AFTER falling years behind schedule and running over budget, the Elizabeth Line will finally open this month.
But where will it run and which stations will it stop at? Here’s all you need to know.
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What is the Elizabeth Line?
The Elizabeth line is the name of the soon-to-be-opened London transport service born out of the highly ambitious Crossrail construction project.
It will connect towns in Berkshire and Bucks to Essex and south-east London, via the centre of the capital.
The new service has been designed to ease pressure on the existing Underground network, particularly the busy Central and District lines, but also the Jubilee link to Heathrow Airport.
The costly project has caused heavy disruption in central London, particularly around Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street.
It’s the second line to be dedicated to Her Majesty – the Jubilee line was named after the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 to commemorate her 25th year on the throne.
The following ten stations have been created especially for it, they are:
- Abbey Wood
- Bond Street
- Canary Wharf
- Custom House
- Farringdon
- Liverpool Street
- Paddington
- Tottenham Court Road
- Whitechapel
- Woolwich
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Is the Elizabeth Line the same as the Crossrail?
The Elizabeth line and Crossrail are one and the same.
The purple line was originally called Crossrail but was renamed after Her Majesty.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the name change back in 2016, when he was major of London.
Mr Johnson revealed the name and the line’s purple logo during a visit to Bond Street station with the Queen.
He said at the time: “The Elizabeth Line will provide a lasting tribute to our longest-serving monarch”.
When will the Elizabeth line open?
Transport for London have announced that the long-awaited new line will launch on 24 May, 2022.
TFL commissioner Andy Byford, said: “I am delighted that we can now announce a date for the opening of the Elizabeth line in May.
“We are using these final few weeks to continue to build up reliability on the railway and get the Elizabeth line ready to welcome customers.
“The opening day is set to be a truly historic moment for the capital and the UK, and we look forward to showcasing a simply stunning addition to our network.”
TFL says the project will bring an additional 10 per cent capacity, slash travel times, and revolutionise transport links.
It’s hoped the line will boost the return to work as the country recovers from the pandemic, and support regeneration across the capital.
They estimate the line, with its fleet of 70 nine-carriage trains will add £42billion to the economy.
The official launch day was selected in line with the current Tuesday to Thursday office working schedules.
It’s rumoured that the Queen may open the service ahead of her Platinum Jubilee.
When will the Elizabeth line run?
From Monday to Saturday, 6.30am to 11pm, commuters will see 12 trains per hour between Paddington and Abbey Wood.
During engineering hours and Sundays, work will continue on the line, with software updates and testing to prepare for more intense passenger loads in the autumn.
Bond Street won’t be ready for the new line, and so Elizabeth Line trains will only pass through the station until later in 2022.
According to TFL, it will halve the travel time from Paddington to Canary Wharf, a journey that currently takes around half an hour on the tube.
The service is to be run by London Underground, but the trains are modern, spacious and air-conditioned, similar to new Thameslink and Overground trains.
Most of the line will run above ground, but a 13-mile stretch runs under central London.
What is the Elizabeth Line route?
The Elizabeth line will appear on the Underground map as a purple and white line, similar to DLR (turquoise and white) and Overground (orange and white).
Convenience and connectivity are key to the project, so there will be many Tube interchanges, especially in central London.
They are (from west to east): Heathrow, Ealing Broadway, Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Stratford and Canary Wharf.
There’s also Custom House on the DLR, and Romford on the Overground.
Initially the line will operate in three sections: an eastern section between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, a central area between Paddington and Abbey Wood and a western section between Paddington, Heathrow and Reading.
It will stretch all the way from Reading in Berkshire, to Shenfield, a commuter suburb of Brentwood in Essex.
Branches will run to Heathrow in the west, and Abbey Wood, on the border of Greenwich and Bexley in south-east London.
In total, it covers 73 miles (118km) of track.
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