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Elizabeth line

For the gymnast, see Elizabeth Line (gymnast). For the queue humorously referred to as "the Elizabeth Line", see Queue for the lying-in-state of Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth line
An Elizabeth line train (British Rail Class 345) at Abbey Wood in May 2022
Overview
Service typeHybrid urban-suburban rail[1][failed verification]
SystemNational Rail
Locale
PredecessorTfL Rail
First service24 May 2022 (2022-05-24)
Current operator(s)MTR Elizabeth line Limited (until May 2025)[2]
Annual ridership220 million (2023/2024)[3] passenger journeys
Websitetfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/ Edit this at Wikidata
Route
TerminiWest: Heathrow Terminal 4, Heathrow Terminal 5 and Reading
East: Abbey Wood and Shenfield
Stops41
Distance travelled73 mi (117 km)[4]
Technical
Rolling stockClass 345[5]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Operating speed
  • Crossrail: 60 mph (95 km/h)
  • GWML, Heathrow and GEML: 90 mph (145 km/h)
Track owner(s)

The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail[citation needed] service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington station to Abbey Wood and via Whitechapel to the Great Eastern Main Line near Stratford; along the Great Western Main Line to Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west; and along the Great Eastern Main Line to 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 services are operated by MTR Elizabeth line under a concession from Transport for London (TfL). Despite being named under the same system as London Underground lines, and having sections which are underground, the Elizabeth line is not classified as a London Underground line.

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. Since May 2023, the central section has had up to 24 nine-carriage Class 345 trains per hour in each direction.

The line reached over 200 million trips annually in its second year of operation and carries one seventh of all trips by rail in the United Kingdom.

  1. ^ "TfL Rail: What we do". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Bidders shortlisted in the process to find the next operator of the Elizabeth line". Transport for London. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Passenger journeys by operator". Office of Rail and Road. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  4. ^ Moore, Rowan (13 March 2022). "A megalopolis of engineering: the verdict on London's £18bn new Elizabeth line". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference rgi20140206 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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