The transformational Elizabeth line opened on Tuesday 24 May, the iconic London landmarks, including the London Eye and ExCeL London, turned purple to celebrate the opening of the Elizabeth line. This Crossrail underground rail project of 117km has 10 new stations and is expected to transit 200 million passengers in one year, offering faster journeys to and from London’s Heathrow Airport and running from Berkshire in the west to Essex in the east, partly through 22km of newly-bored tunnels.
The line’s developer, Transport for London, said the central section will connect to branches in the west and east later in the year, almost doubling the capacity.
The new stations between Paddington and Abbey Wood have been constructed using different forms; the majority are tunnelled, while Paddington, Woolwich and Canary Wharf are formed from boxes sunk into the ground. Custom House and Abbey Wood are the only new surface stations on the line.
The last to complete, Farringdon Station had the maximum number of unique design challenges, including the need to install lifts that rise and fall on a slope.
The main contractor on the Farringdon Station project, BFK – a joint venture between BAM, Ferrovial and Kier – delivered the mined station at a maximum depth of 30m below ground level, and boasts a 244m passenger platform length.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and issue in regards to the safety testing and signalling systems the project was delayed over 3 years to the original schedule. The project costed around €4.7 billion in addition to the original to sum up at an approximate €22 billion project..
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, was a passenger on the first official westbound service. He said, “We should be incredibly proud of this fantastic new line, it is 22nd century fit,” adding “It’s spacious, silent, comfortable; this is the game changer we need.”
