The Elizabeth Line: A review of the new direct service from Heathrow to central London

1. Why buying a ticket? Couldn’t you just use contact less pay with any CC?
   (Or apple pay etc)
   And i don’t remember it as that expensive, at least i didn’t see it on my CC bill as such.

2. They are running a temporary timetable until May 2023 to make sure everything works. From May the full service will be 24 train an hour instead of the current 20-22. 4g should also be up and running by then on the fill line (regardless of whether or not the train is in a tunnel). Dwell times should reduce and the journey should be faster end to end from next year.

3. The service is not non-stop.
   It is DIRECT in that you no longer need to change trains at Paddington to travel to or through central London. But it isn’t non-stop, as it stops at lots of stations en-route. A small but important point.
   The Heathrow Express continues to provide a NON-STOP service between Heathrow T2&3 and London Paddington.

   • A very good point. Titlte has been changed.

4. From what I gather although you can connect to the WiFi the actual system to get it working in tunnels has not been switched in yet. Seems stupid to have it available but there you go.

   • Did they forget where they put the switch? 🙂

5. awesome walk through. thx.

6. Very poorly written and uninformed article. Each carriage has 10 spaces for luggage, buggies etc. You also failed to mention the price goes against the TFL daily cap.

   • Sorry you’re so disappointed with the review. If you’d care to submit a review of your own (pictures as well please), I’d be happy to publish it.

     Update 21 Jan 2023: So, I’ve finally had another chance to try the Elizabeth line (I’ve just left the train) and after having walked through 3 carriages, I didn’t see a single dedicated space for luggage. This leads me to believe that either I was on a very special train or you’re talking nonsense.

     I may have the chance to be on the Elizabeth Line again in the next few days so I’ll check again and report back.

     Update 24 Jan 2023: I’ve just taken the Elizabeth Line again and this time I walked the entire length of the train (9 carriages) to check your assertion. Again, I didn’t see any sign of the dedicated storage spaces you claim the Elizabeth Line trains have.
     Sadly, I’m left to conclude that not only are you incapable of making a point politely, but that you’re also the one who is “uninformed”.

     Needless to say, if you can produce a picture of the storage spaces you claim these trains have, I will happily edit the article and these comments.

     • Some folks are never satisifed. I found your review to be rather informative and well written. Thank you.

7. Very nice and comfortable train but very slow. Took me 45 min to Paddington from T5.
   Also unclear directions from underground barrier.

8. MTR Elizabeth line is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, which will run the line and manage 28 of its stations. It’s something passengers might not know, as the operator was barely mentioned in UK press reports including your review.

9. We used the Elizabeth line from Maidenhead to Paddington and the the tube to Charing Cross – we did tap and go, no tickets and TFL determined the optimal ticket and price. No ticketing required – surprised you didn’t mention that option.

10. What is rarely mentioned are the poor connections between the Elizabeth Line and other rail lines. For example, at Liverpool Street it is so far west of the other lines, you could have believed you were closer to Moorgate. Perhaps that’s why some maps for the first time are showing Liverpool Street being on the Northern Line! The long walks on the level could be relieved by travelators, as seen at major airports around the world, but not on the Elizabeth Line. (I can’t think of any on the London Underground.) Full marks though for getting the line adjacent to Brit Rail at Abbey Wood.

    • Agreed. As well as your example, if you’re connecting to the EL at Canary Wharf (from the DLR or the Underground, for example), you certainly don’t want to be doing it with suitcases!

    • There are travelators ar Bank and Waterloo underground stations.

11. It seems like there is no signal(so as wifi) from Paddington onward, hopefully TFL can fix this soon.

12. Generally a good article – thanks. I think the limited 2 x hourly services to T4 and T5 have been downplayed in all the hype. These poor frequencies aren’t really adequate for what ought to be a major airport shuttle. I think 4 x hourly should be an absolute minimum for each LHR terminal. More publicity of the option to change at T2/T3 would help meanwhile.
    Travelled recently on the line between Paddington and T5 and the Lizzie line was quiet as a morgue. Given that I had to wait 25 minutes for a train, and the Lizzie line services aren’t that fast, I realised afterwards I’d have been quicker on the dear old Piccadilly Line. Hmm

13. going from romford to liverpool st station used to be straightforward via statford out of the gate at liverpool st and onto concourse. going on the el it takes longer to liverpool st and the walking involved (especially if you are using the lifts) must be 15 minutes.

    not impressed at all apart from the carriages which seemed more spacious.

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