Voice of London

Crossrail, now being marketed as the Elizabeth Line, will be opening in the first half of 2022. TfL currently operate the surface branches of the Elizabeth Line on the east and west sides of the Elizabeth Line’s “core,” which is currently branded as TfL Rail. 

The Elizabeth Line will essentially serve as a new east-west express tube service in the core but operate as a more traditional railway west of Paddington and east of Whitechapel stations. 

The line is expected to open in the first half of 2022 after nearly four years of delays.

What does this mean for young Londoners though? 

The Elizabeth line will cut some journey times in half, speeding up journey times for people who would normally be on the Central and Jubilee line trains.

Getting to Canary Wharf from Northwest London on the Jubilee Line will take about half of the time as it does now once Bond Street station opens in the fall of 2022. 

Voice of London reached out to TfL for specifics.

A representative from TfL, Deepak Kumar, stated that “passengers will be able to get from Canary Wharf to Tottenham Court Road in approximately 13 minutes. This journey currently takes approximately 30 minutes via the existing network.”

Kumar says that “Using the Elizabeth line, passengers will be able to get from Woolwich to Liverpool Street, a station with a western ticket hall at Moorgate, in approximately 15 minutes. A similar journey via the existing network currently takes more than 40 minutes.”

Students with a railcard discount on their 18+ Student oyster will still be eligible for a discount of a third off on off-peak journeys on the Elizabeth Line.

“Customers with a Railcard discount set on their Oyster card will continue to benefit from 1/3 off off-peak pay as you go fares, just as they do today” Kumar stated.

On ticketing, Kumar says: “As today, contactless pay as you go will be accepted throughout the Elizabeth line. Daily and weekly price capping will apply for contactless and Oyster, just as it does now. TfL concessions will be accepted as they are today.”

Kumar noted that “Customers using Oyster to pay as you go wishing to travel to or from stations beyond West Drayton will need to use contactless instead or buy a paper ticket.”

Even if you don’t need to take the Elizabeth line, the effects will spread to the London Underground by taking pressure off of some of the most heavily used Tube lines.

“When fully open, the Elizabeth line will increase central London’s rail capacity by 10 per cent. This should reduce crowding across TfL’s network, particularly on the Central and Jubilee lines” Kumar said.

Young Londoners are ready for the line to open.

Megan O’Keefe, a second-year student at University of Westminster is excited to try out the new line. “I’m excited to see it open, it provides easier, faster, and safer transportation across London,” she said. 

Barbara St. Fleur, a third-year student at University of Westminster is ready for the line to open. “I am a busy woman who has a lot going on in my personal life as well as my professional life. Having to spend less time on transit means I will have more time for my life.” 

Trains should arrive every two minutes between Paddington and Whitechapel in May 2023 when the railway is finalised but will initially run every five from Paddington to Abbey Wood.

Trains will initially run from the west to the legacy Paddington station where customers will have to transfer down to the lower level (subway) Elizabeth Line Platforms. A similar situation will happen at Liverpool Street—Customers will have to transfer from the old station to the new lower-level platforms. 

The Elizabeth Line could mean new career opportunities and affordable housing options for young Londoners—the barrier of having a long, arduous commute is essentially lifted for millions of people.

While halving travel times is great, you might find that you want to spend more time on Elizabeth Line trains rather than less. 

The trains are state of the art, fully airconditioned, and Wi-Fi equipped. Compared to the cramped, hot, and old trains of the Central line, I imagine many Londoners will choose the Elizabeth line purely for the air conditioning in the summer. 

Words, images, and animation by Mac Clapper