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The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to Abbey Wood and the Great Eastern Main Line near Stratford; along the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington to Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west; and along the Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield in the east. The service is named after Queen Elizabeth II, who officially opened the line on 17 May 2022 during her Platinum Jubilee year; passenger services started on 24 May 2022.

Elizabeth line
An Elizabeth line train at Abbey Wood in May 2022
Overview
Service type	Hybrid urban-suburban rail[1]
System	National Rail
Locale	Greater London Berkshire Buckinghamshire Essex
First service	24 May 2022; 5 months ago (2022-05-24)
Current operator(s)	MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Ltd[2]
Website	tfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/
Route
Termini	West: Heathrow Terminal 4, Heathrow Terminal 5 and Reading East: Abbey Wood and Shenfield
Stops	41
Technical
Rolling stock	Class 345[3]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC (overhead lines)
Operating speed	Crossrail: 60 mph (95 km/h) GWML, Heathrow and GEML: 90 mph (145 km/h)
Track owner(s)	Transport for London (Old Oak Common to Abbey Wood and Stratford) Network Rail (Pudding Mill Lane to Shenfield and Old Oak Common to Reading) Heathrow Airport Holdings (Heathrow branch)
Transport for London rail lines London Underground Bakerloo Central Circle District Hammersmith & City Jubilee Metropolitan Northern Piccadilly Victoria Waterloo & City Other TfL Modes DLR Elizabeth line London Overground Tramlink v t e

Under the project name of Crossrail, the system was approved in 2007, and construction began in 2009. Originally planned to open in 2018, the project was repeatedly delayed, including for several months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May 2015, existing commuter services on a section of one of the eastern branches, between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, were transferred to TfL Rail; this precursor service also took control of Heathrow Connect in May 2018, and some local services on the Paddington to Reading line in December 2019. These services were augmented by a new central section in May 2022, and rebranded as the Elizabeth line. The outer services were connected to the central section in November 2022. By May 2023, the central section will have up to 24 nine-carriage Class 345 trains per hour in each direction.

History

In 2001, Cross London Rail Links (CLRL), a 50/50 joint-venture between Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT), was formed to develop and promote the Crossrail scheme,[4] and also a Wimbledon–Hackney scheme, Crossrail 2. In 2003 and 2004, over 50 days of exhibitions were held to explain the proposals at over 30 different locations.[5]^{[non-primary source needed]}

2005 route development

In 2005, ahead of Crossrail's hybrid bill submission, a number of feeder routes were considered by CLRL west of Paddington and east of Liverpool Street. It was viewed, given the 24 trains-per-hour (tph) core frequency, that two feeder routes, each of 12tph, could be taken forward.[6]

In the west, a route to Maidenhead (later extended to Reading) and Heathrow Airport was selected. In the east, routes to Abbey Wood (curtailed from Ebbsfleet to avoid conflicts with the North Kent lines) and Shenfield were selected.

Approval

The Crossrail Act 2008 authorising the construction project received royal assent on 22 July 2008.[7][8] In December 2008, TfL and the DfT announced that they had signed the "Crossrail Sponsors' Agreement". This committed them to financing the project, then projected to cost £15.9 billion, with further contributions from Network Rail, BAA[9] and the City of London.[10]

Construction

Work began on 15 May 2009 when piling works started at the future Canary Wharf station.[11]

Boring of the railway tunnels was officially completed in June 2015.[12] Installation of the track was completed in September 2017.[13] The ETCS signalling was scheduled to be tested in the Heathrow tunnels over the winter of 2017–2018.[14]

At the end of August 2018, four months before the scheduled opening of the core section of the line, it was announced that completion was delayed and that the line would not open before autumn 2019.[15] After multiple delays, in August 2020 Crossrail announced that the central section would be ready to open "in the first half of 2022".[16]

In May 2021, trial running commenced.[17]

On 17 May 2022, the line was officially opened by the Queen in honour of her Platinum Jubilee. She was not scheduled to attend the event, but decided to attend with her son, Prince Edward, to unveil the plaque commemorating the official opening.[18]

