I live in the US but come to Britain fairly regularly (family, work, etc.) - and consequently I often read UK news as I've become a bit of an Anglophile. Anytime I hear about any change {good, bad or otherwise] to the UK rail infrastructure, especially if it is to do with London, I immediately think of Geoff. As soon as I saw there were through trains on the Elizabeth Line, I knew I could count of Geoff to be on top of it! Thank you, Geoff, for never disappointing!
UK Railways are usually negative news sadly, except HS2 (but that's pretty negatively covered as well). You'd think for the railway nation, we'd be less pessimistic, but I guess we have lost hope.
@@Garner84 There is clearly a system in place in Britain to purposefully keep public transport running as poorly as possible. Since the 1960s we've been conditioned to believe railways (and all public transport) are always bad so that we don't care when public transport deteriorates and choose to drive everywhere instead. If public transport became universally quick, reliable and affordable it would be a disaster for the oil and automobile industries. Luckily for them they have plenty of money to spend lobbying (bribing) the government to make sure that never happens.
@Owen Garner As another American Anglophile, I have to say British people are pessimistic in everything when compared to Americans. Even the elizabeth line was doubted and laughed at as a joke until it was completed and proved the doubters wrong.
I'm not a train nerd or buff or whatever it's called and I couldn’t give a rats behind about trains. But... Elizabeth Line is such a miracle I sit on it and marvel each time. Using the tube all my life as a Londoner nothing quite prepares you for the magnificence of this train of the future. I rode it the first day it opened and used the train on the 6th of November when it opened running through Liverpool to Stratford. Couldn’t have come soon enough. But I digress. Just wanted to say that your train videos are par excellence. Just the way you are very thorough, very knowledgeable and fun. There's no one else I'd rather watch and I came searching for this video hoping you'd make one and you did. And I learnt a LOT so using the train will be so much a better experience. I could say "train nerd go get a life" but nah you’re literally essential to daily living. Transport wise. So do carry on.
When I visited London in August, I had a day of solo tourism where I could indulge any uninteresting geekery that crossed my mind and I went out of my way to ride the central section of the Elizabeth Line from Paddington to Liverpool Street, and saw the trains from the western section coming in at the main train shed at Paddington. It seems to me that one could consider this the *real* opening of the Elizabeth Line, in the sense that it's now running as designed for the purpose it was designed for.
For me, it felt like it was already open for real when I visited in September because it was a godsend to be able to get into the city so fast from Acton Main Line, where I stayed. However, can anyone say whether there was a preexisting service that I could have used on the same tracks? If there was anyway, and hence service wasn't significantly improved, then now does seem more like the real opening.
I did nearly exactly the same thing in June! Can completely recommend checking out the „nerdy train spots“ in London like the Kensington False Facade or the mail Rail. And I also loved taking the new and shiny #purpletrain
All I can say is it's about time too! I remember back in the mid 90's when they were talking about Crossrail. It's great to see it finally running! (PS, yes it's Crossrail).
I used this yesterday to go from Reading to Stratford. It was a good journey although the disadvantage is that it stopped at every station between Reading and Southall. I changed at Liverpool Street, which wasn't a problem as it wasn't very busy. Coming back I noticed that most people, including myself transferred at Paddington to GWR
Love your videos Geoff. Coming to London 11/15-11/29 from San Francisco to see the Purple Line and Northern extension. Super excited! I retired from BART as the Manager of Schedules. Pre Covid we operated 24THPH on our 2 track central core in SF. Cheers - Jay Bolcik
The through running services is such a beneficial way in travelling in and out of the central section of the railway, as it does saves time from having to change over at both London mainline stations. I literally went there today in the east side towards Stratford and it's definitely a life saver for sure!
That quick from Stratford to Paddington is superb, if I add in my 26 minutes from Chelmsford to Stratford on the main line and the 15 minute Heathrow Express I could do Chelmsford to Heathrow in about 75 mins !!!
It’s amazing they built not only a line across the region, but they were able to build it with 2 branches at each end. Meanwhile here in NYC they are saying the new “Grand Central Madison” terminal will open before the end of the year (no exact date yet). The Gateway project to double up the tunnels from Penn Station across the Hudson River is years away from completion, (first they need to replace an over 100 year old swing bridge that always gets stuck partially open.)
the last 2 times I have gone to London I have used the Elizbeth line. My journey is from Paddington to Custom House. I know that the information in this video is not going to change that but to do that in 20-odd minutes instead of the hour or so is fantastic. about your question of getting a GWR to Paddington and then go to Elizabeth line or go from Reading - for me I would say Paddington is better for the return since its a good place for one last meetup with friends before they need to go to other routes. fantastic video, Geoff.
geoff, you ran into two good friends of mine at ealing broadway the other day! i'm living in canada and only get over to london on holidays, but love your channel! keep up this fantastic content mate!
