The Elizabeth Line is at last nearly ready to open to passengers. Howard Smith, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer for the line, offered a taste of what is to come when it does at the Golden Whistles conference.
Mr Smith began by tracing the history of the Elizabeth Line. He noted it was always intended to be something new for the UK, with full size 21km tunnels under central London equipped with overhead wires. He also reminded the conference that some 85,000 people have worked on the Elizabeth Line over the course of the project. 96% of contracts have been let within the UK and over 60% outside London – a reminder that transport investment in the capital has benefits across the UK. Another major contribution has been the creation of apprenticeships – some 450 within Crossrail Ltd itself, and more than 1,000 across all companies involved with the project.
Staged
Next, Mr Smith reflected on the staged opening strategy for the Elizabeth Line, beginning with the introduction of new Class 345 trains east and west of the central section (under the TfL Rail banner), followed by the opening of the central section in the first half of this year and then the introduction of services from both sides into the central section from the autumn.
