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THE LIZ LINE

What is the Elizabeth Line route and where is it on the Tube map?

LONDON'S new Elizabeth Line is now open after years of construction and anticipation.

The Elizabeth Line welcomed commuters for the first time on May 24, 2022, causing queues outside Paddington.

 The new, state of the art, Elizabeth Line opened on May 24, 2022.
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The new, state of the art, Elizabeth Line opened on May 24, 2022.

What is the Elizabeth Line route?

The newly opened Elizabeth Line will connect Reading to Essex via London once fully operational.

Her Majesty opened her namesake line in a rare outing, a week before the public opening.

Initially unveiled as Crossrail, the Tube was renamed after Her Majesty, the second in honour of the Queen after the Jubilee Line was named in 1977.

The purple line was set to open in December 2018 but suffered some delays.

More sections of the line will open, starting with Abbey Wood to Paddington, serving the South East of London.

TfL said that for the initial stages of operating, the line will not run on Sundays "to allow a series of testing and software updates," but will run a special service during the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

The £18.8billion project originally had a budget of £14.8billion but the government added a further £4billion.

Construction began on May 15, 2009, at Canary Wharf and they started tunnel work in May 2012.

 The Elizabeth Line is shown as purple on the tube map
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The Elizabeth Line is shown as purple on the tube mapCredit: TFL

What does the Tube map look like with the Elizabeth Line?

Transport for London improved and opened 41 stations to help service this line, which will stop at stations in London and all the way from Reading to Essex.

The Elizabeth Line should cut commute time for passengers across London and the neighbouring counties.

It will appear as a purple and white line on the current maps and will be displayed with purple signs.

To get from Liverpool Street Station to Woolwich is expected to take 15 minutes using the new line, having previously taken 45 minutes.

If you want to get from Farringdon to Canary Wharf, it's estimated to only take you 10 minutes - a third of the current time.

 Elizabeth train line from Paddington to Whitechapel, London
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Elizabeth train line from Paddington to Whitechapel, London

What stations does the Elizabeth Line stop at?

Newly refurbished stations will have step free access and be air-conditioned.

The stations are:

  • Abbey Wood
  • Acton Main Line
  • Bond Street
  • Brentwood
  • Burnham
  • Canary Wharf
  • Chadwell Heath
  • Custom House
  • Ealing Broadway
  • Farringdon
  • Forest Gate
  • Gidea Park
  • Goodmayes
  • Hanwell
  • Harold Wood
  • Hayes & Harlington
  • Heathrow Airport Terminals 2 & 3
  • Heathrow Airport Terminal 4
  • Heathrow Airport Terminal 5
  • Ilford
  • Iver
  • Langley
  • Liverpool Street
  • Maidenhead
  • Manor Park
  • Maryland
  • Paddington
  • Reading
  • Romford
  • Seven Kings
  • Shenfield
  • Slough
  • Southall
  • Stratford
  • Taplow
  • Tottenham Court Road
  • Twyford
  • West Drayton
  • West Ealing
  • Whitechapel
  • Woolwich

The Elizabeth Line will run every five minutes between 6.30am and 11pm, there is no mention of the night tube service on the line yet.

A full timetable should be in place after May 2023.

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