THE long-awaited Elizabeth line, which fell years behind schedule and went billions over budget, will start running through central London on Tuesday May 24.
Wednesday’s announcement, which is subject to final safety approvals, had been eagerly awaited but the chosen date is slightly earlier than many expected and will act as a precursor to the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations.
There are hopes that the 96-year-old monarch, after whom the line is named, will be able to be involved in the opening in some way, either on May 24 or at a later date.
The opening day was selected in recognition of post-pandemic “Tuesday to Thursday” office working patterns to allow as many Londoners as possible to share in the celebrations.
The line will initially operate in three sections – the western section between Reading, Heathrow and Paddington, the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood, and the eastern section between Liverpool Street and Shenfield.
The central section includes 10 spectacular new stations, some such as Liverpool Street, Tottenham Court Road and Paddington of a size never before seen in London.
However, Bond Street is not ready and trains will run through without stopping until “later this year”.
The £1bn fleet of 70 nine-carriage trains will run every five minutes in the central section, from 6.30am to 11pm six days a week.
The journey from Paddington to Canary Wharf will be cut to 17 minutes, compared with more than 30 minutes by Tube at present.
The central section will close on Sundays for several months – other than on June 5, which is part of the jubilee bank holiday weekend – to allow further testing and upgrades.