The Challenge of the Olympics...

The Olympic Games will attract nine million spectators over 16 days, with the Paralympics drawing a further two million spectators over 11 days - all of whom are being asked to use public transport, walk or cycle.

It is Britain's largest peacetime logistical exercise, and as Transport for London's Surface Games Programme Director Graham Jones points out, the scale of the operation to keep traffic flowing is massive.

The Olympics is the equivalent of 26 world championships being held at the same time in 32 venues across the UK.

"If we ran them all in series instead of consecutively they would run over 436 days," says Mr Jones. "We're compressing them into 16 days."

Nerve centre

With much of the Games taking place in the capital, there are concerns about the ability of London's narrow streets and already near-capacity transport network to cope with the increase of traffic.

Organisers hope all spectators will travel to events venues by public transport, and TfL has spent £6.5bn on extending lines and upgrading its network to keep London moving during the Games.

They also aim to reduce traffic in London by a third during London 2012 by persuading businesses to stagger working hours, plan delivery times, promote home-working and staff taking alternative routes into work.

Despite all the improvements, advice and warnings, TfL accepts that at the busiest times, there will be transport delays of more than an hour in certain areas. Urban government expert Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics says that, along with security, transport during the Olympics remains a "weak link".

"It will be hard for TfL to analyse all the factors," he told the BBC. "They can't do a hypothetical exercise, and will only find out how it works on the first day of the Olympics."

·         Myth: The Olympic Route Network is just for the "Games family"

·         Fact: Everyone can use the ORN; restrictions apply in Games Lanes, which comprise a third of the 109 mile network within London

·         Myth: The ORN will be in operation for 100 days

·         Fact: ORN will start operating shortly before Olympics start on 27 July, and end shortly after they finish on 12 August, with similar schedule during Paralympics

·         Myth: ORN was dreamed up by UK transport authorities

·         Fact: Provision of ORN is a contractual obligation of every nation bidding to host Games

·         Myth: Games lanes will be empty but for occasional chauffeur-driven limousine of a sponsor

·         Fact: Lanes will be mostly used by a fleet of 1,500 coaches for athletes, officials and media, as well as sponsors, logistics and emergency vehicles

Organisers are keen to avoid a repeat of the 1996 Atlanta Games, which was marred by public transport problems.

"We want to make sure the Games are about sport, not transport," said Mr Jones.

He remains confident his team can keep the transport system running.

That team is based at a secret office in south London, where transport and police officials sit behind banks of screens and computers controlling London's traffic network.

The understated hum of the open-plan office belies its omniscient power: With access to 1,400 closed circuit television screens across the capital, officials can manually control half of the city's 6,000 traffic signals to divert vehicles away from blockages. A computerised system that measures traffic volume at 2,350 junctions adjusts signals to ensure a smooth flow.

By July, UK transport operators and agencies - rail, road, ports and aviation - will have representatives in the nerve centre, sharing the latest technology and information to identify and respond to incidents - whether they be a burst pipe or a security threat.

"If an incident happens on any part of the UK network that has an impact on the Games operations, that information is rapidly shared with other agencies so they can respond," said Mr Jones.