Queen Elizabeth II visits Paddington
Queen Elizabeth II visits Paddington Station in London on May 17, 2022, to mark the completion of the Crossrail project. Photographer: Andrew Matthews/Pool/AFP

Here’s How Crossrail Will Transform London Travel

Today London launches the biggest extension of its public transport system this century. Dubbed the Elizabeth Line—and launched to coincide with celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th year on the throne—the long-awaited £18.9 billion link is much more than just a new railway line.

Five of the 10 newly built stations are in central London

Newly built station. Circle size represents peak daily passengers

Central section

Direct connection to Shenfield opens Autumn 2022

to Shenfield

170K

Tottenham

Court

Road

82K

Farringdon

99K

Whitechapel

25K

Custom House

for ExCeL

174K

Paddington

Liverpool

Street

124K

68K

Canary Wharf

Bond Street

(opening later

this year)

137K

56K

Woolwich

River Thames

Abbey

Wood

52K

Direct connections to Reading and

Heathrow Airport open Autumn 2022

TfL fare zone 1

The Elizabeth line will connect two of Britain’s oldest and busiest railways

Newly built station

Shenfield

Upgraded station

TfL Rail service operational since 2015 rebranded to Elizabeth Line

Romford

Ilford

Great Eastern Main Line, opened 1862

Forest Gate

Stratford

Reading

Tottenham

Court

Road

Farringdon

Whitechapel

Great Western Main Line opened 1841

Custom House

for ExCeL

Paddington

Liverpool

Street

Slough

Bond Street

Canary Wharf

Ealing

Broadway

Woolwich

Abbey

Wood

Zone 1

£7.70 cap

Heathrow

Airport

Zone 1-6

£14.10 cap

Five of the 10 newly built stations are in central London

Newly built station. Circle size represents peak daily passengers

Upgraded station

TfL Rail service operational since 2015 rebranded to Elizabeth Line

River Thames

Abbey

Wood

Shenfield

North

Woolwich

Romford

Custom House

for ExCeL

Ilford

The Elizabeth line will connect two of Britain’s oldest and busiest railways: the Great Eastern Main Line, opened 1862

Forest Gate

Greater London

Stratford

Canary

Wharf

68K

West

Whitechapel

Liverpool

Street

124K

Farringdon

Tottenham

Court

Road

Bond Street

(opens later

this year)

TfL Zone 1

Paddington

Great Western Main Line, opened 1841

Acton

Main Line

Ealing

Broadway

West

Ealing

Southall

Heathrow

Airport

Reading

Slough

Five of the 10 newly built stations are in

central London

Circle size represents peak daily passengers

Upgraded station

River Thames

Shenfield

Abbey Wood

North

Woolwich

Romford

Custom House

for ExCeL

West

Ilford

Forest Gate

Stratford

TfL Rail service operational since 2015 rebranded to Elizabeth Line

Canary

Wharf

68K

Whitechapel

Liverpool

Street

Farringdon

Tottenham

Court Road

170K

Bond Street

(opens later

this year)

Paddington

TfL Zone 1

The Elizabeth line will connect two of Britain’s oldest and busiest railways

Acton

Main Line

Ealing

Broadway

West Ealing

Southall

Greater London

Reading

Slough

Heathrow

Airport

Sources: Modified map of Transport for London services by sameboat, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; Crossrail; Transport for London

First approved in 2008, the heavy rail line will dramatically improve public transport coverage of the city, says Transport for London (TfL), slashing journey times, providing substantial extra capacity and making the city more altogether more accessible. By extending the transport system to areas that were previously much slower to access and creating new central hubs for transfers to the Tube, the line could also reshape the way people navigate the city. Here are five of the key changes the Elizabeth Line should deliver:

Quicker Journeys

Running along an east-west axis, the new link should make many London journeys altogether speedier. Travel times from Southeast London’s Abbey Wood to the major western rail terminus of Paddington, for example, will be cut by almost half to 29 minutes. Journeys from southeastern Woolwich—currently one of London’s worst-served areas for train connections—to London’s main eastern rail terminus at Liverpool Street will be halved to 15 minutes, while connections between Farringdon, in London’s financial district, and the newer dockland business hub of Canary Wharf will be slashed from 24 minutes to just ten. While all Londoners stand to benefit from these connections, business travelers will be particularly well-served, with connections from Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf soon to be possible in 44 minutes.

