'Landmark moment' as Elizabeth line connects to central London

Maidenhead and Slough is now connected with central London via one direct train as the Elizabeth line reached another milestone yesterday (Sunday).

Berkshire travellers will now not need to change at Paddington after the line extended to the central tunnels at the weekend.

The £18.9billion project has been years in the making and was meant to be complete back in 2018 to increase travel links from the west of the capital.

Transport for London says that the through running of services into the central section of the Elizabeth line is a 'complex process' as they will be fully intertwined with national rail infrastructure for the first time.

It added it is working closely with Network Rail, Great Western Railway and others to ensure these sections are 'as reliable as possible'.

During peak times there will be four trains per hour (one every 15 minutes) travelling between Reading and central London and six trains per hour (one every 10 minutes) travelling to and from Maidenhead.

During off-peak times, there will be two trains per hour (one every 30 minutes) travelling between Reading and central London and four trains per hour travelling to and from Maidenhead.

The predicted journey time from Maidenhead to Bond Street is 57 minutes, while Slough to Tottenham Court Road is scheduled to take 49 minutes. 

Commuters from Berkshire and South Bucks are set to benefit from a selection of fast trains which miss out some stations during the early morning rush on weekdays.

For more information on the timetable, click here. 

Customers will also be able to use the Elizabeth line seven days a week as Sunday services commence for the first time from the same date.

The full line and final timetable – which will stretch from Reading in the west to Shenfield in Essex – is expected to open in May 2023.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Today marks a landmark moment as passengers from across the South East can now benefit from more frequent services, longer operating hours and direct state-of-the-art Elizabeth line services seven days a week.

"It's great to have contributed to a line which in just five short months has shown itself to be a staple of London’s transport network delivering over 60 million journeys and creating over 55,000 jobs.”

The frequency of services in the central section between Paddington and Whitechapel has increased from 12 trains per hour to up to 22 trains per hour in peak times, and 16 trains per hour during off-peak.

Andy Lord, London’s Transport Commissioner, added: “I’m delighted that, starting this weekend, customers from the capital and the South East will be able to take advantage of quicker and more accessible journeys using our transformational new railway.

"Linking destinations in the east and west directly with central London, alongside Sunday services and even higher frequency services, has been eagerly awaited.

“The new direct routes, which now include central London to Heathrow, will connect people, jobs, homes, leisure and international travel and driving the city’s economic recovery.

"I’m really excited for customers to make use of the new, direct journey options and discovering new destinations, particularly with step-free access available at all 41 Elizabeth line stations opening up different parts of London to even more people.”