Voice of London

Another strike is coming our way once again, and this time it’s affecting the Mayor’s event. Have you already booked your restaurant, hotel or are you planning to go anywhere? 

Plan your journey in advance, because there will be tube line closure and some lines will partly operate. Some of the bridges will be closed from certain times and won’t be able to be used during the night.

This year, on the 31^st of December, will be the annual mayor’s firework event in Central London. The tickets for the event are mostly sold out. Many people are expected to be there. Everyone is excited to meet the new year and to say goodbye to the old one.

If you are celebrating Year’s Eve in central London, and your journey requires walking toward the bridges or being in the tube, be there earlier than planned because it is expected to be crowded.

Security will be checking all people who purchased tickets for the mayor’s event, which means that they might come and check people who are not attending the event, as well. Make sure you wear your ID with you. 

If you need to go to work or go back home and you need to cross zones, always keep your eyes open, TfL suggests, as the tube will be crowded and thiefs are most probably going to be there, too. Do not forget to check how the tube will operate on these days, because not all the lines will run. 

District line won’t operate from the 26^th of December until Monday the 2^nd of January. Elizabeth line will not operate between Paddington and Abbey Wood between the 28^th of December and 2^nd of January. The services between Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5 will be closed, too. There will be replacement buses that will operate between Stratford and Romford and between Newbury Park and Shenfield, shares TfL. 

London Overground won’t operate between Liverpool Street and Chingford from the 26 December until 2 January. There will be buses, which will run after Boxing Day ,from 27 January as replacement. From Boxing Day until 2 January 2023, the Overground won’t operate between Romford and Upminster.

From 31 December until 2 January there will be no services between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction. Waterloo and City line will be closed for the Holidays, but it will work from 06:00am until 00:30 during the week days. The other lines which were not mentioned above are expected to run as usual.

Make sure you book you cabs for New Year’s Eve on time if you are staying at hotel, as well as if you are leaving on the 1 of January, as you will not be able to find any. Most of them will be prebooked.

On New years’ eve the zone will affect the traffic. There will be restricted hours for some of the bridges. Avoid crossing the river by foot because it will be very hard. All pedestrians will be affected across Westminster Bridge and the Golden Jubilee Bridges because they will be closed after 2pm.

After 4pm there will be restrictions on Waterloo Bridge as well, but there will be buses operating between 4pm and 7pm, and after 8pm Millennium Bridge, Lambeth Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge will all be closed. The rest of the bridges won’t be affected but expect many pedestrians on them.  Go in advance when people are still at work, and speed your day in central London if you have anything booked for the evening. For any further information, visit the TFL website. 

Words: Dafni Belcheva| Subbed