Elizabeth Line 1st year operating figures

[WatcherZero]

Tfl have published first year operating figures for the Elizabeth line.
In its first year it carried 200m people with a record set on Thursday July 6th when it carried 701,000 passengers in a day, its averaging 600,000 passengers midweek, a quarter of the journeys are new and weren't previously being made on public transport. This is ahead of the post-covid passenger forecast of 130-170m passengers by 2026 but still a little ways from the original forecast of 250m passengers by 2026, however its still got another 3 years to grow and part of the first year it wasnt fully open.

Elizabeth line carries 600,000 passengers a day as people switch from Underground and other rail services​

The Elizabeth line is responsible for 140,000 “new” journeys in the capital each day, according to research by Transport for London.
The £20bn line is also attracting thousands of passengers from the Tube – with more than a third of those switching from the Underground preferring it to the Central line.
The cross-London line has been used for almost 200m journeys since it opened in May last year. Usage was initially below predictions but has ramped up with the arrival of seven-day services and the launch of “through running” from one end of the line to the other in May.
It set a new record on Thursday, July 6, when it carried 701,000 passengers in a single day. It typically carries about 600,000 passengers a day between Tuesday and Thursday – with sections of the line approaching maximum crowding levels during the morning rush hour.
Cultural venues such as Outernet London, which shows free installations on vast digital screens beside Tottenham Court Road station, and Museum of London Docklands, near Canary Wharf station, credit the “Lizzie line” with delivering more visitors to their doorstep.

The research was carried out to provide TfL board members with an insight into journeys being made on the line – and to assess how many were due to “abstraction” from passengers switching from the Tube.
Based on data from Oyster and Contactless journeys between May last year and January this year, TfL found:

35% of passengers had previously used the line when it was known as TfL Rail and operated between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, and Paddington and Heathrow/Reading
19% of passengers had transferred from the Tube
4% of passengers had switched from the DLR
13% had switched from national rail services, mainly Southeastern and Great Western
TfL said demand on the Central line at Ealing Broadway has reduced by about 40 per cent, and on the Bakerloo line Paddington and Oxford Circus by five per cent.

Overall, 37 per cent of the number of Tube passengers who switched onto the Elizabeth line had come from the Central line, 24 per cent from the Jubilee and 18 per cent from the Piccadilly – showing how it has proved popular with Heathrow passengers.
Only a “small” proportion of journeys were thought to have been made by passengers switching from car travel.
TfL’s report said: “Overall, the Elizabeth line is attracting an estimated 140,000 additional journeys in London each weekday than otherwise would have been the case.”
Tottenham Court Road saw an increase from 110,000 to 175,000 passengers a day. Bond Street, which was the last to open, saw an increase from 175,000 to 230,000 a day.
At Farringdon, where there is an interchange with Thameslink trains, there was an increase from 100,000 to 280,000 a day.

The nine-carriage trains have a maximum capacity of 1,500 passengers – which assumes every seat is taken and there are four standing passengers per square metre of space.
At peak times, there have been near-maximum crowding levels between Whitechapel and Liverpool Street. In the mornings, passengers have to stand from Romford on services heading into central London, while trains depart from Abbey Wood with all seats taken.
On the western section, the busiest point is between Acton Main Line and Paddington with an average of 2.5 passengers/sqm in the morning peak. Passengers will typically be standing from Slough on Reading/Maidenhead services at the height of the morning peak.
TfL says it will monitor capacity. Mayor Sadiq Khan has already raised concerns about the line being as packed as the Tube when it starts calling at Old Oak Common to pick up HS2 passengers.
Outernet London, which has been displaying the Standard’s front pages, is on course to become the busiest visitor attraction in the UK.
Philip O’Ferrall, chief executive at Outernet Global, said: “Being able to walk straight into our spaces as you come out of the Elizabeth line has been a great complement to what we are doing and has helped us achieve the record visitor numbers.”
Douglas Gilmore, managing director of Museum of London Docklands, said: “Having the Elizabeth line on our doorstep has made the museum more accessible than ever to people across the city and beyond. We’ve seen a huge boost in the number of people arriving via the London Underground and Elizabeth line.”
TfL commissioner Andy Lord said: “The Elizabeth line continues to prove extremely popular, with more than 190m journeys made along the route. Records continue to be broken. This just goes to show the power of investing in public transport.”