Geoff I also had the joy of riding through the central section from the Eastern branch yesterday and today, I was really surprised how empty the train and Whitechapel station were today during rush hour!
dont forget that strikes were planned for today so travellers would have made different arrangments including not travelling, it was very busy on Sunday with normal travellers (Whitechapel for Markets , and Romford to Heathrow and so on). Whitechapel looks empty because so large and really for local journeys it is a bit of a question if District / Central etc interchanges are not much more longer than Elizabeth once time to walk around the platforms and stations are taken into account. Whitechapel is being promoted as the interchange for the two eastern sections of the Elizabeth line, which does make sense rather than trying at Bond Street.
@@highpath4776 funny you should mention the district/circle line interchanges as that's the reason I used the liz line, it was far quicker for my journey yesterday with an interchange at a dlr station, but for a different journey today was the same time as comparable journey on district line Also Whitechapel wasn't that busy either yesterday:/ probably weather related Also I noted same day 2 weeks ago district line was empty, but same day last week was packed, the only difference between the two weeks was the rain in the first
An excellent update Geoff and thank you as always. On the Remembrance weekend (Nov 12th-13th), my wife and I travelled in from Heathrow to Central London (dear Lord, it's a long walk from LizLine to Jubilee Line under Bond Street!). Surfacing at Westmunster, we did the Cenotaph, travelled on buses and eventually went back to T4 on LizLine, then the bus to the hotel. Amazingly, the total bill on each or our credit cards was just £14.10 per person for each day. I had done a recce along similar routings the day before. So LHR, to London, back for less than fifteen quid - bargain!
It’s another edition of Geoff looking fabulous while illuminating us about the Elizabeth Line. Pity it’s raining heavily. P.S. I hope you haven’t fallen ill.
In Ireland, we would call this weather a 'soft day': relentless drizzle: not quite enough for an umbrella, a flat cap and an overcoat will keep you good.
Yes, and likewise at the other end a Greater Anglia from Shenfield into Liverpool Street then on from there would be a considerably quicker option than Lizzy Line all the way.
@@kiranbahra oh i live in the east and have never been west of Paddington so I don’t know really also i didnt get out of paddington that day i just went down the elozabeth lone
I had a flight from Heathrow t5 on Sunday so decided to take the purple train straight through. What an improvement that was. For me on the Peterborough line I'm pretty sure it's not even worth considering the Heathrow express anymore. Just need Thameslink to run through the core on Sundays for Peterborough - Horsham to tie everything together
Rather difficult for passengers at Paddington wanting to go to places like Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford to know where the next best train is departing from. Maybe a Kings Cross type indicator system should be used here to show the Maidenhead & Reading Elizabeth Line trains on the main line stationtrain indicator boards (at Kings Cross the indicators show Thameslink trains from St Pancrss heading up the GN lines).
Great stuff as always! I was in London last week so missed the through running but did get to ride the line and visit Bond Street. Incidentally another first for me was Kew to Gunnersbury on the overground. Nice trains on the Overground too.
Great video Geoff. I'm glad the trains are going straight through from Shenfield to Paddington now, because it means when I want to go to Gatwick I have a quicker journey into London and I don't have to mess around so much on the Underground lines
I had to go from Woolwich to Heathrow yesterday so experienced through running unplanned :) It was a more pleasant journey than changing at Paddington and there was a brief pause in each direction.
Yes, Sunday I had a small pause at one station, I assume there is slack in the timetable until the national change in December when the full pathing through Stratford will be sorted out (there were a number of platform changes for Greater Anglia services)
I’m so excited! I’m disappointed I’ve only taken the Elizabeth line twice for a very short time in total, so I’m taking inspiration from your End Of The Line series and I’m going to drag my bf along the entire line in the weekends! Right, time for a bit of exploring…
Hi Geoff, Another brilliant from you as always, I am so looking forward to trying the through Elizabeth Line experience very soon from Shenfield, Essex! 😊
I got the first train of the day yesterday from Abbey Wood and went all the way to Reading . The 05.44. I got a train back to AW at Circa 08.00 but explored the Henley and Marlow branches while I was there. Very convenient and an excellent day. Well done TfL, EL and GWR too
Unfortunately (because of work) I couldn't get down to London on Sunday but on Monday I was *there*! Took the Northern from Euston to Bank and (using the splendid new route) onto the Central to Stratford. Thence I was on the Elizabeth Line and into the tunnel! Didn't go straight through to Paddington but alighted at Bond Street because... coffee! Suitably refreshed it was straight to Ealing Broadway from there and back on the Central into town... for old time's sake as much as anything else. The Elizabeth Line really is a game-changer and I'm already used to it as an integral part of central London's rail infrastructure. Looking forward to the final stage in May. Thanks, Geoff!
Very interesting. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could please make a video sometime which explains in layman's terms why it has been so difficult to initiate through running between the various parts of the line.
I suspect a big part of the difficulties with getting everything going has been the fact that a large chunk of the eastern and western parts of the line are preexisting railways and purple trains have to share the track with those other.
