TfL: Elizabeth line records busiest day since opening with 738,000 journeys in single day

The Elizabeth line smashed records for its most successful day last month,Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed.

A report on the service before the TfL Board this week showed that 738,000 journeys were recorded on September 28 2023, the highest the new line has ever seen.

That week also saw the highest total with 4.5 million journeys made.

The line, which connects Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east to Reading and Heathrow in the west, first opened in May 2022.

In May 2023 it celebrated its first anniversary 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%.

Since opening in May 2022, the Elizabeth line has carried more than 230 million passengers, with around 4.2 million passenger journeys now taking place each week.

On average, ridership on the line is over 600,000 journeys made each day, with around 700,000 daily journeys now being seen in the Tuesday to Thursday period.

Howard Smith, Elizabeth line Director, said: “The Elizabeth line has rightly and quickly become one of the most popular railways in the country. Recently we have seen impressive passenger numbers on the Elizabeth line and we were pleased to see that on September 28 2023 we recorded the highest daily number of Elizabeth line journeys since opening in May 2022 with 738,000 journeys."

Although the line has been a huge success, it has also experienced more cancellations than any other train line.

According to the Office of Rail and Road figures released in September a total of 9.1% of services on the Elizabeth line did not run in the four weeks to August 19.

Smith apologised for a “difficult period which included disruption for our customers”.

“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 the reliability of our fleet of trains.”