London's new £19bn transit line opens

Elizabeth Line speeds up east-west travel in the UK capital and its surrounding areas
By Adam Hill May 24, 2022 Read time: 2 mins
Construction of the £19bn project began in 2009 (© ITS International)

London's newest public transportation line opened today.

Construction of the £19bn Elizabeth Line, named after the UK's 96-year-old monarch Queen Elizabeth II, began in 2009.

Designed to speed up travel between the east and west of the UK capital and its surrounds, it was due to open in 2018 but was delayed by engineering difficulties.

The new route is 62 miles (100km), including 25.5 miles (41km) under London and 36.5 miles (59km) above ground.

It halves journey times from Abbey Wood, south-east of London, to Paddington in the centre, to 29 minutes.

While there has been criticism of the 'Crossrail' infrastructure project's $4bn overspend and late opening, much has been made of the economic advantages of having trains running every five minutes via the commercial areas of Canary Wharf and the City of London, as well as into the retail and entertainment areas of the capital's West End.

Mohamed Mezghani, secretary-general of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), tweeted: "£19bn investment for £42bn positive impact on the economy of London: public transport is good for the economy."

Until autumn 2022, the Elizabeth Line will run as three separate railways, but it is expected to be fully linked after that, connecting to the city of Reading, west of London, and Heathrow Airport, through to the county of Essex to the north-east of London.

Mass Transit & MaaS

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • A future vision for transport in Wales
    November 13, 2014
    A new report by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Cymru Wales, Vision 2035: Cymru Wales, looks to the future and visualises how transport and logistics in Wales would develop, taking account of population changes, technological developments and social and political change. By 2035, Wales will be making decisions on all aspects of transport, including air passenger duty, rail franchising and road policy. There will also be greater government involvement in public transport operatio
    Read More
  • New river crossings vital for east London
    October 14, 2014
    With the capital’s population forecast to grow to 10 million people by 2030, and with much of this growth due to take place in east London, demand for crossing the river will increase. Unless new river crossings are provided in east London, the overall growth of this part of London will be affected and its economic potential will not be fully realised. The Silvertown tunnel is a key part of the plans and is now progressing to the next stage with a consultation that starts on 15 October on detailed propos
    Read More
  • Virginia presses ahead with tunnels upgrade despite tolls challenge
    July 30, 2013
    David Crawford reviews current developments and legal/financial issues facing tunnel management in Virginia. This autumn the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in the US will defend its plan to introduce tolling on the Elizabeth River tunnels linking the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth in the State’s Hampton Roads area. The tolling, which is due to start from February 2014, will be examined by the State’s Supreme Court later this year. The anticipated toll income, along with loans and bonds, is
    Read More
  • Transit worker deaths highlight pandemic danger 
    April 14, 2020
    Keeping public transport services going during the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a startling death toll among essential workers such as train and bus drivers.
    Read More

Highlighted Content