World class transport? London’s Elizabeth Line launches

If you’re connected to London in any form, you probably noticed rather a lot of purple trains on your social media feeds. Yesterday (23/05/22), the Elizabeth Line launched to much fanfare from the public and politicians, including the walking meme Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP, alike. Luckily, I needed to get across from West to East London to grab lunch with a friend so if ever there was a perfect excuse to try out London’s newest railway - this was it.

I connected from the Bakerloo line, which has the oldest rolling stock, to the new Elizabeth Line - and there is most certainly a stark contrast between the two experiences. One notable element is the wider walkways and brighter lighting.

Paddington Station feels a little bit like a space station with the lighting design - but it still manages to maintain character and look great at the same time.

Currently, the line is operating in three distinct sections. The core section runs from Abbey Wood to Paddington, excluding Bond Street which is currently closed, where there is a walking connection to the National Rail section of Paddington (as it was under TfL Rail) for Paddington to Heathrow and Reading. Shenfield to Liverpool Street is the other section.

The Elizabeth Line is the first London railway that has been designed with the digital age in mind - this can be seen through the use of digital advertising throughout…

Digital signage indicating next trains above the platform doors…

And more effective and useful journey displays inside the carriage.

The trains on board are comfortable and notably quieter than other lines - especially the Jubilee and Bakerloo lines. The trains themselves are similar in style and setup to the modern trains on the Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines. Strangely, the carriages are devoid of commercial advertising - only signs for Transport for London.

While the trains are nice, the impressive part is the physical infrastructure - the stations. Whether that is the large open platforms…

Picturesque tunnels…

And more…

The cathedral like structures…

And the airy entrances.

This railway, which is not to be confused with a Tube line, is the fresh start London’s transport system requires. It’s impressive, clean and bright while delivering on some of its aim to better connect the capital - which will improve once the parts west of Paddington and East of Liverpool Street are connected.

More importantly this is a railway that the UK can be proud of that is worth of a world class city and comparable to the MRT of Singapore or MTR in Hong Kong.

And for those who usually visit for more aviation-related content, this should make journeys to Heathrow far quicker from Central London - and potentially make Heathrow to London City Airport connections breezier.