The difficulty comes from connecting the signalling systems up. Abbey Wood to Paddington has a modern signalling system under Crossrail’s control. But the Western Branch and the Shenfield branch both have older signalling systems which are not as sophisticated. If a train is approaching the tunnel entrance from Stratford then the Crossrail signalling system needs to be able to know the train is approaching before it reaches the Crossrail system and the same is true in the other direction. The older signalling system on the mainline needs to be able to see Crossrail trains approaching. It is vital that these interfaces work reliably in a failsafe manner.
@@extrude22 Thanks for that, very interesting. To a layman, it comes as a surprise that the British railway system doesn't have one standard signalling system throughout.
@@John_259 Like many things it’s a case of different lines being upgraded at different times and each line having different requirements. It’s hard to imagine the entire country having 1 single signalling system because they only tend to be replaced every 30-50 years.
From a commuting perspective I always use the Elizabeth Line from Reading anyway as GWR isn't covered under Staff Oyster, but the straight through connection really helps to speed things up. I'll buy a ticket and use GWR if I'm in a rush for anything though, as changing at Paddington from a faster GWR service is still much faster than just taking an Elizabeth Line the full way through.
Do normal oysters/contactless work? (i know it'll be more expensive than the normal oyster cap but i care more about not faffing around with a piece of single-use dead tree.)
@@charleslambert3368 Contactless is valid all the way to Reading, but regular Oysters are only valid as far as West Drayton, and are not valid at stations between Iver and Reading (inclusive). Staff Oyster cards are valid but they don’t actually work on the barriers at Reading, we just have to show them to the gateline staff as the barriers aren’t configured for Oysters of any kind.
@@tommo7802 Staff oyster is valid on any TfL governed service (Tube, Bus, Tram, Overground, Elizabeth Line) and a couple of national rail routes. The barriers between West Drayton and Reading are not configured to take Oysters of any form despite Staff oysters being within validity, so you just have to show a member of gateline staff and they’ll let you through.
Geoff- love your enthusiasm! I would love to see you accompanied by a wheelchair user on your next escapade- this would show viewers how the Elizabeth line is not only very fast (18 minutes from Startford to Paddington IS insane!) but very accessible....
Awesome video as always Geoff, the through services is a massive game changer. And finally that ending on the escalator summing up, wow, classic that is. Keep it up 😁👍
Excellent video - looking forward to getting a chance to travel on the line next month… I’m surprised that the northern correspondent was not prepared for the rain 😆
We bought a narrowboat 2 months ago which we are moving up and down the Grand Union Canal and the #PurpleTrain has been brilliant in getting us to and from our home in Bath to West Drayton, Hayes & Harlington and Southall. Not to mention and the Circle/H&C (Royal Oak and Westbourne Park) Bakerloo (Willesden Junction) Piccadilly (Alperton) and Central (Greenford and Perivale). We can now also get to the mother-in-law's near Shenfield! (More's the pity!)
I was hoping to get the 13:37 Eastbound train from Ealing Broadway which got canceled. A few minutes you came off the Westbound train which made my day :)
Did Harold Wood to Heathrow and back yesterday [Monday] with my daughter. All good and no bad. The delay, outside Paddington, you mention was only a couple of minutes so not too inconvenient. Surprised as to the amount of people using the service during the early afternoon...which can only be a good thing.
My missus and I were given those hi-vis keyrings by a lovely member of station staff at Liverpool Street, shortly after the Purple Train opened! I think they're great!
Nice to see a bit of what my old home station (EB) looks like now, since I'd last used it! 🙂 As regards to the which line to take between Reading and Paddington... I sense a future challenge/race video coming! 😉
The case for going on to build Crossrail 2 should not rely on easier journeys, new routes, economic benefits etc., but should be built purely to provide Geoff with new topics for videos.
Geoff, towards the end you were quizzed about the trains stopping at Liverpool St and mentioned specific ones stopping there, this morning an extra 3 randomly turned up at the high no. platforms - no staff were prepared for them! The signalers seemingly have no idea what is going where. Also, on the Shenfield route side, various stations aren't finished! Some don't have platforms long enough for the trains - which causes countless problems at peak times as people push along to try and reach a door that will open! Plus on the Shenfield side, trains now take longer than when it was just the TFL line! How do they create a slower service than they had before! The chaos the line is causing at Liverpool St is pretty comical tbh.
I am definitely in the camp of getting on one single train and taking a nap, reading, or listening to some music without worrying about changing trains and whatnot
From travelling back Stratford to Liverpool Street (the interchange from Whitechapel to Overground/District is still a faff with lift shafts being in really annoying places , (and one at least a couple of weeks ago not working) , I found the service busy, with plenty of locals even at an early hour on a Sunday, some looked loaded to get to LHR with a change (which is recommended to be done at Whitechapel). Getting to Liverpool Street a eastbound must have arrived, met a Chinese person somewhat lost (as I was too- I got my Northern Moorgate Connection , but they wanted , eventually Rectory Road (diff for chinese to say) , thus wanting the Mainline exit for Overground Services , which I admit I had no idea where the exit route was - and if it was possible from the lift serving the Northern Line exit.
