Elizabeth line

The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington station to Abbey Wood and via Whitechapel to the Great Eastern Main Line near Stratford; and out parallel to the Great Eastern Main Line to Shenfield in the east, along the Great Western Main Line to Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west.

Under the project name of Crossrail, the system was approved in 2007, and construction began in 2009. Originally planned to open in 2018, the project was repeatedly delayed, including for several months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The service is named after Queen Elizabeth II, who officially opened the line on 17 May 2022 during her Platinum Jubilee year; passenger services started on 24 May 2022.

Elizabeth line services are operated by GTS Rail Operations under a concession from Transport for London (TfL). TfL considers the line to be a distinct service, rather than part of the London Underground. It is considered to be in a class of its own and TfL's Oyster card is not valid for journeys to stations outside the TfL fare zones, whilst a premium fare is charged to passengers travelling to or from Heathrow Airport, in line with that charged on the Heathrow Connect service which it replaced.

The line performs a similar function in London to the RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It reached over 200 million trips annually in its second year of operation and carries one seventh of all trips by rail in the United Kingdom.