Elizabeth line breaks passenger records as it passes 190 million journeys, TfL confirms

The Elizabeth line smashed records for its most successful day and week earlier this month, Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed, as it passed more than 190 million journeys since its launch last May.

The line, which connects Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east to Reading and Heathrow in the west, celebrated its one-year anniversary in May with the introduction of its full peak timetable.

The frequency of trains per hour between Paddington and Whitechapel was upped from 22 to 24, with 16 trains per hour running off-peak. Other additional services include more trains at peak time between Liverpool Street and Gidea Park, with the line’s overall capacity increasing by around 10%.

The London mayor Sadiq Khan said prior to the new timetable’s introduction that it “will enable the Elizabeth line to provide even more frequent, speedier journeys and better connect the capital”.

In his commissioner’s report published ahead of a TfL board meeting today (July 25), Andy Lord wrote that since the increase in services, the line has recorded its most successful day and week since its launch.

He wrote how in the week ending July 7, the line boasted a record 4.3 million passenger journeys, with each weekday the busiest of that particular day to-date. Of those, July 6 was its highest-performing, with 701,000 passengers making it the line’s most successful day so far.

Mr Lord notes more than 185m journeys have now been made on the Elizabeth line, with around 650,000 journeys each weekday.

A TfL spokesperson confirmed this has since risen to more than 190m journeys since May 2022.

In his introduction to the report, Mr Lord wrote that his permanent appointment, on June 7, “has helped give the organisation continuity and certainty as we continue to support the capital’s recovery from the pandemic, ensuring TfL better reflects the diverse city we serve while becoming the London’s green heartbeat”.

“I would like to thank my colleagues for the incredible support they have given me – they are all highly committed people who make London a better place to live and work,” he wrote.

The introduction of the final peak timetable in May marked the “final milestone of the Crossrail project”, Mr Lord added, with the final Elizabeth line committee meeting also being held today.

Across TfL’s wider network, passenger journeys are higher than in the authority’s revised budget, with demand at 85% of pre-pandemic levels.