Better Performance Promised on Elizabeth Line
New timetable to reduce dwell time between Acton Mainline and Paddington
Service from stations such as Acton Mainline set for improvement
February 8, 2023
Transport for London (TfL) is promising a much-improved performance on the western section of the Elizabeth Line this Spring with dwell times between Acton Mainline and Paddington set to be reduced.
In May of this year a new timetable is to be introduced which will substantially improve the service on the western section. Since last November, some Elizabeth line trains between Acton Mainline and Paddington pause for up to 5 minutes 30 seconds at peak times and up to 7 minutes at off-peak times while they await their slot to enter the Elizabeth line tunnels, or for up to 4 minutes and 30 seconds going westbound on Monday to Friday while they await their slot to join Network Rail’s infrastructure.
These extended pauses will be removed in the timetable from Sunday 21 May, although some shorter pauses will still be required, particularly during periods of disruption.
At the same time the service in the central section between Paddington and Whitechapel will increase to up to 24 trains per hour during the peak and initially 16 trains per hour off-peak. At this point, some direct services will be introduced from Shenfield to Heathrow Airport in the off-peak.
Having been in operation for just over nine months the line has seen over 100 million journeys and boosted capacity on central London’s transport network by 10%
Ridership on the line is currently above expected levels with around 600,000 journeys made each day, meaning the railway is one of the busiest in the UK and is on track to break even by the end of the 2023/24 financial year.
The five most popular journeys made on the Elizabeth line all include Tottenham Court Road, with the most popular journey on the line being Tottenham Court Road to Stratford. The popularity of Tottenham Court Road has propelled the station into the top five most-used stations in the TfL network, above Waterloo and Liverpool Street stations.
Since opening, TfL says the Elizabeth line has been one of the most reliable railways in the country. Data from the most recent four-week period shows an overall industry performance rating of nearly 93 per cent, compared to the average industry performance of 78.5 per cent. According to TfL’s Customer Satisfaction Survey, the Elizabeth line achieved the highest score across all TfL services between July and September last year.
Seb Dance, London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, said, “The Elizabeth line has transformed the way Londoners get around and continues to go from strength to strength. It is helping to build a better London - one which is a safer, fairer, greener, and more prosperous city for all.
“I’m so proud that we’ve now seen more than 100 million journeys since the line opened in May last year. The Elizabeth line’s speedy and reliable trains combined with the excellent accessibility for passengers is helping to encourage people on to public transport, increasing the capacity of TfL’s network, and supporting businesses right across the city.”
Direct Elizabeth line services into central London from Reading, Heathrow, and Shenfield commenced in November last year. The launch of direct services into central London also coincided with the start of Sunday services, marking the operation of seven-days-a-week Elizabeth line services.
Step-free access is available at all 41 Elizabeth line stations.
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