Insider’s Kate Duffy went on an exclusive trip on London’s new Elizabeth line.
Kate Duffy/Insider
- London’s newest railway line cost $25 billion and stretches 60 miles east-west across the city.
- The long-awaited Elizabeth line took 13 years to build.
- It is due to open to the public in June. Insider got an early peak and a ride on the train.
The Elizabeth line, built by Crossrail Ltd, is a highly-anticipated, new railway that stretches 60 miles east to west across London. It’s the first new underground railway line in the city since 1979.
Elizabeth line station at Canary Wharf.
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I went for an exclusive tour around two of the central stations on the Elizabeth line, as well as a ride on the train. The first station I looked around was at Paddington — one of London’s major train stations that opened in 1854.
Elizabeth line outside Paddington station.
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Paddington Station on the Elizabeth line is so big that London’s tallest skyscraper, the Shard, could fit inside if laid flat, Crossrail CEO Mark Wild said during the tour.
Elizabeth line at Paddington station.
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Wild said the Elizabeth line was initially planned 23 years ago, and construction has taken 13 years. After missing several deadlines for its opening, Wild said he expects it to debut by the end of June this year.
Commissioner of Transport for London Andy Bryford stands on the left next to Crossrail CEO Mark Wild, who makes a speech.
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Some stations have artistic details inside. For instance, Paddington Station had clouds printed on the glass ceiling, representing every type of cloud in the sky, commissioner of Transport for London Andy Bryford said.
Station ceiling of the Elizabeth line at Paddington station.
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It cost £1 million ($1.3 billion) per meter to build this tunnel between the Elizabeth line and the Bakerloo line at Paddington Station, Wild said.
Tunnel at Elizabeth line at Paddington station.
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Before the tour, there was a glitch in the radio system which meant the trains had to stop running for two hours. Wild said there were still “niggles and quirks that need ironing out” with the railway.
Elizabeth line at Paddington station.
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The tunnels are separated from the platform with glass paneling which slides open when a train arrives. This separates the cooler airflow in the tunnels from the air in the station. The trains are also air-conditioned, unlike most underground trains in London. More than 1,500 kilometers of cable supplies the new line with ventilation, power, and lighting, according to the Crossrail website.
Train of Elizabeth line at Paddington station.
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Compared to London Underground tubes and other trains I’ve been on in the UK, the Elizabeth line trains were bright and spacious. A TfL staffer told me the carriages were 1.5 times bigger than the city’s tube trains.
Train of Elizabeth line.
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I was able to have a conversation with other people on the train because it wasn’t noisy like other underground transport systems. It was also a smooth ride, unlike other journeys I’ve taken on the tube which are often bumpy.
Train of Elizabeth line at Paddington station.
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I got a good view from the driver’s cab of the journey through the tunnels, which are up to 40 meters underground, Wild said.
Driver’s view inside Elizabeth line tunnel.
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Eight tunneling machines — each at 1,000 tonnes — were used to created 42km of new rail tunnels below London, according to Crossrail. 20-person “tunnel gangs” worked in shifts to create the winding routes between 2012 and 2015, per the company website.
A tunnel on the Elizabeth line.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.
The Elizabeth line will serve around 250 million passengers every year, stopping at 41 stations along the full route — 10 are newly built and 30 are refurbishments of existing stations.
Inside train of Elizabeth line.
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Elizabeth line trains run from towns east of London, passing through the heart of the city, and on to commuter hubs to the west. During trials, 12 trains were arriving at each station every hour.
The route of the Elizabeth line.
Transport For London.
My journey on one section of the railway — from Paddington to Canary Wharf — took around 18 minutes. The same trip using the existing railway network would take around 30 minutes, according to navigation app, Citymapper.
The Eastbound route of the Elizabeth line.
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A journey from the financial hub of Canary Wharf to Heathrow Airport takes 38 minutes on the Elizabeth Line, at the cost of a normal tube fare. According to Citymapper, the journey takes around an hour.
Elizabeth line at Canary Wharf.
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A proposal to create a train running across London from east to west was first aired in 1830, but it has taken almost 200 years to come to fruition.
The Elizabeth line train in an underground tunnel.
Transport for London
Construction of the line has hit £18.9 billion ($25 billion) but Bryford said that £150 million ($196 million) was still needed to finish the project. Crossrail Ltd is still figuring out how to fund the additional costs, he said.
An Elizabeth line train.
Transport for London
During construction, nearly 100 million liters of water was pumped out of the station box, enough to fill 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools …
The line has been under construction for 13 years.
Transport for London.
… A fragment of woolly mammoth jawbone and a piece of amber estimated to be around 55 million years old were also found and passed to London’s Natural History Museum.
The line has been under construction for 13 years.
Transport for London.
More than 63,000 sleepers and 51,419 meters of rail were installed as part of the line, while around 13,500 meters cubed of concrete was poured in when the tracks were installed. That’s enough to fill several Olympic sized swimming pools, according to the Crossrail website.
The line has been under construction since 2009.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.
Parts of the new trains were tested in Vienna under extreme weather conditions, ranging from -25ºC up to +40ºC, according to Crossrail.
The first Elizabeth line train pictured at Shenfield station, east of London, on June 22 2017.
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images.
Trial runs will end on March 28, Wild said. Ghost runs — journeys without passengers — will then take place before the line is expected to be fully operational in June.
Elizabeth line at Canary Wharf.
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Bryford said the line was “late and over budget” but promised “no further slippage.”
Train on Elizabeth line.
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“Londoners have waited long enough,” he said, adding: “This is a game-changer.”
Elizabeth Line trains will run from east to west, cutting across London.
Transport for London.
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