Timeline

Though the main tunnels under central London had not yet been opened, passenger operations on the outer branches of the future Elizabeth line were transferred to TfL for inclusion in the concession – this took place over several stages beginning May 2015. During this initial phase of operation, services were operated by MTR under the TfL Rail brand. Following the practice adopted during the transfer of former Silverlink services to London Overground in 2007, TfL carried out a deep clean of stations and trains on the future Elizabeth line route, installed new ticket machines and barriers, introduced Oyster card and contactless payment, and ensured all stations were staffed. Existing rolling stock was rebranded with the TfL Rail identity.[19]

TfL Rail and Elizabeth line services

Stage	Map	Completion dates		Notes	Completed?
		Original	Actual
0		May 2015[20]	31 May 2015[21]	Existing "metro" service between Liverpool Street (main line station) and Shenfield transferred from Abellio Greater Anglia to TfL Rail	Yes
1		May 2017[20]	22 June 2017[22]	Class 345 trains start running between Liverpool Street and Shenfield in reduced length format[23]	Yes
2a[24]		May 2018[20]	20 May 2018[25]	Existing service between Paddington (main line station) and Heathrow Terminal 4 transferred from Heathrow Connect Existing shuttle service between Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 and Heathrow Terminal 4 transferred from Heathrow Express, both to TfL Rail	Yes
5a[26]		—	15 December 2019[27]	Most stopping services between Paddington and Reading transferred from Great Western Railway to TfL Rail, operating up to 4tph The first TfL trains in public service to Reading ran on 25 November 2019 as a soft launch of the service.[28]	Yes
2b[24]		May 2018[20]	30 July 2020[29]	Class 345 trains start running between Paddington and Heathrow	Yes
4a[30]		—	26 May 2021[31]	Class 345 trains in full length format start running between Liverpool Street and Shenfield[31]	Yes
3		Dec 2018[20]	24 May 2022[32]	Services between Paddington and Abbey Wood begin; this section and existing TfL Rail routes rebranded as the Elizabeth line, up to 12tph	Yes
4b/5b		—	6 November 2022[33]	Services begin between Paddington and Shenfield; and between Reading and Heathrow, and Abbey Wood. The two services are operated in parallel, sharing the central tunnel.	Yes
5c		Dec 2019[20]	Expected May 2023	Full route opens, with services between both Reading and Heathrow in the west, and Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.	No

Route

Design and infrastructure

Name and identity

Crossrail is the name of the construction project and of the limited company, wholly owned by TfL, that was formed to carry out construction works.[19][34]

The Elizabeth line is the name of the new service that is on signage throughout the stations. It is named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.[35][36] The Elizabeth line logo features a Transport for London roundel with a purple ring and blue bar with white text. Unlike lines of the London Underground, the roundels contain the word "line".

TfL Rail was an intermediate brand name which was introduced in May 2015 and discontinued in May 2022. It was used by TfL on services between Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5 and Reading, as well as trains between Liverpool Street and Shenfield.[37]

Stations

v t e Elizabeth line
All stations have step-free access from street to platform or train
Legend
Reading Twyford Maidenhead River Thames Taplow Burnham Slough Heathrow T5 Langley Heathrow T4 Iver M25 motorway Heathrow T2&3 Greater London boundary West Drayton Heathrow Rail Link Great Western Main Line Hayes & Harlington Southall Hanwell West Ealing Ealing Broadway Acton Main Line Old Oak Common (under construction) Old Oak Common depot Crossrail Great Western Main Line Royal Oak portal Paddington London Paddington Bond Street Tottenham Ct Rd Farringdon Barbican Moorgate Liverpool St Whitechapel Crossrail Great Eastern Main Line Pudding Mill Lane portal[38] Canary Wharf Stratford Victoria Dock portal Maryland Custom House Forest Gate Connaught tunnel under Royal Docks Manor Park River Thames Ilford Woolwich Seven Kings Abbey Wood Goodmayes Safeguarded route to Gravesend Chadwell Heath Romford Control Centre and depot Romford Gidea Park Harold Wood Greater London boundary M25 motorway Brentwood Shenfield

