Elizabeth Line Opening - Q&A
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- Crossrail / Elizabeth Line / Purple Train is set to open to the public on Tuesday 24th May 2022, but not as one whole complete joined up railway inititially! So let's answer your questions to clear up any confusion you may have ...
NOTE: You can't use Oyster beyond West Drayton to the west towards Reading, bank contacless cards are OK though.
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How are you not a guest of honour for the opening, Geoff?! You've done more to drum up hype and enthusiasm about this debacle of a railway than anyone! You should be presented to The Queen as a central figure in the story of the line!
😅 Maybe the workers who actually built the line should be in the front row?
@@thecockerel86 You are correct, of course. Doesn't mean Geoff can't be there too 😉
I agree. They should get Geoff to cut the ribbon 🎀
@@WillMeganFan Call me old fashioned but I think I'd rather let QE2 (God save her) do that, no offence meant to Geoff. Perhaps Geoff could pass the scissors? ✂️
@@WillMeganFan At least he has a better understanding of it. The "so called" dignitaries won't use it mixing with the proles.
I love the ‘only’ twelve trains an hour. I wish my local rail service had that many trains an hour! 😀
it could with the improvements to trains
That's the regional divide for you. The metropolitan elite get trains services at a much faster than even our fastest peak bus services and I live in a big place too!
It’s currently only 4 trains an hour? Every time i lose my train is a pain in the bum so actually quite excited to not be 15 mins late every time i miss it now!
12 trains an hour vs 1 per hour after 6pm. (PS. I'm in the 3rd largest city in the UK) 😕
Try where I live on the East Suffolk Line. 13 services a day.
"If you miss that train, you'll have to wait five minutes for the next one."
*Cries in American*
That's not long
Crybaby
@@mrorangeaventra4683 I think he is crying with jealousy and humor....the waiting times are longer on the heavy commuter lines in the USA.
After that it's a question of point of view, but with the junction with the west and north-east branch, the central section will have a frequency of 3 to 5 min and will be close to the line that probably inspired it, the RER A in Paris, where the trains are every 110s at peak times.
Glad to hear about the ceremonial opening on Monday before the official opening on Tuesday. In selected English-speaking portions of Canada, May 23rd is a designated holiday, Victoria Day. There should be lots of media coverage of changes between those two queens.
I wish London every success on this massive infrastructure project.
Hooray for Victoria Day
Any talk of a ceremonial opening is still only guesswork at the moment.
I was employes as a noise consultant for a few years on this project in the earlier stages, and went down tunnels and ventilation shafts, and up tall a*sed tower cranes. Superb experiences.
“Tall-a*sed Tower Cranes” is my new band name. 👍
@@jhdore New to TOTP singing Purple Train, give a warm welcome to the Tall-arsed Tower Cranes 👏👏👏
@@jhdore glad to be of inspiration!
@@jhdore Didn’t they do a Peel Session once? 🤣
Honestly I really do hope this is worth the almost 4 year delay! Thanks for making a video on this Geoff! I've been waiting for this video as soon as Crossrail announced the opening
It's funny. I worked on this project by providing noise consultancy services. It was due to open in 2018 officially. In 2015 I asked a site operative at the Bond Street construction site whether the 2018 deadline was feasible. He responded "Bollo**s, mate. No chance for another 3 to 4 years after that." He wasn't wrong. Moral of the story. Ask the man on the coal face.
I've been waiting for this since 1987, and I still won't be able to go from Forest Gate to Paddington... YET!
But I do take your point, like most endeavours we'll forget the pain after a while.
Geoff, bikes are allowed on all Elizabeth Line services, I have a TFL brief that I can send if you want to see, folded bikes are allowed at all times and normal bikes are during off peak only, but bikes are allowed on all Elizabeth Line services. People are not allowed to change onto the underground of course.
So are bikes allow on the Great Northern service into Moorgate (being in Tunnel ?)
I wonder if the difference here might be because, regarding the fire safety Geoff mentioned in the video, all tunnelled sections of Elizabeth Line have emergency walkways so there shouldn't be a problem with mobility?
