Olympic Rush Begins As Teams Land In London

The first London 2012 athletes arrive in the UK today as the capital's transport system prepares itself for one of the busiest summers ever.

The first Olympic Games Lanes come into operation on the M4, which has only just opened following repairs.

BAA said it expects around 335 athletes to arrive at Heathrow airport today, along with 1027 'Games Family' members.

Teams arriving include the USA, Russia, China, France, Japan and Canada.

London 2012 organisers have been preparing for the arrival of athletes this week with rehearsals of the official welcome ceremony that will take place several times a day in the Olympic village.

The opening of the M4 lane, from 5am to 10pm, was introduced early to cope with the start of the rush.

There had been fears that the work on the damaged flyover near junction 2 of the motorway in west London would not be completed in time for the Olympic traffic-only lane to be used.

The M4 is part of the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and provides an important access route for members of the Games Family including athletes, their officials and equipment arriving at Heathrow for their journey to the Olympic Village in Stratford, east London.

Around 80% of Games Family arrivals are expected to pass through this way.

Within the ORN are 30 miles of Games Lanes which will become operational on July 25 - two days before the Olympic opening ceremony.

The Games Lanes will be clearly marked and will operate alongside existing traffic. All road users will be able to go into the lanes when they are not in use overnight.

Those who stray into operational Games Lanes face a penalty charge of £130, while illegally parked vehicles will be removed to a pound and may incur a release fee of £200.