Station	Image	Branch(es)	TfL service began	Interchanges
Reading		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)	CrossCountry, Great Western, South Western
Twyford		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)	Great Western
Maidenhead		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)	Great Western
Taplow		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)
Burnham		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)
Slough		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)	Great Western
Langley		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)
Iver		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)
West Drayton		Reading	15 December 2019 (2019-12-15)	Great Western
Heathrow Terminal 5		Heathrow	9 May 2020 (2020-05-09)	Heathrow Express Piccadilly line
Heathrow Terminal 4		Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3		Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)	Heathrow Express
Hayes & Harlington		Reading and Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)	Great Western
Southall		Reading and Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)	Great Western
Hanwell		Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)
West Ealing		Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)	Great Western
Ealing Broadway		Reading and Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)	Great Western Central line District line
Acton Main Line		Heathrow	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)
Paddington		Core	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	Great Western Heathrow Express Bakerloo line[lower-alpha 1] Circle line[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] District line[lower-alpha 1] Hammersmith & City line[lower-alpha 2]
Bond Street		Core	24 October 2022 (2022-10-24)[39][40]	Central line Jubilee line
Tottenham Court Road		Core	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	Central line Northern line
Farringdon		Core	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	Thameslink Circle line Hammersmith & City line Metropolitan line
Liverpool Street		Core	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	c2c,[lower-alpha 3] Greater Anglia, Great Northern[lower-alpha 4] Lea Valley lines Central line Circle line Hammersmith & City line Metropolitan line Northern line[lower-alpha 4]
Whitechapel		Core	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	East London line District line Hammersmith & City line
Canary Wharf		Abbey Wood	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	Jubilee line[lower-alpha 5] Docklands Light Railway[lower-alpha 6]
Custom House		Abbey Wood	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	Docklands Light Railway
Woolwich		Abbey Wood	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	Southeastern Thameslink[lower-alpha 7] Docklands Light Railway[lower-alpha 7]
Abbey Wood		Abbey Wood	24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)	Southeastern Thameslink
Stratford		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)	c2c,[lower-alpha 3] Greater Anglia North London line Central line Jubilee line Docklands Light Railway
Maryland		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Forest Gate		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)	Gospel Oak to Barking line[lower-alpha 8]
Manor Park		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Ilford		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Seven Kings		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Goodmayes		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Chadwell Heath		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Romford		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)	Greater Anglia Romford–Upminster line
Gidea Park		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Harold Wood		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Brentwood		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)
Shenfield		Shenfield	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)	Greater Anglia
London Paddington[lower-alpha 9]		Paddington	20 May 2018 (2018-05-20)	Great Western Heathrow Express Elizabeth line (main route) Bakerloo line[lower-alpha 1] Circle line[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] District line[lower-alpha 1] Hammersmith & City line[lower-alpha 2]
London Liverpool Street[lower-alpha 10]		Liverpool Street	31 May 2015 (2015-05-31)	c2c,[lower-alpha 3] Greater Anglia Lea Valley lines Elizabeth line (main route) Central line Circle line Hammersmith & City line Metropolitan line

Ten new stations have been built in the central and south east sections of the line, and thirty-one existing stations were upgraded and refurbished.[41] Nine of the ten new built stations were fully opened on 24 May 2022 with Bond Street as the exception which, as of February 2022^[update], still needed further final finishing prior to testing and commissioning.[42][43] All stations are equipped with CCTV[44] and because of the length of trains, central stations have train indicators above the platform-edge doors.[45] All 41 stations will be step-free, with 13 of these (the central and Heathrow stations) having level access between trains and platforms.[46]

Although the trains are 200 metres (660 feet) long, platforms at the new stations in the central core are built to enable 240-metre-long (790 ft) trains in case of possible future need. In the eastern section, Maryland and Manor Park have not had platform extensions, so trains use selective door opening instead.[47] At Maryland this is because of the prohibitive cost of extensions and the poor business case,[48] and at Manor Park it is due to the presence of a freight loop that would otherwise be cut off.[49]

A mock-up of the new stations was built in Bedfordshire in 2011 to ensure that their architectural integrity would last for a century.[50] It was planned to bring at least one mock-up to London for the public to view the design and give feedback before final construction commenced.[45]

Future stations

Station	Image	Branch(es)	Opening	Interchanges
Old Oak Common	No image available yet	Core	Expected 2026[citation needed]	Great Western, Avanti West Coast Heathrow Express West London line, North London line