@@kiranbahraI took the GWR into Reading, much quicker. The Elizabeth Line serves better in the capital. From Canary Wharf to Tottenham Court Road and vice versa. especially.
Question: since Liz line trains are running through now, will you make a race the tube video with the fastest way from Barking Riverside into Central London?
Great video! I noticed the slight service cut on the Abbey Wood core section the other day, a bit sneaky given all the noise TfL made about “more trains per hour”. Hopefully when we get 24 trains per hour next year, the super-quick 5 minute service can be restored…
I walked past as you were filming. I really want to stop and say hi but a platform change messed with that. Next time I'd like to stop and say hi. I have been following you since the londonist days
For me using my London Freedom Pass, staying on Lizzie train from Reading through Paddington, whilst it's slower, off-peak it's free compared with using GWR (just mustn't drink too much prior.....).
Really enjoyed the video Geoff. I agree with Andy that the Elizabeth Line is a massive gamechanger but back in May I wasn't on the 1st trains, back in October wasn't there at Bond Street but I did do the first passenger trains that went through the Western Portals (Royal Oak Portals) 0802 off Paddington to Heathrow and 0818 at Acton Main Line into the core section. Also do agree that it didn't feel like it was in May when everyone happy and celebrating the day.
My wife and I had our first ride on the #PurpleTrain last Friday between Liverpool Street and Tottenham Court Road/Bond Street when the Central line was disrupted at Notting Hill Gate.
![Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ORzNZUeUHAM/mqdefault.jpg)
I live in the US but come to Britain fairly regularly (family, work, etc.) - and consequently I often read UK news as I've become a bit of an Anglophile.
Anytime I hear about any change {good, bad or otherwise] to the UK rail infrastructure, especially if it is to do with London, I immediately think of Geoff. As soon as I saw there were through trains on the Elizabeth Line, I knew I could count of Geoff to be on top of it! Thank you, Geoff, for never disappointing!
UK Railways are usually negative news sadly, except HS2 (but that's pretty negatively covered as well). You'd think for the railway nation, we'd be less pessimistic, but I guess we have lost hope.
@@Garner84 It's a cliche that good news is not news anywhere. People want to see what's wrong not right.
@@Garner84 There is clearly a system in place in Britain to purposefully keep public transport running as poorly as possible. Since the 1960s we've been conditioned to believe railways (and all public transport) are always bad so that we don't care when public transport deteriorates and choose to drive everywhere instead. If public transport became universally quick, reliable and affordable it would be a disaster for the oil and automobile industries. Luckily for them they have plenty of money to spend lobbying (bribing) the government to make sure that never happens.
@@Garner84 HS2 became more negative for me since they binned large parts of, negating the positive impact it would've had.
@Owen Garner As another American Anglophile, I have to say British people are pessimistic in everything when compared to Americans. Even the elizabeth line was doubted and laughed at as a joke until it was completed and proved the doubters wrong.
I'm not a train nerd or buff or whatever it's called and I couldn’t give a rats behind about trains. But... Elizabeth Line is such a miracle I sit on it and marvel each time. Using the tube all my life as a Londoner nothing quite prepares you for the magnificence of this train of the future. I rode it the first day it opened and used the train on the 6th of November when it opened running through Liverpool to Stratford. Couldn’t have come soon enough. But I digress. Just wanted to say that your train videos are par excellence. Just the way you are very thorough, very knowledgeable and fun. There's no one else I'd rather watch and I came searching for this video hoping you'd make one and you did. And I learnt a LOT so using the train will be so much a better experience. I could say "train nerd go get a life" but nah you’re literally essential to daily living. Transport wise. So do carry on.
The bar for miracles really has gone down over the years, hasn't it.
@@geofftech2 yup keep it up geoff
When I visited London in August, I had a day of solo tourism where I could indulge any uninteresting geekery that crossed my mind and I went out of my way to ride the central section of the Elizabeth Line from Paddington to Liverpool Street, and saw the trains from the western section coming in at the main train shed at Paddington. It seems to me that one could consider this the *real* opening of the Elizabeth Line, in the sense that it's now running as designed for the purpose it was designed for.
Very much so :)
For me, it felt like it was already open for real when I visited in September because it was a godsend to be able to get into the city so fast from Acton Main Line, where I stayed. However, can anyone say whether there was a preexisting service that I could have used on the same tracks? If there was anyway, and hence service wasn't significantly improved, then now does seem more like the real opening.
I did nearly exactly the same thing in June! Can completely recommend checking out the „nerdy train spots“ in London like the Kensington False Facade or the mail Rail. And I also loved taking the new and shiny #purpletrain
All I can say is it's about time too! I remember back in the mid 90's when they were talking about Crossrail. It's great to see it finally running! (PS, yes it's Crossrail).