@@SamBrev Cycles will probably have to be left on the train to burn, so ensure you have insurance !
@@SamBrev The trains are also larger than the deep level tube stock so I imagine that has something to do with it.
No bikes are allowed in subsurface stations due to, if needed to detrain in the tunnel
I thought it was so touching to see the Queen officially unveil the Elizabeth line on her Platinum Jubilee year
I love how you've got so many clothing items Elizabeth Line branded!
A fantastic engineering achievement, this will benefit future generations.
I must say that I'm very excited to try out the Elizabeth Line from the 24th between Paddington and Liverpool Street. This is a revolutionary once-in-a-generation type of infrastructure project for London, especially for transport.
The furthest west (good tongue twister there) TfL managed station is Taplow. Maidenhead and Twyford are both still managed by GWR. Reading is managed by Network Rail. SLough is also GWR. The only station served by a GWR branch that IS managed by TfL is West Ealing. I'm thinking that in a few years, this could turn into an Overground line.
I’m thinking it will stay separate like Thameslink
Unless there's significant infrastructure works, the Greenford branch is best handled by GWR, or failing that, Chiltern. This is for economies of scale on rolling stock reasons. Overground shouldn't grab 2 or 3 trains that are different to its fleet to run a short branch if there's other TOCs that actually adjoin the branch that already have large fleets of the relevant stock...
When is a station operator managed, and when NR? 🤨
@@andrewreynolds4949 I think he means the Greenford Branch becoming Overground (or parry people movers etc)
@@raphaelnikolaus0486 network rail manage all the large stations with multiple companies running through them (eg. London termini, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly etc.). I'm pretty sure there's 20 of them
Thanks Geoff for the video answering many questions.
The opening of initial Jubilee Line from Charing Cross was the day before the public in 1979 (as shown on Secrets of the London Underground last night).
It will be great to have the Elizabeth Line opened at last, it has been a while coming and will also ease congestion on the underground network.
i've been riding the "purple train" 3 times now and im about to ride it the 4th time, this line never lets me down
“Finally, and then I’ll get to my plugs…” [Geoff proceeds to talk about sockets]. Pure gold.
Also love the way that Geoff is being coy about the dignitaries at the opening. If he’s not cutting the ribbon himself, I’m rioting.
Excellent one day will be able travel Whitstable to Reading changing at Stratford to see my Mum. Good video Geoff.
I've had a trip to London planned for the first week of June even before they announced the opening and your videos have gotten me even more excited! Can't wait to get over there and ride some new trains!
Brilliant explanation, that really shows up the hopelessly inadequate TfL briefing and subsequent press stories
I had Prince in my head while I was watching this... 😄 Great video Geoff
Noticed that Langley station has already had the TfL roundel signs changed to read "Elizabeth Line".......They have a lot of roundels to alter !!
Always good to see you buzzing with excitement. Can't wait to check out the CrossLizPurple line when I can *finally* get to London again!
Thanks for the Freedom pass and 60 + answers 👍
The current Sheffield to Liverpool Street TFL line run every 10 minutes. The Elizabeth line means they will run every 5 minutes. I live 2 minutes from Gidea Park so will have an excellent service.
@Geoffmarshall fyi:
Basically the new core section aka Paddington lower level to Abbey wood we aren't technically "route trained" on, as the train operates in ATO. We have a 2 week classroom based course where we learn how to operate the CTBC system and all its associated rules etc. Then a few sessions in a simulator to back that up, its not really a route thing though and more of a systems thing. We have what's called an "experience day" down there, and then we're kind of good to go. We have route maps available etc if we ever need them. We do learn how to transition in and out of the core sections though, as it changes operating modes from TPWS to CBTC into the core and obviously CBTC to TPWS out. No real route retention is needed as we don't technically "drive it" per say. All drivers have a fantastic knowledge of whats going on down there though in terms of where escape shafts are and speeds etc etc should for some reason we do have to drive down there manually if anything went slightly wrong.
Initially when you start, you'll be trained on either East (Liverpool Street higher to shenfield) or West (paddington higher to Reading including Heathrow.) ((Previously some would do just west inner to Heathrow, and then west outer route training west Drayton to reading)).
