Elizabeth line confirmed to open on 24 May

[puntingking]

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[King Nuts]

Am v much looking forward to seeing this open and to travelling on the line. It's the most significant and complex piece of engineering and construction since the Channel Tunnel which opened getting on for 30 years ago. Hats off to all involved.

Anything that gets more people out of their cars and onto the trains has got to be a good thing.

Yes, there were cost overruns. So what. There always are. Same with the Channel Tunnel.

But that just makes the achievement all the more heroic.

[chrishornx]

it will be good to see it finally open much needed capacity for London and a great piece of Engineering but not sure why overrun costs make it more heroic?

[advent2016]

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That's brilliant. I look forward to travelling from Reading to Abbey Wood without changing trains

[lillythesavage]

it will be good to see it finally open much needed capacity for London and a great piece of Engineering but not sure why overrun costs make it more heroic?

Only part open and no Sunday running, disgraceful really, not to have it all open by now 

[chrishornx]

Only part open and no Sunday running, disgraceful really, not to have it all open by now 

so hardly heroic

[Gordon Bennett]

Bloody disgraceful how much public money gets chucked into TFL. What's worse, you'd think there'd be savings and economies of scale to be had operating public transport in a tightly defined densely populated area as opposed to a huge sprawling shire but it seems not.

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[sir wanksalot]

And for 99% of the country this will have no impact on us whatsoever.

We're still waiting to be levelled up

[King Nuts]

And for 99% of the country this will have no impact on us whatsoever.

I doubt that. With the line eventually running from Reading, through Heathrow and central London and way out east, it'll make it massively easier to get to Heathrow from a great many parts of the UK.

IMHO access to Heathrow currently in terms of trains, driving and parking is pretty disgraceful. This will make it a lot easier and cheaper to get to for a huge number of people.

[King Nuts]

Bloody disgraceful how much public money gets chucked into TFL. What's worse, you'd think there'd be savings and economies of scale to be had operating public transport in a tightly defined densely populated area as opposed to a huge sprawling shire but it seems not.

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Rail is expensive. You want good rail, you've got to pay for it. Doing things on the cheap where public transport is concerned usually ends up a disaster.

As someone who lived in London for decades and still commutes to and from town a few days a week, I can tell you that public transport has improved no end, since even the 90s. Is the spending disproportionate? Depends how you look at it. London still generates many times more wealth than any other part of the UK per capita.

[lillythesavage]

I doubt that. With the line eventually running from Reading, through Heathrow and central London and way out east, it'll make it massively easier to get to Heathrow from a great many parts of the UK.

IMHO access to Heathrow currently in terms of trains, driving and parking is pretty disgraceful. This will make it a lot easier and cheaper to get to for a huge number of people.

London City vehemently objected to Crossrail and did not get a station , Now they are begging for one.

It is ridiculous not linking two airports easily with the travel options it would offer.

[King Nuts]

London City vehemently objected to Crossrail and did not get a station , Now they are begging for one.

It is ridiculous not linking two airports easily with the travel options it would offer.

LCY does about a twentieth of the business of LHR. Most people coming into LCY do not connect onto other flights, so a dedicated link isn't needed.

They'd have been better off linking Gatwick and LHR. There was some talk about a dedicated rail link a while back, but that never went anywhere.

And when HS2 is up and running, a connection between Birmingham Airport and LHR would be pretty easy.

[lillythesavage]

LCY does about a twentieth of the business of LHR. Most people coming into LCY do not connect onto other flights, so a dedicated link isn't needed.

They'd have been better off linking Gatwick and LHR. There was some talk about a dedicated rail link a while back, but that never went anywhere.

And when HS2 is up and running, a connection between Birmingham Airport and LHR would be pretty easy.

Their objection was based on losing business to Heathrow, they did not have a leg to stand on in getting it stopped and have shot themselves in the foot, hence now begging for a station.

Linking the two would have had little cost, there were possibly plans for a station there originally, would have done no harm to open up other options for travelers, as it is Heathrow will be an easier journey from the City, bad planning decisions all round.

[puntingking]

In my opinion I don't think we need another line.

All we need (if they want to spend money on public transport) is bigger trains and more spaces on our current trains so they can fit more people in. Especially during our busy periods like rush hour.

I would welcome 24 hours services on all our current lines but we don't need a new line. My suggestion would save tfl money and more of the public would be happy with that I feel. 

