Elizabeth Line opening will change mental geography of London forever

Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed the Elizabeth line will open on 24 May, subject to final safety approvals. 

The new line will transform travel across London and the South East by dramatically improving transport links, cutting journey times, providing additional capacity, and transforming accessibility with spacious new stations and walk-through trains. 

The new railway will connect stations such as Paddington to Canary Wharf in only 17 minutes, transforming how Londoners and visitors navigate the capital.

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 line was originally planned to open in December 2018, but the project faced numerous setbacks. Work is still ongoing at the Bond Street station, which means it will not open with the other stations on 24 May, but should be accessible to customers later this year.

TfL says the new line is crucial to London's recovery from the pandemic, helping avoid a car-led recovery by providing new journey options, supporting regeneration across the capital, and adding an estimated £42bn to the UK economy.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, said, “I’m delighted that our world-class new Elizabeth line will be opening to passengers later this month, helping build a better London – one which is safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners. This is the most significant addition to our transport network in decades, and will revolutionise travel across the capital and the south east.

“Green public transport is the future and the opening of the Elizabeth line is a landmark moment for our capital and our whole country, particularly in this special Platinum Jubilee year.”

Nick Bowes, chief executive of Centre for London, the capital's dedicated think tank said, “The Elizabeth Line’s opening in a few weeks is a major shot in the arm for the city after its toughest few years since the war. Yes, it’s late, and yes, it’s over budget, but London is getting a magnificent piece of public transport infrastructure that will blow Londoners away and change the mental geography of east-west city travel forever. The Elizabeth Line has been decades in the planning, 14 years in construction, and has brought huge supply chain benefits across the country, demonstrating how public transport investment in London doesn’t just boost the city but the whole UK.”

Changes are to be made to 14 bus routes to improve links to Elizabeth line stations in east and south-east London, where many customers will use buses to get to and from stations. The changes will take effect from Saturday 14 and Saturday 21 May. 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.