Anyone who has been to London knows that it ends up being a pretty pricey day out. From tube expenses to day tours, most people have to save before heading to the big city, but that’s about to be made a little easier.
In February 2016 Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the new underground project named after herself. The development of the Elizabeth line originally started almost 10 years ago but it’s only just been able to open in May 2022, much to commuters’ delight.
Image: bbntimes.com
The Elizabeth Line runs for more than 100km, from Reading and Heathrow in the West, through Central London, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the East. The new line is set to cut travel time by almost half making it the ideal route for commuters. But it’s not only travel times that will be reduced, travel costs will be sliced by a third, saving passengers not only time but also money. With the cost-of-living prices rising it’s really important to take reductions where you can.
Image: https://tfl.gov.uk
The new line will help over 1.5 million people get to London within a 45-minute commute, meaning more job opportunities in the city. For young people trying to get their foot in the career door this has made life a lot easier, not only will commuting be quicker each day but a lot cheaper for the people who can’t always necessarily afford to pay hundreds of pounds a week just for a job in London.
Ticket prices on the new Elizabeth line will be around £4 a day; if you were to take any other tube line it would cost around £6.30 for daily travel. The new tube line will save commuters almost £600 a year, which will makes a big difference for young people enjoying the heart of London.
A week before the grand line opening, the Queen herself topped up her Oyster card and popped down to Paddington to take a look at the new tube station. Her Majesty was very excited as she joined her youngest son Prince Edward at the station ahead of the opening.
Image: goodto.com
The Elizabeth line opened at 6:20am on the 24th May 2022, with hundreds of eager commuters waiting to be the first passengers onboard. However not everything went according to plan as less than three hours later, hundreds of commuters were rushed off the new platform after the fire alarm was sounded.
Luckily service was able to resume shortly afterwards, and the evacuation only lasted around 8 minutes, making the already exciting day even more eventful.
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Emily Wyatt
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