Abbey Wood to Paddington

Southeastern

Jubilee

Bakerloo

51 mins

Elizabeth

28 mins

Woolwich to Whitechapel

DLR

Jubilee

Overground

25 mins

29 mins

Elizabeth

9 mins

Hackney

Camden

Barking and

Dagenham

Newham

Baker

Street

Canning

Town

Whitechapel

City of London

Paddington

London

Bridge

Westminster

Canada

Water

Abbey

Wood

Woolwich

2 km

Southwark

Greenwich

2 miles

Bexley

Lambeth

Abbey Wood to Paddington

Southeastern

Jubilee

Bakerloo

51 mins

Elizabeth

28 mins

Woolwich to Whitechapel

DLR

Jubilee

Overground

25 mins

29 mins

Elizabeth

9 mins

Hackney

Camden

Baker

Street

Canning

Town

Whitechapel

Newham

Paddington

London

Bridge

Westminster

Canada

Water

Abbey

Wood

Woolwich

2 km

Southwark

Greenwich

Bexley

2 miles

Note: Durations calculated for travel on a Monday at 9AM, include transit and exclude estimated time to enter or exit stations.
Sources: Citymapper; OpenStreetMap contributors

Easier Commute

An additional 1.5 million people will be within a 45-minute commuting distance from the capital’s major commercial and business centers of the West End, the City and Canary Wharf, up from 5 million currently according to Crossrail.

Despite lying outside the boundaries of Greater London, services to Heathrow Airport and the towns of Reading and Shenfield are already running under TfL Rail, the city transport authority lying under the control of London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan. The lines will initially operate as three separate railways, to be fully connected by Autumn.

The line will bring an addtional 1.5 million people within a 45 minute commute of central London (up from 5 million)

Circles represent weighted population density

HERTFORDSHIRE

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

75 mins

ESSEX

46 mins

Shenfield

Stratford

Greater London

Romford

Liverpool

Street

Ilford

Ealing

Slough

Paddington

Abbey Wood

Woolwich

BERKSHIRE

Reading

Heathrow

Airport

39 mins

SURREY

KENT

10 km

10 miles

Annual passenger numbers increased at commuter town stations 2000-20

Entries and exits

Interchanges

Reading

Slough

Abbey Wood

15M

10

5

0

2000–’01

2020–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

10M

Romford

Shenfield

Ilford

5

0

’00–’01

’20–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

The line will bring an additional 1.5 million people within a 45 minute commute of central London (up from 5 million)

Circles represent weighted population density

HERTFORDSHIRE

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

ESSEX

75 mins

46 mins

Shenfield

Greater

London

Liverpool

Street

Romford

Slough

Paddington

Abbey

Wood

BERKSHIRE

Heathrow

Airport

Reading

39 mins

KENT

10 km

SURREY

10 mi

Annual passenger numbers increased at commuter town stations 2000-20

Entries and exits

Interchanges

Reading

Slough

Abbey Wood

15M

10

5

0

2000–’01

2020–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

10M

Romford

Shenfield

Ilford

5

0

’00–’01

’20–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

490px (narrow-copy-width)

The line will bring an additional 1.5 million people within a 45 minute commute of central London

