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Expansion to services on the Elizabeth Line from next month

from a press release:

The full peak Elizabeth line timetable will be introduced on Sunday 21 May 2023.

Peak time frequencies will increase from 22 to up to 24 trains per hour between Paddington and Whitechapel, with 16 trains per hour running off-peak. There will be 12 trains per hour running between Canary Wharf and Abbey Wood in the peak, restoring the frequency that was in place between May and November 2022 to a train around every five minutes. The peak will also now last for longer, increasing capacity even further.

Services will also run all day between Shenfield and Heathrow Airport (Terminal 5) for the first time, with two trains per hour providing direct connectivity between Essex, east London and west London.

There is also the addition of more services at peak time between Liverpool Street National Rail station (platforms 15 -17) and Gidea Park, providing a faster route for those exiting to Bishopsgate.

In the west, there will be an increase in peak services from Reading, with some trains that were previously operated by Great Western Railway transferring to become Elizabeth line services with reduced stops.

There will also be the removal of any significant pauses for trains between Paddington and Acton Main Line, as has been the case with some trains waiting between the stations since November 2022 while they waited to join Network Rail tracks or enter Elizabeth line tunnels. These pauses were built into the timetable, but customers on these services should see reduced journey times between Reading and Paddington and improved journey times for customers travelling from the west into central London.

Customers will receive more frequent services to and from Heathrow Airport as part of this timetable. The airport overall will receive six Elizabeth trains per hour all day. All Heathrow trains stop at Terminal 2&3, with four per hour continuing to Terminal 4, and two per hour continuing to Terminal 5.

  • source Rail UK Daily
Posted by
5466 posts

A side effect is the "semi fast" GWR Paddington to Didcot service will now be first stop at Slough.

Oyster card acceptance can then be turned off in most of the main line Paddington platforms to stop people inadvertently (or otherwise) turning up at say Bath Spa with one. (Can't stop contactless in the same way though.)

Posted by
17561 posts

Thank you both. Can you tell me how much of the line is above-ground and how much of it goes underground? I assume it must be underground through London itself.

Posted by
4115 posts

Good news as it becomes continuous. We will try it from our LHR arrival to Stratford Station for our June trip this summer. Last year we had to do a walking jog at Paddington to get from Ealing Broadway to our more central London hotel.

@Lola I can tell you that a lot of our journey from Ealing Broadway to Paddington was above ground as l loved seeing familiar landmarks zoom by.

EDIT:
Map of Elizabeth Line showing above ground and tunneled routing.

Posted by
33994 posts

tunnel is all of Heathrow until just before it joins the mainline, then surface nearly to Paddington, then dives down tunnel from before Paddington for all of its running through central London then up again before Stratford and at Canary Wharf then short tunnel thenn surface to the end.

All of the mainline Reading until just before Paddington is surface.

Posted by
1232 posts

After getting out of Heathrow then Elizabeth Line is mostly overground until Paddington. then the line is underground through central London until beyond Whitechapel.

Posted by
1055 posts

Thanks, Nigel for the update. I am hoping to use the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Shenfield this June and then change to Braintree or Witham.