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Rail bosses have concluded that Coronation chaos will be avoided despite fewer additional train services being put on compared with the late Queen’s funeral.
Industry chiefs are putting the final touches to amended timetables between May 6 and May 8.
But instead of laying hundreds of extra services, the focus will be to add additional carriages to cope with demand.
Bosses have concluded that because people will travel to London or Windsor for several days rather than embark on day-trips, the peaks in demand experienced before and after the state funeral will not be repeated.
Nevertheless, trains are expected to be busy with train operators already planning queuing systems. Passengers will be warned to allow extra time for their journeys and urged to check for live updates throughout Coronation weekend.
Some additional services will be laid on – for instance trains to Windsor from Slough and London. At Windsor’s stations, brass bands are expected to welcome thousands of wellwishers heading to the Coronation Concert on Sunday, May 7.
There will also be “very early” extra services into London Paddington from south Wales, south-west England and the Thames Valley area on May 6.
Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs one in four UK services, said trainsets will have more carriages than normal on May 6.
But South Western Railway said it will run its usual timetable on the day other than additional services between London and Windsor. Customers will be asked to catch the first train possible after the concert and warned that it may take longer than usual to board a train.
All engineering work has been halted on the line between London and Windsor over the bank holiday weekend.
Rail bosses have concluded that fewer additional services will be required as part of an information-sharing exercise within Operation Golden Orb – the codename for King Charles III’s Coronation.
Service levels will be similar with previous royal occasions such as the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
They have then been crossed-checked with hotel booking levels in London and Windsor, which indicate – unlike the late Queen’s funeral – the propensity for wellwishers to descend on the south-east several days beforehand.
Last September, train operators ran 250 additional services – some overnight – for mourners. Stations were also kept open 24-hours-a-day to provide shelter to those travelling to and from the state funeral.
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