Circles represent weighted population density

HERTFORDSHIRE

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

75 mins

ESSEX

46 mins

Shenfield

Liverpool

Street

Greater

London

Romford

Paddington

Slough

BERKSHIRE

Heathrow

Airport

Reading

39 mins

10 km

KENT

SURREY

10 mi

Annual passenger numbers increased at commuter town stations 2000-20

Entries and exits

Interchanges

Reading

Slough

15M

10

5

0

2000–’01

2020–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

10M

Romford

Ilford

5

0

’00–’01

’20–’21

’00–’01

’20–’21

Note: Map shows population weighted points for 2011.
Sources: Office of Rail and RoadOffice for National Statistics; OpenStreetMap contributors

Before the pandemic, many London-area commuters were obliged to take crammed Tube carriages for parts of their journey. Riders from eastern Essex or western Berkshire, for example, had to get a suburban train to a rail terminus, then go down into the Tube to continue to their final destinations. With the Elizabeth Line connecting outer suburbs directly to a string of new stations in central London, many of those commuters should be able to go straight from their home stations to one within easy walking distance of their offices, without needing to transfer to the Tube. That stands to make towns like Slough, Romford and others more convenient for London-bound workers.

Slough to Farringdon

Circle/Hamm.

TfL Rail

54 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

45 mins

Ilford to Whitechapel

Central

District

TfL Rail

20 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

14 mins

Romford to Paddington

Circle/Hammersmith

TfL Rail

53 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

39 mins

Slough to Farringdon

Circle/H.

TfL Rail

54 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

45 mins

Ilford to Whitechapel

Central

District

TfL Rail

20 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

14 mins

Romford to Paddington

Circle/Hamm.

TfL Rail

53 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

39 mins

Note: Durations calculated for travel on a Monday at 9AM, include transit and exclude estimated time to enter or exit stations.
Source: Citymapper

The Elizabeth Line will also redraw the map of London’s central transport hubs.

To take an example: Farringdon Station—the central London terminus of the world’s first underground railway, which opened in January 1863—was, before the Elizabeth Line’s opening a busy but not necessarily pivotal station in London’s transport network. Thanks to the Elizabeth Line, it will now be a key interchange station, connecting the line not just to the Tube but with high frequency trains to London’s northern and southern suburban hinterland that are routed through the station. Farringdon will also now have direct links to St. Pancras International for Eurostar connections and to three major airports: Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton. Combined with the station’s existing Tube links, Farringdon will eventually be served by over 140 trains per hour at the busiest times.

Accessibility

London’s Tube system has never been an easy place to navigate for people with limited mobility. While around a third of Underground stations (and all stations on the Docklands Light Railway) currently have step-free access, many stations are accessed by long escalators and short stairways. The Elizabeth Line by contrast, will provide step-free access that could open up many routes into central London for people with disabilities. The 10 new stations in the central section of the line—as well as Heathrow—will have level access from platform to trains, and step-free access from street to train at nearly all other stations. The changes in speed and ease will be drastic for some. Given London’s population over 65 years old is expected to be 62% higher by 2040, the need for accessible stations is only going to grow.

A train at the platform at Farringdon station during trial operations on the Elizabeth Line
A train at the platform at Farringdon station during trial operations on the Elizabeth Line on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Volunteers exit a carriage onto a platform during a test run of an Elizabeth Line train at Paddington Station
Volunteers exit a carriage onto a platform during a test run of an Elizabeth Line train at Paddington Station on March 13, 2022. Photographer: Niklas Halle’n/AFP

Previously, for example, a wheelchair user using public transport could only travel the two miles (3.2 km) from Paddington to Tottenham Court Road by taking two buses, with a journey time of 25 minutes. On the Elizabeth Line, this should be a five-minute journey.