Rolling stock

The Elizabeth line route exclusively uses nine-car Class 345 trains for the services on the routes.[51][32] The requirement was for 65 trains, each 200 metres (660 feet) long and carrying up to 1,500 passengers.[51] The trains are accessible, including dedicated areas for wheelchairs, with audio and visual announcements, CCTV and speaker-phones connected to the driver in case of emergency.[52] They will run at up to 140 km/h (90 mph) on certain parts of the route.[53]

In March 2011, Crossrail announced that five bidders had been shortlisted for the contract to build the Class 345 and its associated depot.[54] One of the bidders, Alstom, withdrew from the process in July 2011. In February 2012, Crossrail issued an invitation to negotiate to CAF, Siemens, Hitachi and Bombardier, with tenders expected to be submitted by mid-2012.[55] In 2013, Siemens also withdrew from the bid, but will provide signalling and control systems for Crossrail.[56] In December 2013, the European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed to provide loans to Transport for London for the rolling stock of up to £500M.[57] On 6 February 2014, it was announced that Canada's Bombardier had been awarded a £1bn contract to supply 66 trains,[3][58] with an option for 18 more.[3] Bombardier Transportation would later be acquired by withdrawing bidder Alstom on 29 January 2021.

The first train entered service on 22 June 2017 on the TfL Rail route between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield as a seven-carriage unit,[59] since, before the platforms were lengthened,[60] the complete nine-car sets could not be accommodated at Liverpool Street station.[61]

In July 2017 an option for five more units was exercised taking the order to 70 units.[62]^{[better source needed]}

Eight Class 315 trains, which were built in 1980–1981, are still needed to run on the Liverpool Street-Shenfield via Stratford section of the Elizabeth line. They will cover Elizabeth line services during weekday peak hours for an initial few months until there are enough Class 345 trains to run the service, as some are out of service temporarily whilst extra carriages are added to them.[63]

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Carriages	Number	Routes operated	Built	Years in operation
			mph	km/h
Class 315		EMU	75	120	4	8[63]	Liverpool Street – Shenfield[64] (weekdays only)	1980–1981	1980–November 2022
Class 345 Aventra		EMU	90	145	9	70	Reading – Abbey Wood Heathrow Terminal 4 & Terminal 5 – Abbey Wood Paddington – Shenfield	2015–2019	June 2017–present

Electrification and train protection

The Elizabeth line uses 25 kV, 50 Hz AC overhead lines, already in use on the Great Eastern and Great Western Main Lines.

The Heathrow branch started using the European Train Control System (ETCS) in 2020. The Automatic Warning (AWS) and Train Protection & Warning (TPWS) systems are used on the Great Western and Great Eastern Main Lines, with possible later upgrades to ETCS. Communications-based train control (CBTC) is installed in the central section and the Abbey Wood branch.[65][66][67]

Depots

The Elizabeth line has depots in west London at Old Oak Common TMD, in south-east London at Plumstead Depot, and in east London at Ilford EMU Depot.[68][69]

Service pattern

Initial service

Upon opening, the line ran as three physically separate services: between Reading or Heathrow airport and London Paddington in the west; from Paddington via Liverpool Street to Abbey Wood in the centre; and between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield in the east. To connect between services, a walk between the separate stations at Paddington or Liverpool Street was required.

Current service

As of 6 November 2022, when through-running began, there are two main service groups, overlapping through the core section: from Reading or Heathrow Airport to Abbey Wood; and from Paddington to Shenfield. The off-peak weekday service is as follows:[70]

Heathrow Airport or Reading to Abbey Wood
Route	tph	Calling at
Reading to Abbey Wood	2	Twyford Maidenhead Taplow Burnham Slough Langley West Drayton Hayes & Harlington Southall Ealing Broadway Paddington Bond Street Tottenham Court Road Farringdon Liverpool Street Whitechapel Canary Wharf Custom House Woolwich
Maidenhead to Abbey Wood	2	Burnham Slough Langley Iver West Drayton Hayes & Harlington Southall Ealing Broadway Paddington Bond Street Tottenham Court Road Farringdon Liverpool Street Whitechapel Canary Wharf Custom House Woolwich
Heathrow Terminal 4 to Abbey Wood	2	Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Hayes & Harlington Southall Hanwell West Ealing Ealing Broadway Acton Main Line Paddington Bond Street Tottenham Court Road Farringdon Liverpool Street Whitechapel Canary Wharf Custom House Woolwich
Heathrow Terminal 5 to Abbey Wood	2
Paddington to Shenfield
Route	tph	Calling at
Paddington to Shenfield	8	Bond Street Tottenham Court Road Farringdon Liverpool Street Whitechapel Stratford Maryland Forest Gate Manor Park Ilford Seven Kings Goodmayes Chadwell Heath Romford Gidea Park Harold Wood Brentwood

