The Elizabeth line will be fully operational from 21 May in the ‘final milestone’ for Crossrail | Railway industry

The Elizabeth line will operate 24 trains per hour and will begin direct services from Essex to Heathrow from May 21. Transportation for London confirmed in the “last milestone” of the Crossrail project.

Trains will run approximately every two and a half minutes under Central London in both directions at peak times, TfL said, with more services and faster journeys as the full timetable comes into effect.

Peak hours will be extended and frequency will increase from 22 to 24 trains per hour between Paddington and Whitechapel, with 16 trains per hour off-peak. Shenfield in Essex and Heathrow Airport will be directly connected by two routes per hour without connecting.

The increase in capacity comes amid increasing journeys on the line, which reached a record 662,000 last Thursday. It sees around 600,000 journeys on an average weekday, according to Transport for London, out of 140 million journeys since it opened the opening took place on May 24 last year.

A line originally developed as Transverse railincreased the capacity of the metropolitan pipeline and railway network by approximately 10%.

The full planned service is now due to arrive on schedule, a year after the delayed opening of the central underground section.

For now construction stage was marred by problems and budget overruns, the line operated largely successfully. TfL Commissioner Andy Lord said it had “transformed the experience” of Londoners and visitors using public transport.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, also said the project was transformative for the city. “The introduction of the final timetable next month marks the latest milestone for the Crossrail project and will enable the Elizabeth line to provide even more frequent and faster journeys and better connect the capital,” he said.

​​​​​​While the timetable change in May marks the end of the original plans, capacity could actually be increased if trains are extended from 9 to 11 cars if patronage continues to rise, although average weekday ridership on TfL remain below pre-COVID levels.

The line is expected to become much busier if and when HS2 starts operating high-speed rail services from Birmingham to London, terminating at the new Elizabeth line station at Old Oak Common.