Canary Wharf financial firms fear standstill during London 2012

[richard]

The Canary Wharf financial district of London could be brought to a standstill by the London 2012 Olympic Games next year, with up to 80% of staff in the offices of major banks, accountants and lawyers staying away from work to alleviate potential transport difficulties.

Employers have been working with Olympic organisers for months to take steps to ensure staff work from home, do flexible hours, take a holiday or relocate to alternative sites during the Games, which run from 27 July to 12 August.

Some financial firms are understood to be preparing for a worst-case scenario in which just 20% of staff would be at their desks during the Games, when there is expected to be an immense strain on the transport system.

The Games site, in Stratford, is less than three miles from the Canary Wharf complex, which includes the headquarters of HSBC and many financial firms and where 92% of workers use public transport.

HSBC, the country's biggest bank, said it was embarking upon alternative working arrangements during the Games. "We have 8,500 staff in London and the vast majority of them will be working from home or from other sites," a spokesman said.

Another major bank with headquarters in Canary Wharf said it was expecting to operate with a minimum number of staff in the office, particularly because of the bottleneck expected in the evening rush hour – a time when nearly 38,000 people already board the Jubilee tube line, which also serves Stratford, on the average weekday.

One banker said that the vast trading floors of financial firms might not be affected as traders arrive at work early in the morning – from 6am onwards.

Other banks said they were hoping to operate on the basis that 70% of their staff would be able to make it to their desks by working flexibility into their plans.

When the financial services firm JP Morgan moves its European headquarters to Docklands just months before the Olympics, the working population will exceed 100,000 at Canary Wharf.

Transport problems during the Olympics were one of the scenarios used during a recent "war game" conducted by the Financial Services Authority, the City regulator.

Trains may not stop at Canary Wharf if the strain gets too much and Transport for London (TfL) admits there will be queues of up to 15 minutes from 4-7pm for the two Olympic weeks, even if travellers take their advice, which includes walking, rerouting or just waiting in a bar.

Canary Wharf is not the only problem area. Commuters are being warned of a 30-minute wait at Bank underground station during the rush-hour peak in the second week. But the worst will come at London Bridge, the intersection of commuter railway lines from the south-east and the Jubilee line. City workers can expect a half-hour wait from 5pm until as late as 8.30pm, according to TfL's best-case estimates. TfL advises that the 26-minute walk to catch the train at Waterloo may prove quicker.

The transport minister, Theresa Villiers, has announced a series of walking routes to ease congestion during the Games. The nearest – a 2.5-mile, one-hour hike from Waterloo to Liverpool Street via Bank – may offer some relief to the beleaguered City commuter.

A TfL spokesman said it was "preposterous" that banks should feel the need to tell so many staff to stay away. And a Canary Wharf Group spokesman expressed surprise at the figures: "We've been working closely with TfL and companies based here to keep Canary Wharf open for business and we think it will be – we're trying to work around the key pinch points. We do think people will adapt. We're putting on a range of events and big screens to keep people here and entertained in the evening so they don't need to get away at peak hours."

The Canary Wharf Group is also planning a container park for storage to ease any problems for delivery vehicles during the Games. The Olympic Route Network, including Games Lanes for exclusive use by what is officially called the Games Family of athletes, officials and sponsors, will run via the A1203 past Canary Wharf.


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Gwyn Topham & Jill Treanor
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