CrossRail was spoken about in the 80's, when I was at school in Maidenhead.
Geoff, You are a great way of me finding out what’s happening in the UK. I love your videos. Keep up the awesome work and updates!
Karl in a video immediately brightens up a Monday. Fun video lads!
Always entertaining. Thanks Geoff!
I used this yesterday to go from Reading to Stratford. It was a good journey although the disadvantage is that it stopped at every station between Reading and Southall. I changed at Liverpool Street, which wasn't a problem as it wasn't very busy. Coming back I noticed that most people, including myself transferred at Paddington to GWR
Service could be useful if when Old Oak Common comes into use for a better interchange than Paddington
Can I ask was that much more expensive and does GWR need to be pre-booked for reasonable prices?
What was the destination advertised at Reading station?
It's the same price for both GWR and Elizabeth Line services between Reading and Paddington.
@@bryanduncan6178 yes but its the availibility of Freedom Pass usage
Love your videos Geoff. Coming to London 11/15-11/29 from San Francisco to see the Purple Line and Northern extension. Super excited! I retired from BART as the Manager of Schedules. Pre Covid we operated 24THPH on our 2 track central core in SF. Cheers - Jay Bolcik
Our Victoria line runs 36 tph on the entire line. In the 1950s and early 1960s the District line ran 40 tph on its central section.
Brilliant video Geoff
I am so glad that you can ride most of the Elizabeth line with our changing
"Geoff Trains" I laughed out loud.
Trains and rain. All we are missing is tea for the perfect British combo.
I ❤ this video Geoff Marshall your the best purple train video man ever
Geoff, many videos on this subject, yours is the definitive explanation on the subject…. Thanks for your work……
The through running services is such a beneficial way in travelling in and out of the central section of the railway, as it does saves time from having to change over at both London mainline stations. I literally went there today in the east side towards Stratford and it's definitely a life saver for sure!
That quick from Stratford to Paddington is superb, if I add in my 26 minutes from Chelmsford to Stratford on the main line and the 15 minute Heathrow Express I could do Chelmsford to Heathrow in about 75 mins !!!
It’s amazing they built not only a line across the region, but they were able to build it with 2 branches at each end. Meanwhile here in NYC they are saying the new “Grand Central Madison” terminal will open before the end of the year (no exact date yet). The Gateway project to double up the tunnels from Penn Station across the Hudson River is years away from completion, (first they need to replace an over 100 year old swing bridge that always gets stuck partially open.)
the last 2 times I have gone to London I have used the Elizbeth line. My journey is from Paddington to Custom House. I know that the information in this video is not going to change that but to do that in 20-odd minutes instead of the hour or so is fantastic.
about your question of getting a GWR to Paddington and then go to Elizabeth line or go from Reading - for me I would say Paddington is better for the return since its a good place for one last meetup with friends before they need to go to other routes.
fantastic video, Geoff.
I only found out yesterday that they started. This must be a fun thing to see and do.
geoff, you ran into two good friends of mine at ealing broadway the other day! i'm living in canada and only get over to london on holidays, but love your channel! keep up this fantastic content mate!
this connects reading with London's west end. amazing!
yeah but it's flipping slow, rather pointless, GWR is almost 3 times faster 😂
Geoff I also had the joy of riding through the central section from the Eastern branch yesterday and today, I was really surprised how empty the train and Whitechapel station were today during rush hour!
dont forget that strikes were planned for today so travellers would have made different arrangments including not travelling, it was very busy on Sunday with normal travellers (Whitechapel for Markets , and Romford to Heathrow and so on). Whitechapel looks empty because so large and really for local journeys it is a bit of a question if District / Central etc interchanges are not much more longer than Elizabeth once time to walk around the platforms and stations are taken into account. Whitechapel is being promoted as the interchange for the two eastern sections of the Elizabeth line, which does make sense rather than trying at Bond Street.
@@highpath4776 funny you should mention the district/circle line interchanges as that's the reason I used the liz line, it was far quicker for my journey yesterday with an interchange at a dlr station, but for a different journey today was the same time as comparable journey on district line
Also Whitechapel wasn't that busy either yesterday:/ probably weather related
Also I noted same day 2 weeks ago district line was empty, but same day last week was packed, the only difference between the two weeks was the rain in the first
The 》ESCALATOR GAG《 made my morning.....thank you!! 😂🙏👏🤛
An excellent update Geoff and thank you as always.
On the Remembrance weekend (Nov 12th-13th), my wife and I travelled in from Heathrow to Central London (dear Lord, it's a long walk from LizLine to Jubilee Line under Bond Street!). Surfacing at Westmunster, we did the Cenotaph, travelled on buses and eventually went back to T4 on LizLine, then the bus to the hotel. Amazingly, the total bill on each or our credit cards was just £14.10 per person for each day. I had done a recce along similar routings the day before. So LHR, to London, back for less than fifteen quid - bargain!