After qualifying east or west, you then will lean the other side within the first few months of driving.
So for the core section if a driver just signs the west they can't transition though to Stratford so will only be rostered jobs to Abbey wood. Alternatively an East driver can't transition out at paddington out west so will only be given jobs to paddington lower level where the trains can reverse and go back East.
Eventually I think the plan is all drivers will sign all of the routes East,west and core so all jobs can be covered by all drivers hopefully improving the ease of operation.
Hope this helps and sorry for the waffle.
By the way, no platform 13 at paddington 🤣 mentioned at 2.31...rookie error 😋
P.s I may be a cross-eliz-purp choo choo driver... hope to see you down there open day!
Fantastic detail, thanks very much. So I'm guessing there's a dedicated pair of tracks from the Plumstead (?) portal all the way out to Abbey Wood, hence no need to multiplex with existing Southeastern services? Do they know yet how long the programme will take to have universal route knowledge across the whole network?
I like that they're opening the Elizabeth Line on Queen Victoria's birthday. :)
May the 24th be with you.
Henceforth we should call it the PURPLE TRAIN in honour of you and all the children at heart...Purple Train line 💜 😄
Makes total sense...
though I'm not a londoner, not even a brit. I'm still interested in this fantastic project. so thank you for this vid!
I’m a Northerner wondering why London needs a £20bn line running East-West when it already has the most comprehensive public transport system of just about any city in the world, while we can’t have the high speed transpennine route connecting Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and York that we are are desperate for while rattling around on 40 year old trains that take forever to go relatively short distances.
The north/south divide is a joke
@@Mikeb1001 Ask the multiple right wing governments that have occupied Westminster for over the last 40+ years.
@@Mikeb1001 The answer is simple. All the important people live in the south. You knew the answer.
I live in the west ealing - paddington section and bikes are allowed. There is even a bike storage next to the platform in paddington. Maybe this might change when they combine then in October, but so far the train is quite full of bikes..
I remember when December 1st came and I saw the project was delayed, I was so angry that I threw up twice! So excited for this to open even though I live far away from London
Great video Geoff. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask and you have covered nearly all of them. Thank You.
Altogether now 🎶purple train, purple train!🎶🎸
Great info. Thanks flor uploading.
Brilliant Geoff!
Can't believe I got my question answered!!!
Geoff, please invite the lovely Phil to your Elizabeth line video party. Always love when he pops up!
Very helpful video Geoff! Can’t wait to ride on the purple trains on the 24th May!
I’m not a Londoner. I don’t even live in the UK. But this is great news because it will be open by my trip to London next month.
Drivers ARE allowed to drive in the tunnelled sections IF they have signed it off and have had the relevant training for those sections. All the drivers are so nice and friendly!
Hang on, bicycles- I took a bike from West Drayton to Euston (via Paddington, using TFL rail then the circle line). Off peak that's a permitted thing to do
Thank you Geoff for all the Q&A, your enthusiasm and excitement.
The TFL trains come into Paddington on platform 11, 12, 14 and sometimes 9 or 10, Paddington no longer has a platform 13
Another great video Geoff. Keep me coming!
In some ways it reminds me of the initial stage of opening for what became the London Overground between Dalston Junction and New Cross/New Cross Gate (it opened all the way to West Croydon and Crystal Palace roughly a month later)
I’ll have to join from Bond Street when that section opens but for now I’ll be joining from Liverpool St. so looking forward to my commute from Wembley Park to Essex being so much quicker!
I arrive on my first UK trip since the plague started on Jun 15th and can’t wait to take the Perp Twain from LHR to Paddington on my Oyster Card instead of HEX.
Fantastic video geoff
3 Sections? Mi nuuh business!!! FINALLYYYYYYY!!!!!!!
I’ll be in London for the Jubilee. It’s channels like this one that make me want to explore public transit.
Hi Geoff, another great video, I am really excited travelling on the new Elizabeth Line as it is a revolutionary new Network that will be extremely beneficial to London to ease all the congestion!
