Crossrail intruder rides Elizabeth Line for 29-minute trip across London

A man boarded a Crossrail train and rode the service across the capital for almost half an hour, despite ongoing building work taking place on the line.

The operator of Crossrail trains said the incident was a “high-risk security breach”, according to Construction News.

The man, thought to be Crossrail’s first ‘customer’ reportedly boarded at Abbey Wood station, in southeast London, and disembarked at Paddington station, in central London.

He is thought to be the only member of the public so far to travel unauthorised on Crossrail.

The operator is currently testing out the train service for the Elizabeth Line’s opening later this year, and trains currently stop and open doors at all stations as part of trial running.

However, despite Abbey Wood having operational platforms, the public are supposed to be restricted from entering the Elizabeth Line area.

His journey is thought to have taken him 29 minutes, in comparison to over an hour on current Transport for London (TfL) routes.

He was then safely escorted off the train at Paddington.

The company has since taken extra security measures since the incident, according to Construction News, including locks, blocking access, and more prominent ‘no entry’ signs.

The breach took place on November 29 last year, with the security work carried out in recent weeks.

The line, which is now estimated to cost £18.9bn, was initially meant to open in 2018.

Earlier this week, TfL said the scheme remains on course to open in the first half of 2022.

The eight stations already handed over to TfL are staffed as teams familiarise themselves with the layouts and complete the trial operations phase.

Bond Street and Canary Wharf, which are still incomplete, are manned by construction and security workers.

While Abbey Wood station is open for Southeastern passengers, there should not be any access to Elizabeth line platforms.

Howard Smith, chief operating officer for the Elizabeth line, said: “Clearly a customer should not have been able to board an Elizabeth line train at Abbey Wood in November.

“Our operator MTR Elizabeth line has put in additional procedures to increase security and ensure this cannot happen again and we have worked with them to investigate this incident.”