[King Nuts]

Their objection was based on losing business to Heathrow, they did not have a leg to stand on in getting it stopped and have shot themselves in the foot, hence now begging for a station.

Linking the two would have had little cost, there were possibly plans for a station there originally, would have done no harm to open up other options for travelers, as it is Heathrow will be an easier journey from the City, bad planning decisions all round.

LCY is always going to be looking over their shoulder at what LHR is doing. But LCY has the edge with being much closer to the City, even with Crossrail, and having the 15 minute check in. And if they're really serious about keeping or gaining market share, they need a goddamn lounge at LCY and to bring back BA's A318 service to New York.

Personally, I'd choose City over Heathrow any day of the week.

[royal_male]

And for 99% of the country this will have no impact on us whatsoever.

We're still waiting to be levelled up

The yearly commuting ticket cost from reading to paddington was upwards of 4000GBP, this is surely a welcome. However it will cause a huge increase in the house prices around these areas specially near by the stations.

[dfg]

LCY is always going to be looking over their shoulder at what LHR is doing. But LCY has the edge with being much closer to the City, even with Crossrail, and having the 15 minute check in. And if they're really serious about keeping or gaining market share, they need a goddamn lounge at LCY and to bring back BA's A318 service to New York.

Personally, I'd choose City over Heathrow any day of the week.

Very much this.

[King Nuts]

In my opinion I don't think we need another line.

All we need (if they want to spend money on public transport) is bigger trains and more spaces on our current trains so they can fit more people in. Especially during our busy periods like rush hour.

I would welcome 24 hours services on all our current lines but we don't need a new line. My suggestion would save tfl money and more of the public would be happy with that I feel. 

South Western Railway has tried this. First class seating space was reduced, the First seats themselves made narrower, and they took out the guard's space as well as the buffet/bar. Probably created about 20 or maybe 30 seats on a 500+ capacity train. End of the day, made fuck-all real difference and  with the pandemic having retreated and passengers coming back, the trains are full again.

SWR can't make the trains longer because of platform-length limitations. They can't make the trains physically bigger for various technical and geographic reasons. They can't make them go faster unless they get rid of the 1930s third-rail technology and electrify, same as the WCML. Which would cost untold billions, as per the GWR's attempts at overhead electrification. They can't run more trains per hour because of capacity limits.

All of which is why you have to plan decades ahead, and anticipate permanent passenger growth.

Hence Crossrail. Like the M25, it'll be almost permanently at capacity and we'll come to wonder how we managed without it.

[billybobsmith]

LCY is always going to be looking over their shoulder at what LHR is doing. But LCY has the edge with being much closer to the City, even with Crossrail, and having the 15 minute check in. And if they're really serious about keeping or gaining market share, they need a goddamn lounge at LCY and to bring back BA's A318 service to New York.

Personally, I'd choose City over Heathrow any day of the week.

Not sure if LCY is quite as fast as it used to be.
Even so, a lounge isn't really something that's needed there if the idea is to get from kerbside to the aircraft door ASAP.  Sure the bar etc. make a few ££££.
Generally a lot of status passengers passing through, so a lounge could be very full if all gold card holders etc. gain access.

The A318 LCY-SNN-JFK (or JFK-LCY direct for mostly sleeping) was a nice aircraft (and did have that little table with snacks etc. at the gate).  The Shannon stop is a bit pointless for me these days with Global Entry .
Flew it a few times, although more options at LHR if fog etc. kicked in, and missed it a couple of times due to weather issues.

Paddington isn't somewhere I really go.  Coming from the north, it's KX or St. Pancras for me by train, or a direct flight from MAN-LHR (or driving).
It's like using the HEX for me.  By the time you pay the premium fare, have to switch to the tube etc., it saves 10 mins tops.
 

[lillythesavage]

Not sure if LCY is quite as fast as it used to be.
Even so, a lounge isn't really something that's needed there if the idea is to get from kerbside to the aircraft door ASAP.  Sure the bar etc. make a few ££££.
Generally a lot of status passengers passing through, so a lounge could be very full if all gold card holders etc. gain access.

The A318 LCY-SNN-JFK (or JFK-LCY direct for mostly sleeping) was a nice aircraft (and did have that little table with snacks etc. at the gate).  The Shannon stop is a bit pointless for me these days with Global Entry .
Flew it a few times, although more options at LHR if fog etc. kicked in, and missed it a couple of times due to weather issues.

