THE conversion of London’s iconic 2012 Olympic Stadium is a major landmark in the history of London football, but it also signals a huge shift in weekend train travel in Essex.

West Ham United’s former Upton Park stadium had a capacity of 35,000, with many opting to travel by car, but now the majority of the 60,000 fans travelling to the newly named London Stadium will be going by train.

With a significant portion of the club’s fanbase living in Essex, the extra strain on our county’s train service has already become obvious.

Last month, I was among thousands of other fans who packed onto Greater Anglia trains ahead of a match against Juventus to officially open the stadium.

While the spectacle of the match and its surroundings will live long in the memory, the journey was one to forget. Despite the extra numbers, the operator ran its regular half-hourly Sunday service, leading to overcrowding and frustrated fans being left behind on platforms.

Thankfully, the operator seems to have reacted quickly, and travel from Essex to Stratford for Sunday’s Premier League match against Bournemouth was more comfortable.

A Greater Anglia spokesman said: “We have improved our services by increasing a number of our four and eight carriage trains to 12 carriages, and running extra trains.”

At Upton Park, the main public transport option was a cramped Tube station with only two platforms.

While some people did take the train to matches, many others decided to drive to East London and park near the stadium.

At the London Stadium, parking spaces are limited and visitors are encouraged to use public transport.