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Crossrail: Elizabeth line due to open on 24 May


The delayed and over-budget Crossrail project will finally open this month, Transport for London (TfL) has said.


The Abbey Wood to Paddington section will open to passengers on 24 May, although initially trains will not run on Sundays or call at Bond Street.


Known as the Elizabeth line, it was meant to start running in December 2018 but the project has faced numerous setbacks.




The Elizabeth line will link Reading and Essex via central London.


Once the route is open, services in the central London section will run every five minutes between 06:30 BST and 23:00, although a full timetable will not be in place until May 2023.





The latest London Underground line will slash journey times from Abbey Wood in south-east London to Paddington by almost half - to 29 minutes.

Nevertheless, passengers wishing to travel the length of the line will still need to change at Paddington or Liverpool Street, depending on their destination, until next year.



Although a special service will be in place for the Platinum Jubilee weekend, TfL said trains would not initially run on Sundays "to allow a series of testing and software updates".

Image caption, Crossrail trains have been tested throughout 2022

The opening date is subject to final safety approvals being granted.


Previously, transport bosses would only commit to an opening date during the first half of 2022.

It is hoped the Queen - who the line is named after - will be involved when the route begins to operate.



The project had an original budget of £14.8bn, but the government pledged an extra £4bn to help get it open.


Services which are already running in the east and west sections will continue to operate every day, but they will be rebranded from TfL Rail to the Elizabeth line from 24 May.

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