Paddington isn't somewhere I really go.  Coming from the north, it's KX or St. Pancras for me by train, or a direct flight from MAN-LHR (or driving).
It's like using the HEX for me.  By the time you pay the premium fare, have to switch to the tube etc., it saves 10 mins tops.

The Shannon stop is nothing to do with entry, though I understand they use it for that, the real reason is fuel, it cannot take off from LCY with enough fuel.

[sir wanksalot]

I doubt that. With the line eventually running from Reading, through Heathrow and central London and way out east, it'll make it massively easier to get to Heathrow from a great many parts of the UK.

IMHO access to Heathrow currently in terms of trains, driving and parking is pretty disgraceful. This will make it a lot easier and cheaper to get to for a huge number of people.

We do have other airports in the UK you know

[King Nuts]

We do have other airports in the UK you know

Quite. And American, United, Virgin, Qantas etc are, I'm sure, welcome to use Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and so on. I don't think anything's stopping them.

But they don't. They all want to congregate around LHR.

[King Nuts]

The A318 LCY-SNN-JFK (or JFK-LCY direct for mostly sleeping) was a nice aircraft (and did have that little table with snacks etc. at the gate).  The Shannon stop is a bit pointless for me these days with Global Entry .

I only did that once. Loved the A318, and the service seemed much better than typically you'd get on a larger plane.

Is Global Entry worth it? I thought about it but the last couple of times I've landed at LAX I whizzed through the 'aliens' channel in no time.

[Private Parts]

Big it up for Southampton airport.
My commuting days were so much easier, Paris, Clermont Ferrand , Belfast, Dublin, Manchester Scotland and the Channel Islands.

Fantastic service VFM & no f**king about.

Ten years of hassle free service.
But this country is good at getting rid of the best.
 
PP

[King Nuts]

Big it up for Southampton airport.

Am a fan too. Great airport to use as a passenger. Am hoping FlyBe will come back, and it'd be great if there could be some joined-up flying, so that you could connect onward via Dublin, Paris or wherever. A trick is being missed there, I think.

Domestic services could be a lot better too, if Eastern could get their shit together. Bit of a lost cause with that lot though.

[southcoastpunter]

South Western Railway has tried this.
SWR can't make the trains longer because of platform-length limitations. They can't make the trains physically bigger for various technical and geographic reasons. They can't make them go faster unless they get rid of the 1930s third-rail technology and electrify, same as the WCML. Which would cost untold billions, as per the GWR's attempts at overhead electrification. They can't run more trains per hour because of capacity limits.

All of which is why you have to plan decades ahead, and anticipate permanent passenger growth.

i used to commute (most days) from Southampton to London from about 1998 to 2008 and the trains were crowded then. half the passengers getting on at Winchester would not gets seats and would have to stand for the 55 minute journey to Waterloo. SW Trains (as it was then) said all the above points were the problems and it would take at least 10 years to improve things. More than 10 years later and things are no better. Nothing has substantially changed.

BTW Kingnut, they said the problem with having faster train was nothing to do the the 3rd rail electric supply but there were too many bends in the line were to allow faster speeds.

Big it up for Southampton airport.
My commuting days were so much easier, Paris, Clermont Ferrand , Belfast, Dublin, Manchester Scotland and the Channel Islands.

Fantastic service VFM & no f**king about.

Ten years of hassle free service.
But this country is good at getting rid of the best.
 
PP

Southampton airport could be a great regional airport - its on the junction of two motorways (M27/M3) and right on the mainline rail line  (Waterloo/Southampton and Bournemouth) but the runway is too short for bigger planes to use so it runs at huge under capacity.  so very often, especially for holiday destinations, people from the central and south west part of the south coast have to drive past an under utilised Bournemouth airport (better length runway, poor transport access) and past an under utilised Southampton airport to go to Gatwick - who also say they need a new runway for increasing capacity issues. No overall planning goes into things. Maybe because airports are private companies and in competition with each other!

[billybobsmith]

I only did that once. Loved the A318, and the service seemed much better than typically you'd get on a larger plane.

Is Global Entry worth it? I thought about it but the last couple of times I've landed at LAX I whizzed through the 'aliens' channel in no time.

A lot of the time yes.

If going through JFK, it's hit and miss depending on what time of day you arrive and whether there are any immigration agents working.  Late evenings I've seen 1 agent working and a couple of others slowly wander up over a 30 min period.  You still need a slip checked, and they may ask a couple of questions.
3-5 mins is my fastest at Seattle from plane to landside.

