Transport fears for Queen's funeral as Bendigo man mourns in London

Darren Martin had always planned to make the flight to the UK when the day came to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II, and despite some close calls with passport expiry dates he was London-bound on Thursday morning.

Mr Martin has already queued up for 13 hours to say a final goodbye to Her Majesty, and has also left a bunch of flowers and a card at the gates of Buckingham Palace.

Alongside thousands of others, he is now camped outside Westminster Abbey ready for the funeral.

Speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser at 1am UK time, he said he had been camped out for 11 hours already.

"Eleven hours so far, only about nine and half hours to go," he said.

When the news came through that the Queen had died, Mr Martin said it "was like losing a family member".

"She was such a unique person that we've all admired and she's the only person we've ever really known as the Queen, certainly in my lifetime," he said.

While he hasn't met any of the Royals during this trip, he did see the new monarch, King Charles III, driven out of Buckingham Palace and has his fingers crossed he may have yet another regal encounter.

One of the UK's biggest transport operations will take place as mourners descend on London for the Queen's funeral.

Transport for London (TfL) is preparing for an estimated one million people to visit the capital on Monday.

About 250 extra rail services will run for the big day and National Highways has suspended planned motorway closures across England.

There are fears the transport network will be overwhelmed on Monday afternoon if too many people visiting the capital travel home immediately after the funeral procession leaves Westminster shortly after noon.

Mourners are being urged to delay their return journeys.

TfL boss Andy Byford said the capital had seen "huge numbers of additional passengers" since the Queen died on September 8, but demand would "reach a climax" on Monday.

"We're ready for probably one of the busiest days Transport for London has ever faced," he said.

"It's hard to say exactly how many additional people (will travel), but we're preparing for potentially a million people just within the footprint of the royal palaces and Hyde Park."

Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy warned trains would be "extremely busy".

"This is the biggest public transport operation since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we're working closely with all train operators to run extra trains through the day and into the night," he said.

Network Rail has postponed engineering work and is keeping its London stations open overnight to provide shelter for mourners struggling to get home.

National Highways is deploying additional traffic officers on motorways and major roads around London to carry out patrols, keep vehicles moving and assist emergency services in clearing incidents.

Three Tube stations - Westminster, St James's Park and Hyde Park Corner - will be closed for most of Monday morning to avoid being overcrowded.

Many local roads in London will be closed, causing buses to be diverted and Victoria Coach station to be closed.

Passengers arriving at mainline railway stations are being advised to continue their journeys on foot rather than use public transport.

More than 100 Heathrow Airport flights will be cancelled to prevent aircraft noise disturbing proceedings at Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle.

With Australian Associated Press

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