Elizabeth line becomes single busiest railway service in the UK with 500 million journeys
Share:
The railway line has boosted jobs and housing around its stations, says TfL. Transport for London (TfL) has revealed that the Elizabeth line has completed more than 500 million passenger journeys in the two and a half years it has operated – making it the single busiest railway service in the UK.
A recent report from the London transport body and design company Arup says that 90 per cent of customers it surveyed say that the Elizabeth line has had a positive impact on their area, with many saying they also welcomed the increased connection in London suburbs and Heathrow Airport.
The report found that the Elizabeth line, which first opened its service in May 2022, has also created jobs, homes and other forms of regeneration. On the Abbey Wood branch, there has been an 11 per cent increase in access to employment, while Abbey Wood also emerged as one of the largest regeneration areas in London, with a six per cent increase in new homes and expectations for even further growth in the next five years.
While the purple-themed line connects some of London’s most central and inner-city locations, job accessibility along the Heathrow terminals branch just outside of central London has been positively impacted, with a six per cent uplift. TfL says that overall, 62 per cent of customers say that the opening of the new railway, which also extends as far out as Reading and Shenfield, has had a positive impact on their access to employment opportunities.