😊 👍
Nice explanation Geoff! The thing that puzzles me is that the 129/180/304 route changes was gonna happen on the same day CrossElizPurpRail was opening, which was next Saturday I believe. But I guess TFL decided to change that date for Crossrail🤷🏼♂️
Great video Geoff 👍 looking forward to the 24th
I’m am a class 345 driver and driver instructor. The drivers all sign the COS. The other routes are then learnt and eventually all will sign from end to end. East driver learn west then west drivers learn east. We already have quite a few drivers that sign all routes
I’m mega excited now and am so going to be on the first train - I’m thinking the 06.30 from Abbey Wood but I might go for the 06.33 from Paddington. As luck would have it, it’s my long weekend. Thanks as always for update 😊
RealTimeTrains has just been updated. First train is from Abbey Wood! At 06:30. First from Paddington is at 06:33.
I’ll be there at Paddington!! Very excited!
Cheers Geoff.
Oh, haven’t been in London for about 10 years and will go there in the last week of May. Sounds like a bonus week, since the CrossLizPurp line is opening that exact week.
The closest we get to night service on the Elizabeth Line is the few night trains GWR provides between Paddington & Reading stopping at more stations than usual.
i thought great i can get from whitechapel to heathrow quickly. then I landed in heathrow recently and it took and HOUR AND A HALF to get my bag and get on the heathrow express... so back to LCY.. time from luggage to DLR ..10 mins.. 5 at a jog :)
im looking forward to the Purple train opening on the 24th and i cant wait to go and check it out for myself after it opens
Well there goes my plan to sneak down like a ninja without anybody knowing 😂
May The Twenty fourth be with you Geoff on Crossrail…
Had a jolly on the Elizabeth Line today. Pretty impressive but I was a little bit disappointed that the seat covers for the priority seats aren't more different to the regular seats. It should be very clear these are priority seats so that people know to offer them to others. Orange would probably been quite complimentary to the purple seats
Thanks for being so informative, surprised there was no mention of the 315s staying though! 😃
The 315's are (slowly) being phased out. I think there are only 5 or so left. They are incompatible with the Abbey Wood - Paddington section anyway.
Looking forward to you coming up north for the opening of the new transpennine link or other north west upgrades in the near future.
On yeah we spent all the money in London.....
Well explained Geoff
About the bike issue, I traveled from Paddington to Reading (no tunnels) with my bike this week,, had no issues from staff and theres plenty of space for bikes.
I've been waiting ages to get to Reading so I can explore on my bike (I have a TFL staff pass so free for me otherwise it's £20 on a fast train.)
Although the barrier at Reading didn't accept it but the staff passed me through, obviously a technical hitch at the moment. Great vid Geoff
They've still not sorted the barriers? It was nearly a year ago I travelled on my freedom pass Pad to Reading, and the barriers wouldn't accept my card then.
@@ACELog Freedom Pass won't open the gates at Shenfield and Cheshunt either. I think this is because the stations are served by NR trains (on which Freedom Pass is not allowed) as well as TFL trains (on which it is). So staff have to let you out (or challenge you for getting off the wrong train!).
The line I needed, Canary Wharf to Paddington will be a breeze now 😌
Excellent video Geoff, soo excited for the opening I'm going to Abbey Wood 1st. Won't get there till after 7am which is annoying but hopefully I'll see you around, it's the final countdown! 🎉
2 seconds in and I love the scarf! 👏🏽
Since I'll be coming from Barnet, if I'm going to get the Abbey Wood train I'll have to get the 04:16 train from New Barnet to King's Cross then change at St Pancras to get to Abbey Wood. Lord have mercy on my soul.
This feels like a full circle moment for this channel 🔥(Never have I ever been more invested in anything lol) #CrossElizPurpLine
I always thought Tuesday was a weird day to open a Railway Line but that what I got thinking that must be a official opening on Monday and the Queen gets to ride the line first, nice video and it is a real shame that I cannot be there on the opening day
1) 0:46 - is it going to be a full service on opening day (24th may)
2) 4:15 - active hours
3) 6:00 - will the queen be there?
