Elizabeth line marks its 3rd birthday with the 600Mth passenger journey

As it marks its third birthday tomorrow, the Elizabeth line regularly carries up to 800,000 passenger journeys per day and has exceeded 600 million passenger journeys since opening.

It’s now the busiest single railway in the country.

Bond Street opening (c) ianVisits

Since it opened with long queues outside the stations on the morning of 24th May 2022, the line itself has changed a fair bit. Originally, it opened in phases without Bond Street station, which opened in October 2022, and the phased opening was completed in May 2023.

Naturally, once a service opens, humans’ behaviour doesn’t always quite match what years of tests predicted, so there have been changes to reflect that. The platform edge door digital screens have been tweaked, while the arrival of ghosts on the platforms amused many. Paddington gained airport-style barriers.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing, though. Problems on the above-ground lines have been compounded by signalling faults, sometimes serious enough to shut the line entirely.

In a way, the line’s problems are a symptom of its success. If it were a smaller line with smaller trains, problems would be bad, but are worse when you have a large railway carrying vastly larger numbers of people. In that situation, so very many people are affected that it becomes a major problem.

Despite that, the most recent data from the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) showed that the Elizabeth line is also the second most punctual railway in the UK, with 78.2 per cent of trains arriving on time between October and December 2024.

If anything, the Elizabeth line shows the success of a major transport upgrade, but is also a warning that huge upgrades like this need to be managed carefully if or when things go wrong.

Nonetheless, the Elizabeth line shows what happens when investment in public transport is allowed to happen, and it makes a strong argument for more investment, not just in London but across the entire country.

Elizabeth line’s Farringdon station in the rush hour (c) ianVisits

Andy Lord, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “The Elizabeth line has redefined travel across London and the South East. Its popularity and performance have exceeded expectations, and its success demonstrates the demand for sustainable, high-capacity public transport. We’re incredibly proud of what’s been achieved in just three years, with the Elizabeth line continuing to be a showcase for what investment in public transport can deliver in terms of wider economic benefits.”

As the Elizabeth line enters its fourth year, GTS Rail Operations will take over from the current operator, MTR Rail on Sunday.