What stations are on Crossrail and when will it open?

Crossrail carriages at a depot in London Credit: Crossrail carriages at a depot in London

Crossrail is a new railway serving London and part of the South East designed to increase capacity on the capital's crowded transport network by around 10%. The project has been heavily delayed, run significantly over budget and at one point was Europe’s largest infrastructure project.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at £18.9 billion, including £5.1 billion from the Government.

– What stops are on Crossrail?

When fully open Crossrail will run from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. The route will use 42km of new tunnels beneath central London.

Crossrail will serve 41 stations including 10 new stations at:

  • Paddington

  • Bond Street

  • Tottenham Court Road

  • Farringdon

  • Liverpool Street

  • Whitechapel

  • Canary Wharf

  • Custom House

  • Woolwich

  • Abbey Wood

Map showing stops on the western stretch of the new Elizabeth Line Credit: TfL
Map showing stops on the eastern stretch of the new Elizabeth Line Credit: TfL

– What will the new Crossrail line be called and how many will use it?

Crossrail will officially be known as the Elizabeth line and be fully integrated with Transport for London's existing network. When fully operational an estimated 200 million passengers will travel on the Elizabeth Line each year.

– Will Crossrail cut journey times?

It is estimated an extra 1.5 million people will live within a 45 commute of major areas of employment such as the West End, the City and Canary Wharf.

– What has been done for people with restricted mobility?

All Elizabeth line stations will have step-free access from street level to platforms and new stations from Abbey Wood to Paddington will be step-free from street to train.

 – How have all the tunnels been dug?

Eight huge machines tunnelled beneath London to create 42km of new rail tunnels. Each machine was 150 metres long with teams of 20 on board working around the clock between May 2012 and May 2015. They dug around 38 metres of tunnel per day. On the fastest day 72 metres of tunnel was dug between Pudding Mill Lane and Stepney Green.

 – What happened to all the material dug from beneath London?

Three million tonnes of excavated material was taken to Wallasea Island in Essex to create a new RSPB nature reserve.

 – When do services start running?

The first passenger services are due to start running before the end of June 2022 and will initially only operate between Abbey Wood and Paddington. The full timetable is scheduled to launch by May 2023.