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‘Astounding’: Elizabeth line hits 100m passengers eight months after opening

 (Tom Nicholson)
(Tom Nicholson)

A landmark 100 million journeys have been made on the Elizabeth line, little more than eight months since it opened.

Transport for London said the milestone was reached on Wednesday morning, in the latest sign of how passengers have flocked to the £20bn line since last May.

The “Lizzie line” is now carrying about 600,000 passengers on weekdays and more than three million a week, well in excess of the two million that were expected. It is the single busiest rail line in the UK.

Transport Minister Richard Holden said: “100 million journeys in less than a year is absolutely astounding.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Londoners are absolutely loving the Elizabeth Line.”

The line was unaffected by Wednesday’s train drivers’ strike, which brought London commuter routes on Southern, Thameslink and Southeastern to a standstill. The Tube and London Overground were also unaffected by the latest walkout by Aslef members at 14 train firms.

The Elizabeth line’s fares income for the current financial year is about £50m higher than anticipated and Transport for London expects it to break even on a day-to-day basis by the end of the next financial year.

TfL commissioner Andy Lord, who was announcing the 100m figure to the TfL board on Wednesday morning, told the Standard: “For the Elizabeth line to break even within 18 months to two years from opening would be an incredible achievement.

“If every major infrastructure project could manage that we would be doing a lot more of them.”

He attributed the line’s popularity to the way it had “almost changed the geography of London and the South East” by offering direct journeys between Essex, Berkshire and central London.

Other factors were the launch of seven-day operations, longer opening hours and the start of “through running” of trains between Abbey Wood and Heathrow airport in November.

The belated opening of Bond Street station – which was not ready until October, but which doubled the access to Oxford Street – was also a factor.

Tottenham Court Road is the busiest station on the line. The busiest section is between Stratford and Tottenham Court Road.

Tottenham Court Road is now used by more TfL passengers than Waterloo and Liverpool Street stations.

Rail passengers can easily change to and from the line at Stratford – and avoid having to use the Central line to reach or return from the West End.

However, Mr Lord said there was little evidence of the Elizabeth line having “cannibalised” Tube passengers – meaning it has encouraged new journeys or attracted customers from the mainline railways.

The line remained open overnight on December 31 to help New Year revellers get home. There are no plans “as yet” to open the line through the night at weekends.

Peak hour frequencies in central London will increase to 24 trains an hour when the final stage of the line’s opening happens on May 21.

This will see trains running “end to end”, between Shenfield and Heathrow, and Reading and Abbey Wood, and will eradicate much of the seven-minute delay suffered by some eastbound services outside Paddington.

Crossrail Project: Elizabeth Line - In pictures

Queen Elizabeth holds a commemorative plaque given to her by Crossrail workers after she formally unveiled the new roundel for the Crossrail line which is still under construction in London (Feb 2016) (Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth holds a commemorative plaque given to her by Crossrail workers after she formally unveiled the new roundel for the Crossrail line which is still under construction in London (Feb 2016) (Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
TBM Elizabeth lowered into main shaft (October 2012) (Crossrail Project)
TBM Elizabeth lowered into main shaft (October 2012) (Crossrail Project)
TBM Elizabeth break through in to Liverpool Street (January 2015) (Crossrail Project)
TBM Elizabeth break through in to Liverpool Street (January 2015) (Crossrail Project)
Crossrail Art: Simon Periton’s Spectre at Farringdon eastern ticket hall (May 2018) (Crossrail Project)
Crossrail Art: Simon Periton’s Spectre at Farringdon eastern ticket hall (May 2018) (Crossrail Project)
Elizabeth line test train passes through Custom House station (April 2018) (Crossrail Project)
Elizabeth line test train passes through Custom House station (April 2018) (Crossrail Project)
Prime Minister Tony Blair  sits next to Mayor of London Ken Livingstone at the start of the Crossrail Committee meeting, at 10 Downing Street, London (March 2007) (PA)
Prime Minister Tony Blair sits next to Mayor of London Ken Livingstone at the start of the Crossrail Committee meeting, at 10 Downing Street, London (March 2007) (PA)
Crossrail Executive Chairman Douglas Oakervee, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly look at a model of a new Crorssrail carriage in central London (October 2007) (PA)
Crossrail Executive Chairman Douglas Oakervee, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly look at a model of a new Crorssrail carriage in central London (October 2007) (PA)
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson stands on a balcony overlooking the Crossrail construction site at Tottenham Court Road tube station (October 2009) (Getty Images)
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson stands on a balcony overlooking the Crossrail construction site at Tottenham Court Road tube station (October 2009) (Getty Images)
TBM Phyllis breaks ground at Royal Oak Portal (May 2012) (Crossrail Project)
TBM Phyllis breaks ground at Royal Oak Portal (May 2012) (Crossrail Project)
Plumstead (January 2013) (Crossrail Project)
Plumstead (January 2013) (Crossrail Project)
Construction of tunnels at new Crossrail Bond Street (March 2013) (Crossrail Project)
Construction of tunnels at new Crossrail Bond Street (March 2013) (Crossrail Project)

The line, which was known as Crossrail during its construction, opened about three-and-a-half years late and about £4bn over budget due to construction difficulties and problems integrating the £1bn fleet of trains with the three signalling systems.

The TfL board was told on Wednesday that passenger numbers on all TfL services had reached an average of 84 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

This includes 81 per cent on the Tube – though weekend passenger numbers are virtually back to “normal” – and 92 per cent ridership on the Overground.

TfL’s total fares income is £800m higher than at the same point last year, and £470m lower than pre-pandemic.