-
South Western Railway working hard to prepare for the royal wedding
-
In excess of 150,000 people expected to travel to Windsor on the day itself
-
Services likely to be extremely busy with queuing systems in place at key stations including London Waterloo, Staines and Windsor and Eton Riverside
-
Visit southwesternrailway.com/royalwedding for more information
After months of behind the scenes preparation for the royal wedding, South Western Railway is looking forward to celebrating the big day. The bunting is at the ready for Windsor and Eton Riverside station and flags will be handed out to customers on arrival so they can greet the newlyweds in style when the town centre parade is underway. Who are some of the key people behind South Western Railway’s preparation?
Péter Tamásfalvi, Station Manager for Staines (also covering Windsor and Eton Riverside station), South Western Railway
“I will be the Event Manager at Windsor and Eton Riverside station on the day of the wedding. I’ll make sure that everybody is safe, well looked-after and enjoys themselves!
“I’m really happy and proud to play even a small part in the royal wedding festivities. I’ll be working closely with my station team and colleagues from Network Rail, British Transport Police and others to create a positive atmosphere for everyone visiting Windsor - hopefully they will go home with great memories to share with those who could not attend on the day.”
Wyatt Gates, Event Strategy Manager, South Western Railway:
“We’ve been working flat out to prepare for the big day ever since the wedding was announced. We’ve liaised very closely with partners and stakeholders to ensure that everything goes smoothly from a logistical perspective.
“We knew right from the start just what a momentous occasion this would be which is why we decided to double our direct services from Waterloo to four an hour and will be running full ten-carriage trains to make sure we get as many of our customers to Windsor as possible.”
Chico Coulibaly, Stations Area Manager, South Western Railway
“I was involved in planning and delivering the Rugby World Cup back in 2015 as the Station Manager at Twickenham but this event is on another scale and I’m really looking forward to it.
“On the day of the wedding, I will be in constant communication with our stations teams at Staines, Richmond, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo to ensure we monitor passenger numbers so that those attending the event have as safe and a comfortable journey as possible.
“This is what we are all about - serving the community we are part of. Windsor and Eton Riverside station plays a vital role in the community and we will be there helping our customers, colleagues and locals to celebrate Prince Harry and Meghan's big day.”
Jenny Saunders, Head of Stations, South Western Railway
“I get a real buzz out of helping our customers get to where they need to be and playing a small part in their special day. This event is going to be particularly rewarding as I’ll always be able to say that I played a role in getting guests to the royal wedding.
“I’ll be on shift in our operational Gold Command Centre as the senior on-call manager where I’ll have an overview of our service. It’s important that our joint control centre with Network Rail manages capacity and other demands on the day. We’ll also have direct communication with our event management teams on the ground.”
Royal wedding services
South Western Railway has increased its service frequency to four direct, ten-carriage services an hour from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside, but trains will be extremely busy.
A queuing system may be in place at stations that are expected to be especially busy including London Waterloo, Staines (which is where customers travelling from the western part of the route should change at), and Windsor and Eton Riverside.
Customers planning to travel from the London area are advised to use South Western Railway services from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside. Customers travelling from the West, South Wales and Cotswolds should change at Reading for Great Western Railway services to Slough.
|