Paddington to Tottenham Court Road

Bus 205

Bus 73

25 mins

Elizabeth

5 mins

Non step-free

Bakerloo

Central

10 mins

Walk

Central

20 mins

Regents Park

Warren

Street

Camden

Oxford

Circus

Westminster

Paddington

Tottenham

Court

Road

Lancaster

Gate

Hyde Park

500 m

1,500 ft

Paddington to Tottenham Court Road

Bus 205

Bus 73

25 mins

Elizabeth

5 mins

Non step-free

Bakerloo

Central

10 mins

Walk

Central

20 mins

Regents Park

Warren

Street

Camden

Oxford

Circus

Westminster

Paddington

Tottenham

Court

Road

Lancaster

Gate

500 m

Hyde Park

1,500 ft

Note: Durations calculated for travel on a Monday at 9AM, include transit and do not include time to enter or exit stations.
Sources: Citymapper; OpenStreetMap contributors

Less Congestion

Before the pandemic, the Tube at rush hour could be packed even at a rate of two trains per minute, with alternative Overground and commuter rail services often equally busy. Building a new link was one of the only ways for the city to increase capacity.

Elizabeth Line capacity will be greater than all others, with 200 metre long trains, accommodating up to 1,500 passengers. The Northern Line, by comparison, has a per train capacity of just 800. Twenty-four trains an hour will run on the line’s busiest section. That means a train every 2.5 minutes—a high volume but still less than the 34 trains per hour at peak times running on London’s busiest Tube link, the Victoria Line. Overall, the line is projected to accommodate 200 million passengers annually, increasing the capacity of London’s train network by 10%.

High Volumes

The Elizabeth Line will eventually run 24 trains per hour between Paddington and Abbey Wood

Victoria

34

Jubillee

30

24

Elizabeth

Victoria

34

Jubillee

30

Elizabeth

24

Source: Transport for London Elizabeth and Working Timetables

It is still unclear how much the pandemic will affect demand for the new line, as at least some former commuters will likely continue the habit of working partly from home into the near future. But with TfL’s daily ridership having recently recovered to 73% of pre-pandemic levels, the need for an increase of the transport system’s extent and capacity remains persuasive.

Underground Journeys

Monthly passengers have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels

125M

100

75

50

25

0

April 2010

2015

2020

March 2022

Daily Tube entries/exits

Farringdon

Canary Wharf

Whitechapel

Tottenham Crt. Rd.

84K

113K

37K

112K

Thursday March 5, 2020

Thursday May 12, 2022

56K

75K

33K

83K

125M

100

75

50

25

0

April 2010

2015

March 2022

Daily Tube entries and exits

March 5, 2020

Thursday

May 12, 2022

Farringdon

Canary Wharf

84K

113K

56K

75K

Whitechapel

Tottenham Crt. Rd.

37K

112K

33K

83K

Source: Transport for London transport journeys and network demand

Faster Heathrow Access

For visitors to London, getting into town from Heathrow airport by train has long involved a choice between either traveling slowly or paying a lot for speed. While the airport is connected to the Tube, journeys into central London on the Underground can take up to an hour. Meanwhile, the Heathrow Express, a non-stop train service that connects Heathrow to Paddington Station in an impressive 15 minutes, costs £25 ($31) one way (or £18 if tickets are bought a month in advance), an especially high price given that Paddington Station has a not-especially convenient location on the edge of central London. With the Elizabeth Line’s inauguration, however, air passengers will need just 30 minutes and £5.50 to reach central London, and can disembark at a greater number of more convenient stations. People living in East London will also get a faster, transfer-free train service straight to Heathrow.

Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf

Heathrow Express

Bakerloo

Jubilee

44 mins

££

Piccadilly

Jubilee

64 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

47 mins

Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf

Heathrow

Express

Bakerloo

Jubilee

44 mins

££

Piccadilly

Jubilee

64 mins

Elizabeth (Autumn 2022)

47 mins

Note: Heathrow Terminals 2&3
Source: Citymapper

Coming after a challenging few years, the Elizabeth Line is also delivering another less tangible asset to London: something to be optimistic about. By streamlining travel across the city, the line will “turbo charge our recovery from the pandemic,” said Mayor Sadiq Khan, while TfL commissioner Andy Byford said it was a “game changer, not just for London but for the whole of the UK”. The Elizabeth Line may not solve all of the city’s transport issues at once, but despite the project’s delays and cost overruns, its arrival shows that London still has the ability to think big.