First Elizabeth line journey marked as Crossrail reaches 75% complete

Mayor of London makes first station-to-station Elizabeth line journey from Custom House to Canary Wharf

The Mayor of London has marked 75 percent completion of Crossrail whilst on-board the first Elizabeth line station-to-station journey from Custom House to Canary Wharf.

Mayor of London makes first station-to-station Elizabeth line journey from Custom House to Canary Wharf

On 31 August 2016, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visited the Crossrail project at Custom House marking 75 percent completion of the project which will see services begin in December 2018.

Half of the permanent track on Elizabeth line now laid

In addition, the Mayor boarded a construction train at the new Custom House Elizabeth line station to Canary Wharf, marking the programme’s first station-to-station journey. Furthermore, Mr Kahn viewed completed permanent track in East London, half of which has now been laid throughout the line. In addition, nearly all of the platform structures, which will give step-free access to the 200m long trains at all of the 10 new stations, have also been built.

Commenting on the milestone, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London said: “The opening of The Elizabeth line will be a landmark moment for London. It will help us deliver a modern, truly world-class transport system that allows us to deal with the growth in London’s population over the coming decades. 

“Half the permanent track has now been completed, and being able to travel the Elizabeth line route from Custom House to Canary Wharf shows the huge progress that has been made. I visited the Canary Wharf station site as Transport Minister in 2010 when construction had just got underway. The fact that the project is now 75 percent complete, and being delivered on time and within budget is testament to the hard work of the thousands of men and women who have worked on the project.

“It is vital for the future prosperity of our city that progress continues apace and we deliver this wonderful project on time. With brand new trains and all the stations being step-free, the opening of the Elizabeth line will improve the quality of life for millions of people across London and the south east, and provide a huge boost to our economy.”

Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail Chief Executive added: “The Crossrail programme has now reached 75 per cent complete. The remaining 25 per cent of the programme will present a new set of challenges as we finish installing the critical components that will transform this major infrastructure project into an operating railway. The Elizabeth line will be vital to the future success of the capital and we’re fully focused on completing the delivery safely, on time and on budget, for our handover to TfL in 2018.”