Sometimes there are no queues so no real issues.  Just stare at the screen, press the "take picture" button and collect the slips.
Other times, you have to do secondary fingerprint etc. random checks, so it's no faster, but few and far between.

It's nice when the queues are miles long and you just wander past into a separate empty queue (as I recently did at Chicago ORD)

[JamesKW]

Well its opening up if you live in Abbey Wood and you want to go to Paddington,its not opening up if you are coming in from Shenfield as you still have to get off at Liverpool Street to change and by the time you have walked through miles of station tunnels there is probably little time saving.It has not opened up if you are coming from Reading/Heathrow as you still have to change at Paddington.It will be interesting to see if it was ever worth the money with the increased wfh culture.

[King Nuts]

i used to commute (most days) from Southampton to London from about 1998 to 2008 and the trains were crowded then. half the passengers getting on at Winchester would not gets seats and would have to stand for the 55 minute journey to Waterloo. SW Trains (as it was then) said all the above points were the problems and it would take at least 10 years to improve things. More than 10 years later and things are no better. Nothing has substantially changed.

BTW Kingnut, they said the problem with having faster train was nothing to do the the 3rd rail electric supply but there were too many bends in the line were to allow faster speeds.



Southampton airport could be a great regional airport - its on the junction of two motorways (M27/M3) and right on the mainline rail line  (Waterloo/Southampton and Bournemouth) but the runway is too short for bigger planes to use so it runs at huge under capacity.  so very often, especially for holiday destinations, people from the central and south west part of the south coast have to drive past an under utilised Bournemouth airport (better length runway, poor transport access) and past an under utilised Southampton airport to go to Gatwick - who also say they need a new runway for increasing capacity issues. No overall planning goes into things. Maybe because airports are private companies and in competition with each other!

Re trains, you're right about that, but I didn't know the bends were the problem. The WCML got around that, partially, with Pendolino trains and that hacked a fair bit off times of the services to Brum and Manchester. I can't see that level of investment taking place south of London though.

The main problem, as ever, is cost. Going for overhead electrics just isn't feasible on the main line to Southampton and beyond. You can't make the trains go faster and you can't make them bigger. I think we're stuck with it, for another decade at least.

More generally though, the issue of ownership has been difficult. Privatisation was good and bad in equal measure, but the pandemic knocked the crap out of the rail business and set it back at least a decade. I know I keep banging on about this, but if you want good rail, you've got to be prepared to spend the money.


Re Southampton Airport, as I understand it, the runway length is the same as LCY. It can take jets like A318 and A319 and the Embraers that BA and Loganair use. I'm sure the airport would welcome more airlines using it, and I'm not sure it's a planning issue. I don't know if the issue is the way that airports are run, so much as it is about airlines not wanting to spread out a bit. But if Air France, for instance, wanted to set up shop at SOU, I don't see why they couldn't. KLM and BA are back there now.

it's such a great airport. Short walk to the station, single terminal, only a dozen gates. Fastest service to Waterloo is around 65 mins. Could almost be the sixth London airport.

[JamesKW]

The yearly commuting ticket cost from reading to paddington was upwards of 4000GBP, this is surely a welcome. However it will cause a huge increase in the house prices around these areas specially near by the stations.

Whys that,if you are travelling from Reading you are unlikley to want to go to Shenfield or Abbey Wood that much and the time saving wont be that great for the central London stations except if you work in Canary Wharfe,likewise on the Shenfield line,you dont go to Reading and Heathrow that much.Abbey Wood/Woolwich is the only place with a much better train service.

[chrishornx]

Quite. And American, United, Virgin, Qantas etc are, I'm sure, welcome to use Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and so on. I don't think anything's stopping them.

But they don't. They all want to congregate around LHR.

American, Delta, Virgin, Cathay, Singapore, Emirates etc. are all welcome to  use Manchester and they all do. This congregating notion is wrong.

 Clearly the majority of Foreign travellers will arrive in London as a key UK tourist destination just as we will focus on NY, Miami, LA etc for entry into the USA but most big carriers use Manchester . Qantas 'congregates' on London just as BA congregates on Sydney

[King Nuts]

American, Delta, Virgin, Cathay, Singapore, Emirates etc. are all welcome to  use Manchester and they all do. This congregating notion is wrong.

 Clearly the majority of Foreign travellers will arrive in London as a key UK tourist destination just as we will focus on NY, Miami, LA etc for entry into the USA but most big carriers use Manchester . Qantas 'congregates' on London just as BA congregates on Sydney

Whatever the rights and wrongs of it are, or whether you think I'm correct or not, the fact remains that nearly all the big long haul carriers all converge on LHR and those that have tried other airports have mostly discontinued.

