After 20 years since the idea was initially conceived, the long-awaited Crossrail, better known as the Elizabeth Line, opened its doors for the very first time to passengers, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the first.
Five years and four months late, as well as £3bn over budget, the line the much-anticipated Elizabeth Line appears that it might just be worth the wait, and money, for a couple of reasons.
Getting on at Whitechapel Station for my commute into Liverpool Street felt just that little bit different and a little bit special.
The newly built areas of the station were clean, the air was fresh, and there was a modern feel to the whole thing.
Increased footfall
For one, the line is expected to bring an extra 200mln people into the capital every year.
Albeit, that number is slightly below pre-pandemic estimations of 250mln, it still represents a lot of opportunity for businesses in the area that are still recovering from the pandemic.
Transport for London (TfL) suggests that the line will increase rail capacity by 10% in central London, the single biggest increase in more than 70 years.
As well as that, it will bring more than 1.5mln people within a 45-minute commute of central London, something that the TfL and government officials believe will boost the UK economy by billions of pounds.
And we are already seeing the signs of property developers looking to cash in on this increased footfall.
Great Portland Estates (LSE:GPOR) bought a flurry of property in London’s West End recently, not too far from one of the line stops, Tottenham Court Road, likely in the anticipation that footfall will increase in the area and demand for property will rise.
According to Tom Musson, a real estate analyst at Liberum, “companies generally try and find property that is located to good transport.”
“Great Portland Estates (LSE:GPOR) for example said that over 90% of their portfolio was located within 800 metres of a Crossrail station.”
West End property business Shaftesbury today hailed the arrival of the Elizabeth Line even before it opened as it reported net property income grew 55% to £41mln in the six months to March 2022.
The total value of its West End portfolio value grew 7.5% to £3.26bn, and the group predicted adding the new line will lead to a “material increase in visitor numbers and spending.”
Speed of service
Spanning more than 62 miles from Reading in the West and Shenfield in the East, the new line is all about speed.
Currently, the only service operational is from Abbey Wood to Paddington, and takes less than 30 minutes to complete.
Twelve trains will run per hour for 17 hours of the day, and that’s both convenient and time saving for a lot of people.
For example, Liverpool Street to Paddington will take 11 minutes, saving eight minutes on the existing journey time, which is serviced by the Hammersmith and City line.
A quicker, speedy service may be the catalyst for getting people back into the office, with a big complaint from many commuters currently is how long it takes to get from door to door.
Less busy service
While I caught the Elizabeth Line towards the back end of the peak time, it was noticeable that the tube was a lot less busy than if I had caught the Central or District lines at the same time.
Each train on the Elizabeth Line can carry up to 1,500 passengers, and coming every five minutes, there should always be plenty of room but similar things were presumably said about the crammed Victoria and Jubilee lines.
But, a knock-on effect from that, and something likely to be seen at peak times is other services being significantly quieter.
Everyone knows the central line at 5pm on a weekday is always full, but the new line should, in theory, take some of those passengers away.
The prospect of not having to squeeze on the tube after a long day at work should entice passengers back into the office.
“It’s airy, fast, the stations are cathedral-like, the air is fresh. It’s modern, clean. If there’s ever a railway that can stimulate a return to the office, it’s going to be this one,” said Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild talking to Sky News.
Is it worth it?
True, the Elizabeth Line is almost 20 years in the making, five years late and well over budget.
Despite all of that, more projects like this will speed up London’s revival post-pandemic which has to be beneficial for businesses, commuters and most importantly Londoners.
Great Portland Estates (LSE:GPOR) was down 1.6% to 644.5p, while Shaftesbury was down 0.6% to 576p in afternoon trading.