Elizabeth line carries 600k passengers a day as people switch from Underground

The new line is delivering an estimated 140,000 additional journeys each weekday

www.standard.co.uk

P.S. Was that article written by an AI, its just a collection of statements rather than prose!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Build it and they will come.

 

[J-2739]

Beautiful news. I cannot wait until we get a breakdown for figures per each station to really begin to assess where the Elizabeth Line has had the biggest impact.

 

[PGAT]

Theres already a couple of FOIs from TfL that give some passenger figures

 

[J-2739]

Theres already a couple of FOIs from TfL that give some passenger figures

Yes, I've seen the ones for Woolwich and Abbey Wood. Very exciting.

 

[Snow1964]

It seems Elizabeth Line is back in news, has the dubious honour of line with most cancellations at 9.1% for latest 4 week period

The UK's newest railway line had more cancellations than any other, new Office of Rail and Road figures show.
A total of 9.1% of services on the Elizabeth line did not run in the four weeks to 19 August, followed by CrossCountry at 7.5%.
Overall cancellations rose to 3.9% from 3.3% in the previous four weeks. Last week, it was revealed almost half of trains arrived at least a minute late.
Transport for London (TfL) apologised for a "number of recent issues".
It comes just months after the line, which links Reading and Essex via central London, fully opened in May.

• Commuters queue from dawn to use Elizabeth line

According to TfL, up to 24 trains an hour are expected to run at the busiest times between Paddington and Whitechapel.
But commuters have previously told the BBC their journeys have been disrupted by a number of delays and cancellations.
Howard Smith, Elizabeth Line director, said: "The Elizabeth line has rightly and quickly become one of the most popular railways in the country.
"It has also been one of the most reliable, but we have had a difficult period which included disruption for our customers for which we apologise.
"There were a number of recent issues including significant problems with Network Rail's signalling systems and infrastructure on the western section, and a defective maintenance train.
"We continue to work with all parties involved in the Elizabeth line to provide a safe and reliable railway. This includes our partners, such as Network Rail, and a programme of upgrades delivered by the train manufacturer, Alstom, will further improve reliability of our fleet of trains."
When P-coded cancellations were included in the overall figure for England, Wales and Scotland, the total number of cancelled trains rose to 4.6%, up from 3.7% in the previous period.
P-coding means services axed up to 22:00 BST the night before, meaning trains in effect disappear from the overnight timetable and so do not show up in on-the-day cancellation statistics.
Northern Trains, run by the government's Operator of Last Resort, had the highest number of P-coded cancellations as a result of train crew shortages.
It recorded 2,064 in the latest period, and 56 where part of the journey was cancelled.

Elizabeth line tops list of train cancellations

The latest rail regulator figures show the UK's newest rail line had more cancellations than any other.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Snow1964]

New updates in TfL Committee Board reports

Section 3.7 has info on reliability and proposed new software (ELR500)

Section 5.3 has info on passenger numbers different days of the week

https://board.tfl.gov.uk/documents/s20822/csopp-20231004-item07-elizabeth-line-performance-Part%201.pdf

 

[RichW1]

The Elizabeth Line stations absolutely wreak of damp! Specifically Liverpool St, TCR and Canary Wharf. Totally unacceptable. Complained to TfL and no response. The doors opened at Liverpool St and the smell was so intense it didn’t clear the train for two stops!! What on earth is going wrong?! It’s got worse and worse and no-one seems to do anything. It’s a health hazard now. It has to be.

 

[Railwaysceptic]

The Elizabeth Line stations absolutely wreak of damp! Specifically Liverpool St, TCR and Canary Wharf. Totally unacceptable. Complained to TfL and no response. The doors opened at Liverpool St and the smell was so intense it didn’t clear the train for two stops!! What on earth is going wrong?! It’s got worse and worse and no-one seems to do anything. It’s a health hazard now. It has to be.

I'm an old man and my sense of smell is nothing like as good as it used to be. Nevertheless: I've never smelled damp at those stations and I suspect you're exaggerating. Have any young people with undiminished senses noticed anything amiss?

 

[LLivery]

The Elizabeth Line stations absolutely wreak of damp! Specifically Liverpool St, TCR and Canary Wharf. Totally unacceptable. Complained to TfL and no response. The doors opened at Liverpool St and the smell was so intense it didn’t clear the train for two stops!! What on earth is going wrong?! It’s got worse and worse and no-one seems to do anything. It’s a health hazard now. It has to be.

As someone who uses it very often, I've got no idea what you're smelling

 

[RichW1]

You both must have lost your sense of smell. My wife and both friends smelt it pretty clearly! It’s been there since the beginning. There is a leak and material that the water is in contact with is mouldy. It is foul. I suggest anyone that smells the air and states there is no issue gets a nasal test! It is appalling down there.

 

[Farigiraf]

Beautiful news. I cannot wait until we get a breakdown for figures per each station to really begin to assess where the Elizabeth Line has had the biggest impact.

My money's on Acton Main Line for least used station

 

[Bald Rick]

The Elizabeth Line stations absolutely wreak of damp! Specifically Liverpool St, TCR and Canary Wharf. Totally unacceptable. Complained to TfL and no response. The doors opened at Liverpool St and the smell was so intense it didn’t clear the train for two stops!! What on earth is going wrong?! It’s got worse and worse and no-one seems to do anything. It’s a health hazard now. It has to be.

As someone who uses it very often, I've got no idea what you're smelling

+1. I use it fairly often, and have never smelt anything damp.


Meanwhile, I gather the EL set a new daily record for passenger numbers a week or two ago. I reckon it will break through 3/4million passengers a day before the end of the year.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

+1. I use it fairly often, and have never smelt anything damp.

Nor have I

Meanwhile, I gather the EL set a new daily record for passenger numbers a week or two ago. I reckon it will break through 3/4million passengers a day before the end of the year.

I don't dispute that number given how busy trains are all day long but wonder how do they calculate that number with any accuracy

 

[mrmartin]

The Elizabeth Line stations absolutely wreak of damp! Specifically Liverpool St, TCR and Canary Wharf. Totally unacceptable. Complained to TfL and no response. The doors opened at Liverpool St and the smell was so intense it didn’t clear the train for two stops!! What on earth is going wrong?! It’s got worse and worse and no-one seems to do anything. It’s a health hazard now. It has to be.

Totally agree. Liverpool street is really bad. I haven't noticed it 'leaking' into the train like you say but I don't have a very good sense of smell. But it's almost overpoweringly damp smelling in the stations for me.

Very surprised people can't smell it.

 

[Purple Train]

My money's on Acton Main Line for least used station

My money's on either Iver or Taplow, with only 2tph. I think they were the least used stations pre-Elizabeth line also. Certainly on my trips to/from Acton they've had decent patronage. I've hardly ever seen more than about 10 people get on or off at Iver or Taplow.

Have any young people with undiminished senses noticed anything amiss?

I am a young person with undiminished senses, and I haven't smelt a thing.

 

[mrmartin]

What is going on

Fair few people on twitter complaining about it at Liverpool Street

 

[DoubleLemon]

I've never noticed a damp smell once. Will have to pay more attention.

 

[Mark J]

You both must have lost your sense of smell. My wife and both friends smelt it pretty clearly! It’s been there since the beginning. There is a leak and material that the water is in contact with is mouldy. It is foul. I suggest anyone that smells the air and states there is no issue gets a nasal test! It is appalling down there.

I'd rather smell damp in a more spacious, more well ventilated Crossrail station, rather than breathing in dirty air full of pollutants on a cramped tube station platform.

 

[Thirteen]

I assume the smell of damp is from the passengers and not the stations themselves.

Funny how there some posters who want to push the agenda that the Elizabeth Line is a failure.

 

[LLivery]

You both must have lost your sense of smell. My wife and both friends smelt it pretty clearly! It’s been there since the beginning. There is a leak and material that the water is in contact with is mouldy. It is foul. I suggest anyone that smells the air and states there is no issue gets a nasal test! It is appalling down there.