Nice. I like those videos with yours friends. Happy people. Makes me happy. Great job.
It’s another edition of Geoff looking fabulous while illuminating us about the Elizabeth Line. Pity it’s raining heavily.
P.S. I hope you haven’t fallen ill.
Surreal watching this, I’ve got the lizzo train to Heathrow today and now I’m sitting on it waiting to go to Acton main line
I remember being very excited when the actual tunnelling from Royal Oak Portal began in 2012 :)
Great to see it open now! I'm looking forward to trackbashing this when I get back to the UK.
I have NO enthusiasm about this stuff but because you have enthusiasm, I watch.
I love watching your videos, super interesting and fun. Bravo sir 👏
In Ireland, we would call this weather a 'soft day': relentless drizzle: not quite enough for an umbrella, a flat cap and an overcoat will keep you good.
Thank you . Your videos always cheer me up. Take care.
As a Reading dweller, definitely do the fast GWR into Paddington. Under 25 minutes non-stop if you're not held anywhere.
Yes, and likewise at the other end a Greater Anglia from Shenfield into Liverpool Street then on from there would be a considerably quicker option than Lizzy Line all the way.
Nobody should be holding you without permission!
Is it still faster if you just miss your trin?
@@thisis_mudchute the fast reading trains are super frequent, roughly every 7 mins, so yeah it's still faster
@@kiranbahra oh
i live in the east and have never been west of Paddington so I don’t know really
also i didnt get out of paddington that day i just went down the elozabeth lone
In the video you talked about getting a GWR train and if it's easier/quicker, that sounds like a great idea for a timed video you could make
I had a flight from Heathrow t5 on Sunday so decided to take the purple train straight through. What an improvement that was. For me on the Peterborough line I'm pretty sure it's not even worth considering the Heathrow express anymore. Just need Thameslink to run through the core on Sundays for Peterborough - Horsham to tie everything together
How about that smooth entry by Carl!
Rather difficult for passengers at Paddington wanting to go to places like Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford to know where the next best train is departing from. Maybe a Kings Cross type indicator system should be used here to show the Maidenhead & Reading Elizabeth Line trains on the main line stationtrain indicator boards (at Kings Cross the indicators show Thameslink trains from St Pancrss heading up the GN lines).
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take that forward.....
Great stuff as always! I was in London last week so missed the through running but did get to ride the line and visit Bond Street. Incidentally another first for me was Kew to Gunnersbury on the overground. Nice trains on the Overground too.
I was down in London in October, rode the Elizabeth line from Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 5
Amazing video! I've started my trip at Heathrow Terminal 4 and changed at Whitechapel to get the Shenfield train to Stratford.
Your videos are the perfect learning tool
Great video Geoff. I'm glad the trains are going straight through from Shenfield to Paddington now, because it means when I want to go to Gatwick I have a quicker journey into London and I don't have to mess around so much on the Underground lines
I had to go from Woolwich to Heathrow yesterday so experienced through running unplanned :)
It was a more pleasant journey than changing at Paddington and there was a brief pause in each direction.
Yes, Sunday I had a small pause at one station, I assume there is slack in the timetable until the national change in December when the full pathing through Stratford will be sorted out (there were a number of platform changes for Greater Anglia services)
Awesome video Geoff! Your videos always make me smile 😊
I’m so excited! I’m disappointed I’ve only taken the Elizabeth line twice for a very short time in total, so I’m taking inspiration from your End Of The Line series and I’m going to drag my bf along the entire line in the weekends! Right, time for a bit of exploring…
Omg it’s Carl in the iconic Mustard Jacket and Marvellous Millinery. I remember Geoff and Carl exchanging outfits. #Iconique
Hi Geoff, Another brilliant from you as always, I am so looking forward to trying the through Elizabeth Line experience very soon from Shenfield, Essex! 😊
I got the first train of the day yesterday from Abbey Wood and went all the way to Reading . The 05.44. I got a train back to AW at Circa 08.00 but explored the Henley and Marlow branches while I was there. Very convenient and an excellent day. Well done TfL, EL and GWR too
I went on there yesterday, and it was so cool, so modern so amazing.
Unfortunately (because of work) I couldn't get down to London on Sunday but on Monday I was *there*! Took the Northern from Euston to Bank and (using the splendid new route) onto the Central to Stratford. Thence I was on the Elizabeth Line and into the tunnel! Didn't go straight through to Paddington but alighted at Bond Street because... coffee! Suitably refreshed it was straight to Ealing Broadway from there and back on the Central into town... for old time's sake as much as anything else. The Elizabeth Line really is a game-changer and I'm already used to it as an integral part of central London's rail infrastructure. Looking forward to the final stage in May. Thanks, Geoff!
The Elizabeth Line is such a fantastic piece infrastructure! Makes such a difference when travelling east/west through London.
I'm glad this was done, I found it rather muddled changing at paddington toward heathrow last time I was there
Brilliant !!.....mad but brilliant.....thanks Geoff !