4) 7:13 - fares, travelcard
5) 9:15 - only 12 trains an hour?
6) 9:40 - are you frustrated that it's late
7) 10:18 - night trains?
8) 10:27 - can you take bikes?
9) 11:17 - auto door opening
10) 11:35 - are the stations tfl or national?
11) 12:19 - are drivers limited to sections
12) 12:42 - charging, WiFi, usb?
13) 13:27 - how many videos can we expect?
Who else is going on opening day in order to get a limited edition oyster card 🤤
Thanks
Amazing video Geoff! Can’t wait for the Elizabeth line opening!
I'm really looking forward to be there on the opening day.
I would expect trains running 24 hours at one point, like they pretty much do out of London Paddington currently.
Wouldn’t that mean a lot of tube stations having to be opened and staffed all night?
I've already booked to visit both Reston (on its first day) and Crossrail (on its first day). Things couldn't have aligned any better.
Where I live in the US (Boston) they do the grand opening after the actual line opening, we usually start with a soft open where all the transit fans show up, and then a day or two later they have the press conference, that way they can work out any opening kinks without too much publicity
Seen bikes on the TfL Rail services between West Drayton and Paddington...
In order to get to Penzance and South Wales (two of my favourite holiday destinations) a frequent main london station I would go to is Paddington. This would mean going from Woolwich/Plumstead (where I live and sorting out do we go on the south eastern / dlr after which we change and I think change again and there's lots of stairs....getting to paddington would be nightmare. As of (mabye) later this year as you said, it will be one simple slip of a train journey! Yay! 😁
We are totally gutted to be away on opening day - my descendants will be exploring as it's over half term! When we get back, we'll start, I think, from Paddington, go straight to Abbey Wood, then come back slowly, stopping at odd stations to explore.
I'll be coming down from Coventry, so I'm thinking:
Northern to TCR, Purp to Paddington.
Paddington for coffee!
Bakerloo/Central to TCR, Purp to Farringdon, Circle/H&C/Metropolitan to Liverpool Street.
Quire possibly another coffee!
Purp to Whitechapel, Overground to Canada Water, Jubilee to Canary Wharf.
Purp to Abbey Wood.
Then I'll slowly work my way back, alighting at all stations. The idea is to sample the different entrance/exit halls, particularly those of the underground stations. I did already visit Whitechapel after the other works there had been completed... it's pretty impressive!
I'm amazed - when I opened this it had "1 view" - don't think I've ever had that before. (Oh love the video by the way)
Hah! I opened it at 64 views, so well done!
A really helpful summary, thank you Geoff
I have a friend who has been working on the Elizabeth Line (no names no pack drill), and what he tells me is scary ! I won't be riding it for a good while !!
Can’t wait to ride the crossrail service
By complete coincidence I'm sitting here watching this while wearing one of Dan's Purple Train T shirts!
As the official UA-cam 'Train Man' I think you should extend that high level shelf behind you .. and have a model railway running around your room.
Going to visit the UK on the 26th for a week to see this new train line. Really looking forward to it!
As a family we have already taken our 4 bikes on TfL 345s out of Paddington and as far as Langley, even changing trains at Southall.
Hard to imagine them revoking this.
It's not being revoked. The rule will remain the same as today, non-folding bikes will be allowed at off-peak times.
PURPLE TRAIN HYYYPE ^_^ Being from SE London, I'm gonna aim for Abbey Wood for 6:30am on this particular Tuesday morning, what happens after that, no idea - but it'll be very exciting!!
I've been waiting for so long... and I'm not going to miss this opportunity going on the Elizabeth Line... even if I have to wake up early...
Thank you for this informative video. Glad it's getting a ceremonial opening. :)
I passed by Hayes & Harlington station the other day and the Lizzie Line branding is already there.
Biggest Change for me is the Lifts at Whitechapel that I have been waiting for for Ages! - which have been in place for a few weeks now.
At last it's gonna be officially open. Can't wait either, it is exiting yes indeed.
Nice info Geoff
Thanks Geoff - You're a lot more helpful than TFL
Thank you. 👍🏼