I'm not even 30 yet! I'll see if I notice anything next time - the only thing I notice is the dirt on the walls getting worse

Paris has some really smelly stations, hopefully we'll never have that!

+1. I use it fairly often, and have never smelt anything damp.


Meanwhile, I gather the EL set a new daily record for passenger numbers a week or two ago. I reckon it will break through 3/4million passengers a day before the end of the year.

Per week surely?

 

[Horizon22]

The Elizabeth Line stations absolutely wreak of damp! Specifically Liverpool St, TCR and Canary Wharf. Totally unacceptable. Complained to TfL and no response. The doors opened at Liverpool St and the smell was so intense it didn’t clear the train for two stops!! What on earth is going wrong?! It’s got worse and worse and no-one seems to do anything. It’s a health hazard now. It has to be.

What is going on

Fair few people on twitter complaining about it at Liverpool Street

View attachment 144086

Eh? I think you might need to check that yourself actually, as the many others who have have attested to on this thread. Someone tweeting about it 4 times in a year doesn't account for an issue.

My money's on Acton Main Line for least used station

No it's probably something like Iver or Taplow. Acton has had huge housing growth and an explosion in passenger numbers.

Nor have I

I don't dispute that number given how busy trains are all day long but wonder how do they calculate that number with any accuracy

Gateline and loadweight (train loading) data off the 345s. Obviously nothing is 100% accurate, but it's pretty good.

 

[futureA]

Liverpool Street Elizabeth Line station does smell damp. Myself and other people I know have noticed this.
I find it hard to believe that people claim they can’t smell it.

 

[Bald Rick]

Per week surely?

Per day. (3/4 million being 750,000).

 

[Failed Unit]

Liverpool Street Elizabeth Line station does smell damp. Myself and other people I know have noticed this.
I find it hard to believe that people claim they can’t smell it.

Interesting clarification, as I use the Moorgate exit and haven't noticed it. (very rarely Liverpool Street)

It is very good it is doing so well, I am one that would have used other tube / DLR routes, but a single change at Farringdon to get to Excel is heaven, saves so much time.

One other thing I have noticed (by accident) is that my KeyGo card doesn't operate the barriers at Liverpool Street. Moorgate is OK (as it is the terminal for the Northern City Line). But one day in the rain I decided to use it, and had to be let out by the TfL staff. An interesting odd situation as it is the same station but next time I will just walk above ground level.

If the direct Welwyn Garden City - Moorgate service is cancelled I will often use a Welwyn Garden City - Sevenoaks and change at Farringdon. Using the tube / Elizabeth Line for the last but I am unsure about for the best journey. I think the tube is slightly better. I am another one that uses it to Heathrow rather than the Piccadilly line, (even on occasions changing a Moorgate when the Sevenoaks service isn't running)

 

[LLivery]

Per day. (3/4 million being 750,000).

Oh, I see! Was thinking 3-4 million!

Some amazing figures. It'll surely take the busiest in Europe top spot once RER E is fully open. Build and they shall come...

 

[Failed Unit]

Apologies if I have missed it, but I would be interested if anyone has the numbers for abstraction from HEX. My office is in the City, At the moment people travelling from Heathrow love it. They are not travelling in the high peak but they enjoy the direct train to Liverpool Street (taxi is cheaper from there if they need it) - No going back to Heathrow express despite the fact it is a Metro service. They don't miss the taxi from Paddington (for those that did it) or the circle line for those that didn't.

 

[Travelentails]

I commute from Maidenhead to Ealing Broadway, and if the doors ever open at Taplow I get a shock. But it's usually TfL staff getting on anyway!

 

[class ep-09]

The Elizabeth Line stations absolutely wreak of damp! Specifically Liverpool St, TCR and Canary Wharf. Totally unacceptable. Complained to TfL and no response. The doors opened at Liverpool St and the smell was so intense it didn’t clear the train for two stops!! What on earth is going wrong?! It’s got worse and worse and no-one seems to do anything. It’s a health hazard now. It has to be.

Did you drink night before and smelled your own bad breath next day ?

 

[RichW1]

Did you drink night before and smelled your own bad breath next day ?

Nope, and it seems I have support for this from many others. It stinks and that is the end of the story. It needs addressing, and it is inexcusable.