I am so looking forward to going on the Elizabeth line it makes a difference to going on the central line.
Shenfield to Paddington brilliant
Can't wait till I visit UK next May, I will ride the Purple! Nice vid, Geoff!
does this mean we are going to Reading in End of the line?
Possibly
I hope
Reading is end off line
Nice...! I went to Ealing Broadway last week and did a lot more walking than I expected...
Very interesting. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could please make a video sometime which explains in layman's terms why it has been so difficult to initiate through running between the various parts of the line.
I suspect a big part of the difficulties with getting everything going has been the fact that a large chunk of the eastern and western parts of the line are preexisting railways and purple trains have to share the track with those other.
The difficulty comes from connecting the signalling systems up.
Abbey Wood to Paddington has a modern signalling system under Crossrail’s control.
But the Western Branch and the Shenfield branch both have older signalling systems which are not as sophisticated.
If a train is approaching the tunnel entrance from Stratford then the Crossrail signalling system needs to be able to know the train is approaching before it reaches the Crossrail system and the same is true in the other direction. The older signalling system on the mainline needs to be able to see Crossrail trains approaching.
It is vital that these interfaces work reliably in a failsafe manner.
@@extrude22 Thanks for that, very interesting. To a layman, it comes as a surprise that the British railway system doesn't have one standard signalling system throughout.
@@John_259 Like many things it’s a case of different lines being upgraded at different times and each line having different requirements. It’s hard to imagine the entire country having 1 single signalling system because they only tend to be replaced every 30-50 years.
From a commuting perspective I always use the Elizabeth Line from Reading anyway as GWR isn't covered under Staff Oyster, but the straight through connection really helps to speed things up. I'll buy a ticket and use GWR if I'm in a rush for anything though, as changing at Paddington from a faster GWR service is still much faster than just taking an Elizabeth Line the full way through.
Does staff oyster cover you the whole way to Reading? How does that work for the section far west where they don't take normal oyster?
@@tommo7802 show your pass at the gate to enter and exit
Do normal oysters/contactless work? (i know it'll be more expensive than the normal oyster cap but i care more about not faffing around with a piece of single-use dead tree.)
@@charleslambert3368 Contactless is valid all the way to Reading, but regular Oysters are only valid as far as West Drayton, and are not valid at stations between Iver and Reading (inclusive). Staff Oyster cards are valid but they don’t actually work on the barriers at Reading, we just have to show them to the gateline staff as the barriers aren’t configured for Oysters of any kind.
@@tommo7802 Staff oyster is valid on any TfL governed service (Tube, Bus, Tram, Overground, Elizabeth Line) and a couple of national rail routes. The barriers between West Drayton and Reading are not configured to take Oysters of any form despite Staff oysters being within validity, so you just have to show a member of gateline staff and they’ll let you through.
Geoff- love your enthusiasm! I would love to see you accompanied by a wheelchair user on your next escapade- this would show viewers how the Elizabeth line is not only very fast (18 minutes from Startford to Paddington IS insane!) but very accessible....
@@geofftech2 My apologies Geoff- I'll check your back catilogue next time I comment!
Awesome video as always Geoff, the through services is a massive game changer. And finally that ending on the escalator summing up, wow, classic that is. Keep it up 😁👍
Great video Geoff. Thank you for sharing this that is great information.
Excellent video - looking forward to getting a chance to travel on the line next month…
I’m surprised that the northern correspondent was not prepared for the rain 😆
I have become too conditioned to it over the years. Umbrella? No need.
Very good informative as per usual Geoff 🙂🚂🚂🚂
We bought a narrowboat 2 months ago which we are moving up and down the Grand Union Canal and the #PurpleTrain has been brilliant in getting us to and from our home in Bath to West Drayton, Hayes & Harlington and Southall. Not to mention and the Circle/H&C (Royal Oak and Westbourne Park) Bakerloo (Willesden Junction) Piccadilly (Alperton) and Central (Greenford and Perivale). We can now also get to the mother-in-law's near Shenfield! (More's the pity!)
My friend: that suit is aces! Love it!
I was hoping to get the 13:37 Eastbound train from Ealing Broadway which got canceled. A few minutes you came off the Westbound train which made my day :)
Thanks Geoff. A bin liner that looked like a fairground goldfish bag. Brill. (is that the fish?)
Took the trip today. In the tunnel east of Whitechapel, had my nose pressed against the window and caught a glimpse of the joining of the two tracks.
Again a great video Geoff, but I love this one for special reasons! 😎🥰
Did Harold Wood to Heathrow and back yesterday [Monday] with my daughter. All good and no bad. The delay, outside Paddington, you mention was only a couple of minutes so not too inconvenient. Surprised as to the amount of people using the service during the early afternoon...which can only be a good thing.
Was hoping you'd ride all the way to Reading!
My missus and I were given those hi-vis keyrings by a lovely member of station staff at Liverpool Street, shortly after the Purple Train opened! I think they're great!
