Opening day for London's Elizabeth Line
The line stretches from Reading and Heathrow Airport to Abbey Wood and Shenfield
Last updated 24th May 2022
London’s new £18.9 billion Elizabeth line railway opens today.
The line is due to boost capacity and cut journey times for east-west travel across the capital.
Our reporter Josh Kerr has been trying the line out, he's travelled from Paddington to Abbey Wood station.
Where and when does the Elizabeth Line run?
It stretches from Reading in Berkshire and Heathrow Airport in west London to Abbey Wood in south-east London and Shenfield in Essex.
The central section, built by the Crossrail project, runs through tunnels from Paddington in west London to Abbey Wood.
Our Westminster Correspondent Georgie Prodromou caught up with London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Services begin running in new tunnels under the centre of the city at 6.30am, and large numbers of transport users are expected to be on the first departures.
Initially it will be closed on Sundays, apart from during the Platinum Jubilee weekend, to allow further testing and software updates to take place.
It will begin operating in three separate sections which are expected to be integrated in the autumn, Transport for London (TfL) estimates that annual passenger numbers will reach 170 million by 2026.
READ MORE: London's Elizabeth Line gets the green light to open
How much has been spent on the Elizabeth Line?
Crossrail suffered numerous issues including construction difficulties and complications installing signalling systems.
It was due to be completed in December 2018 and was set a budget of £14.8 billion in 2010.
The final total cost has been estimated at £18.9 billion, including £5.1 billion from the Government.
The line is named in honour of the Queen, who visited Paddington station last week, 17 May, to celebrate the completion of Crossrail.
READ MORE: Queen makes surprise visit to see the Elizabeth line at Paddington station
Today the Elizabeth line services are launch in three separate sections, by Autumn this year the three sections are due to be integrated, and by May 2023 the full timetable of up to 24 trains per hour is scheduled to be introduced.
10 key questions about the Elizabeth Line
What area will the Elizabeth line cover? It will run from Reading in Berkshire and Heathrow Airport in west London, to Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood in southeast London, via the centre of the capital.
Can I travel direct between those places from Tuesday? No. The Elizabeth line will initially operate as three separate railways from 6:30am Monday to Saturday, with a change of trains required at Paddington and Liverpool Street.
When will they be integrated? That is expected to happen in the autumn.
What is it currently like to travel through central London? Many passengers travel by Tube on the Central line for east-west journeys across the capital, trains are often crowded and get hot in the summer due to not having air-conditioning.
How will Elizabeth line trains compare? They are expected to be much more comfortable, featuring walk-through carriages, wi-fi, travel information screens and air-conditioning.
How about the stations? Ten new Elizabeth line stations will open in central London, they are set to be lighter, brighter and larger spaces than the vast majority of London Underground stations.
What will be the impact on journey times? Many journeys within London will be quicker by the Elizabeth line than by Tube. According to travel app Citymapper, platform-to-platform journeys between Liverpool Street and Paddington will be cut from 18 minutes to 10 minutes.
How about if I am travelling longer distances? Elizabeth line trains will stop at local stations, so journeys will be slower compared with the fastest mainline services between locations such as Reading and Paddington, or Shenfield and Liverpool Street.
But once the three sections are integrated, many passengers will benefit by not having to change between trains and Tube services.
What impact will the new line have on capacity? It will boost rail capacity in central London by 10%.
How much will it cost to use? Elizabeth line journeys in central London will cost the same as equivalent Tube fares, fares on services in the outer sections currently operated by TfL Rail will be unchanged.