, or by tube.

Both TfL and National Rail are urging people to check before travelling in case services need to be changed to manage the crowds. TfL also recommends that passengers should also continue to check real-time travel information throughout their journeys, to take account of any short-notice changes that may take place while they are en route.