In 20 days’ time, The Elizabeth Line – or CrossRail will do something it hasn’t ever done before – it will carry fare-paying passengers fo the first time as the new line is set to open.
Time to put the Purple Trains into the use they were built for – Class 345 Elizabeth Line train at London Paddington – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
Transport for London (TfL) has today confirmed that – subject to final safety approvals – the Elizabeth line will open on Tuesday 24 May 2022 and will operate between Monday and Saturday in the first instance.
The first branch that will open will be the Abbey Wood to Paddington route, operating via Canary Wharf and the Crossrail core.
The Elizabeth line will initially operate as three separate railways, with services from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield connecting with the central tunnels from autumn this year.
The new railway will connect stations such as Paddington to Canary Wharf in only 17 minutes. This journey currently takes more than 30 minutes to complete using the Tube.
Operation
The Elizabeth line will operate 12 trains per hour between Paddington and Abbey Wood from Monday to Saturday 06:30 to 23:00. Work will continue during engineering hours and on Sundays to allow a series of testing and software updates in preparation for more intensive services from the autumn.
For the Platinum Jubilee weekend, the line will be open between 08:00 – 22:00.
All services between Reading and Heathrow to Paddington and Shenfield to Liverpool Street, currently operating as TfL Rail, will be rebranded to the Elizabeth line.
If you are travelling between Reading or Heathrow into London will need to change at Paddington for services into the central section of the route, and customers from Shenfield into London will need to change at Liverpool Street.
Services from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield will connect with the central tunnels in autumn when frequencies will also be increased to 22 trains per hour in the peak between Paddington and Whitechapel.
Step-free access is available between Paddington and Woolwich
A lot to do before opening
In the coming weeks, Elizabeth Line signage will continue to be uncovered across the network in preparation for the start of customer service. The updated Tube and Rail map will also be released later showing the new central section stations connected with the rest of the TfL network for the first time.
In addition, Bond Street (Elizabeth Line) will not open initially as work is still in progress to complete the site.
To allow for multi-modal transfers, changes will be made to 14 bus routes to improve links to Elizabeth line stations in east and south-east London. The changes will take effect from Saturday 14 and Saturday 21 May. This includes the new route 304, which will operate between Manor Park and Custom House stations from 21 May.
In Quotes
Andy Byford, Transport for London’s Commissioner, 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.”
The next train is … almost four years late
Well, it’s taken long enough to get to this point – the best part of three and a quarter years at this point – but it is time for the first leg of Crossrail to carry fare-paying passengers.
And there will be expectations of a high-quality passenger experience and minimal faults with the time that it has taken to commission the line.
It’s almost time for The Purple Train, Crossrail, Elizabeth Line to shine.
The operation over the first few weeks is going to be key to building confidence in a project that’s nearly 4 years late as well as £4 billion over budget.
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