BA used to have a decent network out of MAN. Not any more. American used to fly out of Stansted, Gatwick and Birmingham, but no longer. United and the former Continental at one time had transatlantic flights from Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh. None of them now exist. But there must have been a demand at one point.

I think it suits the airlines NOT to have multiple bases, and settle in one place. Which means an awful lot of people needing to get to and from LHR and getting ripped off by expensive trains, coaches, cabs and car parking charges. Not to mention the mostly shit hotels on the perimeter. I used to like going to LHR when I lived close by and when it was pre 9/11. These days, it's horrendous and if I never used it again, I'd be happy.

[king tarzan]

Am v much looking forward to seeing this open and to travelling on the line. It's the most significant and complex piece of engineering and construction since the Channel Tunnel which opened getting on for 30 years ago. Hats off to all involved.

Anything that gets more people out of their cars and onto the trains has got to be a good thing.

Yes, there were cost overruns. So what. There always are. Same with the Channel Tunnel.

But that just makes the achievement all the more heroic.

💞💞💞💞💞💞💞Great country mother and father of a great city 💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞

[petermisc]

Well its opening up if you live in Abbey Wood and you want to go to Paddington,its not opening up if you are coming in from Shenfield as you still have to get off at Liverpool Street to change and by the time you have walked through miles of station tunnels there is probably little time saving.It has not opened up if you are coming from Reading/Heathrow as you still have to change at Paddington.It will be interesting to see if it was ever worth the money with the increased wfh culture.

That is only true until later this year when the through-running starts.

[petermisc]

Whys that,if you are travelling from Reading you are unlikley to want to go to Shenfield or Abbey Wood that much and the time saving wont be that great for the central London stations except if you work in Canary Wharfe,likewise on the Shenfield line,you dont go to Reading and Heathrow that much.Abbey Wood/Woolwich is the only place with a much better train service.

How many of those travelling from Reading want to go to Paddington?  Most of them promptly get on the tube.  While I agree that very few are likely to want to travel all the way to Shenfield, a substantial number are likely to travel straight through to central London and the city. Likewise how many Shenfield passengers end their journey at Liverpool Street?

Before Thameslink opened, there were no end of detractors making similar remarks about how nobody from South London wanted to travel to North London, and vice versa.  That line has had to be upgraded twice now to cope with the numbers.

Interesting that one of the new TfL bosses has said Crossrail should have been made less complicated.  Exactly how, he didn't say.  Less trains per hour?  Leave out the through running, and make everyone change at Paddington and Liverpool Street?  Those are what made it complicated.  Far better go get it right now, than a simple scheme and then have to endure successive upgrades as Thameslink passengers have had to endure.

[King Nuts]

Travelled a few stops on the Elizabeth Line yesterday. Pretty damn good. Trains are much longer as well as much bigger than regular Tube trains. They have aircon too, and are quiet, fast and comfortable.

Stations are amazing. Tottenham Court Road Station was once a dingy looking place, narrow corridors and a slightly menacing vibe to it. Not now.

It's a triumph of engineering and architecture.

[JamesKW]

Travelled a few stops on the Elizabeth Line yesterday. Pretty damn good. Trains are much longer as well as much bigger than regular Tube trains. They have aircon too, and are quiet, fast and comfortable.

Stations are amazing. Tottenham Court Road Station was once a dingy looking place, narrow corridors and a slightly menacing vibe to it. Not now.

It's a triumph of engineering and architecture.

I have been travelling on the trains a while now(they introduced them about three years ago),we get alot more beggars than we used to (nowdays it seems to be constant) as they can walk all the way through.They are alright now because half still wfh,but before COVID they were more unpleasant because we had far fewer seats and I had to stand all the time.I havent seen the underground stations as yet.

[JamesKW]

Before Thameslink opened, there were no end of detractors making similar remarks about how nobody from South London wanted to travel to North London, and vice versa.  That line has had to be upgraded twice now to cope with the numbers.

The Elizabeth line doesnt really provide much extra that wasnt already there,except if you live in Abbey Wood or you live in Reading and work in Canary Wharf.Otherwise to visit the central London stations isnt much of a time saving(or certainly not worth the cost involved).It has become even less important since the wfh culture began,the Overland service provided alot more for the amount spent.