Some early morning and late night services run into London Paddington main line terminus instead of going across central London. Likewise, some early, peak-direction, and late trains run between London Liverpool Street main line terminus and Gidea Park, bypassing Whitechapel.

Planned service

In May 2023, it is planned to allow trains to run from both eastern branches to west of Paddington. This will allow both more flexible, and higher frequency, services.

Journey times

Minutes between stations[71]

Route	Pre-Elizabeth line time	Elizabeth line time
Paddington to Tottenham Court Road	20	4
Paddington to Canary Wharf	34	17
Bond Street to Paddington	15	3
Bond Street to Whitechapel	24	10
Canary Wharf to Liverpool Street	21	6
Canary Wharf to Heathrow	55	39
Whitechapel to Canary Wharf	13	3
Abbey Wood to Heathrow	93	52

Ticketing

Ticketing is integrated with the other London transport systems, but Oyster pay as you go will not be accepted on the western section between West Drayton (the limit of TfL's Zone 6) and Reading, with only contactless cards valid there. Travelcards and concessionary passes will be valid within Greater London. The Elizabeth line is integrated with the London Underground, the wider Transport for London network and the National Rail networks; it is also included on the standard Tube map.[72]

Journeys to or from Heathrow Airport are priced at a premium due to using the rail tunnel between the airport and Hayes & Harlington. That stretch of line is not part of the Network Rail system but owned by Heathrow Airport Holdings, who charge TfL an additional fee for each train that uses it. Heathrow is nevertheless included within travelcards and daily/weekly fare capping as a Zone 6 station.[73]

Passenger numbers

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elizabeth line was predicted to carry over 200 million passengers annually immediately after opening;[74] this was expected to relieve pressure on London Underground's lines, especially the Central line.[75] Farringdon is expected to become one of the busiest stations in the UK, due to it being the key interchange station with Thameslink services.[76] In a business plan for the line published in January 2020, Transport for London predicted total annual revenues from the line of nearly £500 million per year in 2022/23 (its first full year of operation) and over £1 billion per year in 2024/25.[74] By the time the line opened, TfL had reduced their passenger forecasts because passenger travelling habits changed during the pandemic; the estimate was between 130 and 170 million passengers by 2026.[77]

Further proposals

New stations have been proposed to serve London City Airport, and extensions have been put forward to Ebbsfleet in the south east, Milton Keynes in the north west, Staines in the south west, and Southend Airport in the east.

See also

• Crossrail 2 – second proposed Crossrail route providing a new north–south rail link across Greater London
• The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway, a documentary about the Elizabeth line's construction and commissioning
• Transport in London

References

Bibliography

• "London & South East RUS (final)". Network Rail. 28 July 2011. p. 9. Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
• "Crossrail Act 2008". The National Archives.
  • "Crossrail Bill supporting documents". Archived from the original on 13 February 2009.
• "Government backs £10bn Crossrail". BBC News. 20 June 2004.
• Geoghegan, Tom (20 June 2004). "Will Crossrail beat the Tube?". BBC News.
• "Crossrail link 'to get go-ahead'". BBC News. 13 February 2005.
• "First Crossrail bill for Commons". BBC News. 22 February 2005.
• "Election holds up Crossrail bill". BBC News. 7 April 2005.
• "Crossrail plan in Queen's Speech". BBC News. 17 May 2005.
• "Crossrail's giant tunnelling machines unveiled". BBC News. 2 January 2012.
• "Crossrail: A rare look deep under London" (video). BBC News. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.

Preceded by Abellio Greater Anglia Shenfield Metro services	Operator of MTR Crossrail 2015–2023	Incumbent
Preceded by Great Western Railway Maidenhead and Reading services
Preceded by Heathrow Connect Heathrow Terminal 4 services

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