Nice to see a bit of what my old home station (EB) looks like now, since I'd last used it! 🙂
As regards to the which line to take between Reading and Paddington... I sense a future challenge/race video coming! 😉
The case for going on to build Crossrail 2 should not rely on easier journeys, new routes, economic benefits etc., but should be built purely to provide Geoff with new topics for videos.
There are some new NR stations, new Tube and DLR rolling stock on the way too
Geoff, towards the end you were quizzed about the trains stopping at Liverpool St and mentioned specific ones stopping there, this morning an extra 3 randomly turned up at the high no. platforms - no staff were prepared for them! The signalers seemingly have no idea what is going where.
Also, on the Shenfield route side, various stations aren't finished! Some don't have platforms long enough for the trains - which causes countless problems at peak times as people push along to try and reach a door that will open!
Plus on the Shenfield side, trains now take longer than when it was just the TFL line! How do they create a slower service than they had before! The chaos the line is causing at Liverpool St is pretty comical tbh.
Nice to see the Elizabeth Line now has through running! One more stage to go...
14:14, What, no more purple train?!? SACREBLEU!!!
I am definitely in the camp of getting on one single train and taking a nap, reading, or listening to some music without worrying about changing trains and whatnot
Even if it take 1 hour compared to 25 mins?
From travelling back Stratford to Liverpool Street (the interchange from Whitechapel to Overground/District is still a faff with lift shafts being in really annoying places , (and one at least a couple of weeks ago not working) , I found the service busy, with plenty of locals even at an early hour on a Sunday, some looked loaded to get to LHR with a change (which is recommended to be done at Whitechapel). Getting to Liverpool Street a eastbound must have arrived, met a Chinese person somewhat lost (as I was too- I got my Northern Moorgate Connection , but they wanted , eventually Rectory Road (diff for chinese to say) , thus wanting the Mainline exit for Overground Services , which I admit I had no idea where the exit route was - and if it was possible from the lift serving the Northern Line exit.
Great news for Purpletrain fans!
I certainly will be indulging in the fact that I can change from GWR at Reading and sail through next time I'm in London. Can't wait.
I'll warn you it takes over 30 mins longer on that reading to paddington stretch so imo it's definitely not worth it
@@kiranbahraI took the GWR into Reading, much quicker.
The Elizabeth Line serves better in the capital. From Canary Wharf to Tottenham Court Road and vice versa. especially.
nice one! Really nice to see it finally running through!!!!
Epic video Geoff Marshall you are a legend 😊
I was waiting for this video Geoff! I will be delighted to watch it tonight after gym with a cup of tea!
The Carl and Geoff show, they bounce brilliantly off each other...
Looking fab Mr Marshall. 👌
Oh I will miss Paddington station. So many memories there :)
Question: since Liz line trains are running through now, will you make a race the tube video with the fastest way from Barking Riverside into Central London?
yes he should do that.
As a resident I hope he does so I can know for sure!
@@Emmaschrod Check the Timetable for the C2C Liverpool Street Via Stratford Service from Barking
Great video! I noticed the slight service cut on the Abbey Wood core section the other day, a bit sneaky given all the noise TfL made about “more trains per hour”. Hopefully when we get 24 trains per hour next year, the super-quick 5 minute service can be restored…
Love your videos, I enjoy watching the new one.
I walked past as you were filming. I really want to stop and say hi but a platform change messed with that. Next time I'd like to stop and say hi. I have been following you since the londonist days
For me using my London Freedom Pass, staying on Lizzie train from Reading through Paddington, whilst it's slower, off-peak it's free compared with using GWR (just mustn't drink too much prior.....).
Get a list of stations with loos
@@highpath4776 😄I guess that's the advantage of GWR!
@@ACELog Some you win, some you ...
Have TfL commented on how purple train has affected the tube lines, making them less busy etc.?
I don't know if there have been official comments but the central line definitely feels quieter
Really enjoyed the video Geoff. I agree with Andy that the Elizabeth Line is a massive gamechanger but back in May I wasn't on the 1st trains, back in October wasn't there at Bond Street but I did do the first passenger trains that went through the Western Portals (Royal Oak Portals) 0802 off Paddington to Heathrow and 0818 at Acton Main Line into the core section. Also do agree that it didn't feel like it was in May when everyone happy and celebrating the day.
So glad the Queen got to open this before she sadly died.
Brilliant! It is getting better. 🙂
18 mins Stratford to Paddington. 🙂
@@tonygibbs9339 good bye central line lol
My wife and I had our first ride on the #PurpleTrain last Friday between Liverpool Street and Tottenham Court Road/Bond Street when the Central line was disrupted at Notting Hill Gate.
That's nice that people from Essex can quickly go to Paddington in Central London if they wanted to go travelling from Heathrow Airport.
The shenfield service really came in perfectly for the MCM comic-con, made travelling between the exCel and my romford hotel so much easier!