[threechilliman]

And for 99% of the country this will have no impact on us whatsoever.

We're still waiting to be levelled up

Indeed. Borders on scandalous what gets spent on transport in London compared to other areas. Where I live public transport was pretty good 60 years ago, now we have just an infrequent bus service.

[JamesKW]

Indeed. Borders on scandalous what gets spent on transport in London compared to other areas. Where I live public transport was pretty good 60 years ago, now we have just an infrequent bus service.

Have to agree with you there this money could have been spent in so many better ways.I have always only seen it as a vanity project,even before COVID central line wasnt that busy about 60% of the time now it is empty most of the time.With wfh gaining traction and people wanting houses with gardens outside of London this is going to be a big waste of money.

[Steely Dan]

Indeed. Borders on scandalous what gets spent on transport in London compared to other areas. Where I live public transport was pretty good 60 years ago, now we have just an infrequent bus service.

To be fair, London does fill the tax coffers more than any region.

[king tarzan]

To be fair, London does fill the tax coffers more than any region.

The powerhouse engine of ENGLAND IS LONDON YES YES YES YES 🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊👊👊👊👊👊👊👊😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞🤩🤩🤩🤩💞💞

[Private Parts]

The powerhouse engine of ENGLAND IS LONDON YES YES YES YES 🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊👊👊👊👊👊👊👊😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞🤩🤩🤩🤩💞💞

Not according to the parking wardens in Woking
 

[sir wanksalot]

To be fair, London does fill the tax coffers more than any region.

Oh....that's alright then........

[Taggart]

The Elizabeth line doesnt really provide much extra that wasnt already there,except if you live in Abbey Wood or you live in Reading and work in Canary Wharf.Otherwise to visit the central London stations isnt much of a time saving(or certainly not worth the cost involved).It has become even less important since the wfh culture began,the Overland service provided alot more for the amount spent.

The new line not only will provide quicker journey times, it will ease congestion on the Central line, particularly for those arriving currently at Liverpool St and heading to work around TCR or Oxford St. Will also relieve Piccadilly line to LHR. It also provides more step free journey options.

I visited on the first day and it’s impressive with some nice architectural touches.

[JamesKW]

The new line not only will provide quicker journey times, it will ease congestion on the Central line, particularly for those arriving currently at Liverpool St and heading to work around TCR or Oxford St. Will also relieve Piccadilly line to LHR. It also provides more step free journey options.

I visited on the first day and it’s impressive with some nice architectural touches.

Before COVID and wfh culture I would agree (even then it was debatable, central line wasnt that crowded all the time)nowdays the central line is positively empty most of the time.You could have still got the train in the past from Paddington to LHR if you were in that much of a hurry.The only new bit is from Paddington to Abbey Wood at huge expense.

[PatMacGroin]

So far I can't see much difference between the Elizabeth line and the original rail line. Particularly for the Western sections from Paddington out to Reading/Heathrow (I've not tried the sections heading East from Paddington.)

The only notable difference is that some of the smaller stations along those lines have a more reliable service now. Previously if any of the trains were running a bit late on those overground rail lines they would just cancel the stops at stations like Hanwell, West Ealing or Acton, with no real warning.

The line might be more useful once the trains can run through Paddington without the need to change.

[lillythesavage]

So far I can't see much difference between the Elizabeth line and the original rail line. Particularly for the Western sections from Paddington out to Reading/Heathrow (I've not tried the sections heading East from Paddington.)

The only notable difference is that some of the smaller stations along those lines have a more reliable service now. Previously if any of the trains were running a bit late on those overground rail lines they would just cancel the stops at stations like Hanwell, West Ealing or Acton, with no real warning.

The line might be more useful once the trains can run through Paddington without the need to change.

Friends commuting on the DLR from Woolwich and East London stations into Bank or Tower Hill, have said it has made FA difference, crammed as ever .

[JamesKW]

Friends commuting on the DLR from Woolwich and East London stations into Bank or Tower Hill, have said it has made FA difference, crammed as ever .

Though I am not a fan of the expense on the new line,it must be quicker to go from Abbey Wood/Woolwich to  say Liverpool St and then walk to Bank rather than use the DLR.

[lillythesavage]

Though I am not a fan of the expense on the new line,it must be quicker to go from Abbey Wood/Woolwich to  say Liverpool St and then walk to Bank rather than use the DLR.

Who wants to walk in the wet, hot sun, snow or hail when a train goes direct, or 1 change on the same covered platform in 25 odd minutes?