Elizabeth line trains will NOT run direct between Reading and Shenfield from May

The £19billion Elizabeth line will not run any direct trains between each end of the network when the final full timetable is launched in May, MailOnline can reveal today.

The two far end points of the line in Reading and Shenfield will not be connected by through trains – with passengers instead having to change in the central section.

The line will continue to run from Reading and Heathrow to Abbey Wood, as it has done since last November, and also now from Shenfield to Heathrow in May.

But the full timetable, which Transport for London (TfL) has released before it comes into force on May 21, reveals there will be no direct Reading to Shenfield services.

TfL told MailOnline this was because of very low demand for journeys between the eastern and western sections of the line, based on customer journey patterns. It added that there were never plans for trains to run direct from Shenfield to Reading.

But it has also emerged that at Acton and Hanwell, there will be almost no direct services to Shenfield or Reading – with these West London stations only served by trains between Abbey Wood and Heathrow every 15 minutes, as they currently are.

An Elizabeth line Class 345 train at Maidenhead railway station in Berkshire (file picture)

The two end points of the line in Reading and Shenfield will not be connected by through trains

The Elizabeth line map, included in the new timetable valid from May 21. [CLICK TO EXPAND]

The first page of the new timetable shows there will be no direct Shenfield-Reading services

The only exceptions are after 11pm each evening and before 10am on Sundays when there will be a handful of direct trains calling at Acton and Hanwell when running from Heathrow to Shenfield – but these are at useless times for most commuters.

Former Transport Minister Norman Baker, who now works for the Campaign for Better Transport, told MailOnline today: ‘Crossrail has taken years and a great deal of money to get going. It seems bizarre now to have a timetable that fails to maximize the journey opportunities.’

Nick Rogers, the London Conservatives transport spokesman, added: ‘The Elizabeth Line was meant to bring west and east closer together, and so it is disappointing that the new timetable fails to provide direct services connecting Reading and Shenfield, or improve access for residents in Acton and Hanwell to those stations. 

‘Sadiq Khan should instruct TfL to reconsider this decision, which affects a significant number of Londoners, and ensure the £18billion line lives up to its full potential.’

TfL told MailOnline that Acton – officially known as ‘Acton Main Line’ – and Hanwell have never been planned stops on services to Reading, but pointed out that both stations will benefit from shorter journeys when the May timetable begins.

Nearby West Ealing will also have no direct trains to Reading – but will get an extra two per hour to Shenfield, on top of the current four per hour to Abbey Wood.

The lack of extra services for Acton, Hanwell and West Ealing is because some Elizabeth line trains are required to run semi-fast to make space to allow freight trains to operate on the same tracks.

This is said to be the result of planning by Network Rail, which manages the network timetable, as officials try to balance the needs of various operators that run services on the network.

For that reason, direct services from Paddington to Reading, which began under the branding of ‘TfL Rail’ in December 2019, do not call at Acton, West Ealing and Hanwell. But customers travelling from these stations can change at Hayes and Harlington for services towards Reading.

If journeying to Shenfield from Acton or Hanwell, passengers will have to change at any station between Paddington and Whitechapel within the central section for a different service.

The restrictions within the timetable – which was published by Network Rail in late January, but has only been released in recent days by TfL – are the latest issue to beset the much-delayed project.

The Crossrail project suffered numerous issues including construction difficulties and complications installing signalling systems which delayed the opening multiple times.

In 2007, the line was given an opening date of December 2017, and set a budget of £14.8billion in 2010. But the estimated final cost was £18.9billion, including £5.1billion from the Government.

Only in May this year will the line finally run its full service, following a staggered opening since May 24, 2022 that has seen the timetable extended in stages.

It opened last May in three sections – from Reading/Heathrow to Paddington, Liverpool Street to Shenfield and the new Paddington to Abbey Wood section.

Then in November last year, the second stage began which saw through trains start running from Reading/Heathrow to Abbey Wood and Shenfield to Paddington.

The final stage from May this year will see services start running from Shenfield to Heathrow, as well as the current Reading/ Heathrow to Abbey Wood offering.

But there will be no direct trains from Shenfield to Reading – with trains from Shenfield instead forking off after Hayes and Harlington to terminate at Heathrow.

TfL pointed out that there are faster alternative routes for customers that wish to make the journey between both ends of the line at Shenfield and Reading, which would take more than two hours using just the Elizabeth line.

One way of doing the journey from Shenfield to Reading would be taking a Greater Anglia service from Shenfield over a ‘stopping’ Elizabeth line service to Liverpool Street. Then you would take an Elizabeth line train to Paddington, before changing for a Great Western Railway service if going onto Reading. 

Howard Smith, TfL’s director of the Elizabeth line, told MailOnline: ‘This Elizabeth line timetable change is delivering in the original plans for the service, providing a number of benefits to customers and improving connections to Heathrow Airport and across London.

‘As well as increasing peak time services between Paddington and Whitechapel to mean a train roughly every 2.5 minutes in both directions, there will also be direct services from Shenfield in Essex to Heathrow Airport for the first time, with more trains serving the airport each hour.

‘The new timetable will also remove any significant dwell times for trains between Paddington and Acton Main Line, which were in place temporarily ahead of this new timetable.’

People queue for the Elizabeth line at Paddington station before the first train on May 24, 2022

The first passengers for the Elizabeth line at Paddington go down an escalator on May 24, 2022

He added: ‘This timetable sees the completion of the Crossrail project, but we will continue to review the Elizabeth line timetables and changes can be made twice each year in line with National Rail timetable changes to add capacity where possible and provide the best service for customers.’

Reacting to the new timetable, a London TravelWatch spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We welcome the new through running timetable, connecting Shenfield directly to Heathrow’. He added that the Elizabeth line has been ‘transformative’.

The spokesman also pointed out that punctuality data from the Office of Rail and Road shows that the line is comparing favourably against other operators, but there have been ‘some teething issues on the western section of the line’ with busy trains as ‘many passengers are using the service for the airport’.

In February, a YouGov survey found 45 per cent of London’s residents have made at least one journey on the line – up from 24 per cent in July last year.

The estimated final cost of the line was £18.9billion, including £5.1billion from the Government

Passengers travel approach Tottenham Court Road on an Elizabeth line train in London (file)

And flexible office company WeWork has seen a rise in demand for its locations near Elizabeth line stations since services began. 

Flexible bookings at those sites were said to have risen by an average of 28 per cent between the railway’s opening and November last year.

More than 100million journeys have been made on the line, and TfL said on February 1 that ridership is ‘above expected levels’ with about 600,000 daily journeys.

Bosses added that the railway is ‘on track to break even’ based on operating costs by the end of the 2023/24 financial year.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk