Over 100 million journeys have now been taken on the Elizabeth line (nee Crossrail) since it opened in May 2022.
Transport for London (TfL) data also shows that ridership on the line is currently above expected levels with around 600,000 journeys made each day, meaning the railway is already one of the busiest in the UK and is on track to break even by the end of the 2023/24 financial year.
The five most popular journeys made on the Elizabeth line all include Tottenham Court Road, with the most popular journey on the line being Tottenham Court Road to Stratford. The popularity of Tottenham Court Road has propelled the station into the top five most-used stations in the TfL network, above Waterloo and Liverpool Street stations.
Although there have been some teething problems with the new line, especially in the western section, the most recent four-week period shows it reached a performance rating of nearly 93 per cent, compared to the average industry performance of 78.5 per cent.
On 21st May, TfL will introduce the final version of the Elizabeth line timetable.
The service in the central section between Paddington and Whitechapel will increase to up to 24 trains per hour during the peak and initially 16 trains per hour off-peak. At this point, some direct services will be introduced from Shenfield to Heathrow Airport in the off-peak. The final timetable will also remove any significant dwell times for trains between Paddington and Acton Main Line which have been in place since November 2022.
Seb Dance, London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “I’m so proud that we’ve now seen more than 100 million journeys since the line opened in May last year. The Elizabeth line’s speedy and reliable trains combined with the excellent accessibility for passengers is helping to encourage people on to public transport, increasing the capacity of TfL’s network, and supporting businesses right across the city.”
Direct Elizabeth line services into central London from Reading, Heathrow, and Shenfield commenced in November last year. The launch of direct services into central London also coincided with the start of Sunday services, marking the operation of seven-days-a-week Elizabeth line services.
Industrial action
In related news, TSSA members involved in the dispute over pay and pensions on the Elizabeth line have agreed to suspend industrial action for a month.
This follows a one-day walkout by members on 12th January.
TSSA members work in essential roles, including Traffic Managers, Service and Infrastructure, and Incident Response Manager grades at Rail for London (Infrastructure) Limited (RfLI).
A pay review exercise will now take place as a result of talks which involved Elizabeth Line Director, Howard Smith. TSSA organiser, Mel Taylor, has described these discussions as “significant and serious” adding that “the progress made since the strike just goes to show the power of our collective action, and in the days since we have seen more people becoming members of our TSSA family.”
So, the population of Greater London is 9,648,000 so that’s about 10 times each over the last year!
Is the Elizabeth line timetable from 21st May available to view in any format now?
Great in the morning going east to west but I avoid in the evening as the interchange with Southeastern and Thameslink at Abbey wood is very busy, and the train times all over the place with big gaps.
This may be a thick question, but what does TFL mean when they say “ is on track to break even by the end of the 2023/24 financial year.
What are the costs of running this service?
Good news on Elizabeth Line numbers. I wonder how Tube numbers on the competing lines are faring, e.g. the Central Line: has the Elizabeth Line led to an overall increase in ridership, or simply diverted passengers from other lines?