London Bus Route 396 - the conversion to electric buses

I very rarely cover service changes in regards to route allocations and cuts in London on this blog (which happen quite rapidly and frequently), but during the summer of 2024, I managed to catch up with two routes in East London. This is the first one. Well... once again, we revisit London Bus Route 396 which has been retained by Go-Ahead London with new electric single deckers. 

Go Ahead London SE115 (YX61BXV) is seen on stand at King George Hospital on route 396 awaiting it's departure towards Ilford Broadway. These were the allocation for the route between 2019 and 2024 (fleet coded SE115-118).
Taken during: June 2021
Bus type seen in the photo: Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 (Diesel single decker bus)

The London Bus Route 396 is a very short route running between King George Hospital and Ilford Broadway, or Ilford Hill as they have now referred to. It goes via Newbury Park and Gants Hill, essentially paralleling alongside route 296 most of the way. 4 miles in length, the frequencies are every 20 minutes from Monday to Sunday, dropping to 30 minutes during the evening. The average journey on the route varies from 15-35 minutes. Depends on the time of day you do it but honestly, it's a really short route. The route has remained the same since it was introduced in 1996. I did do a post previously on this route, which goes into a bit more detail about the places it passes, which you are welcome to view below. 

The route operates at River Road (RR) garage in East London. Ever since Go Ahead gained the route in 2019 it was allocated Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 YX61-reg single deckers fleet coded SE115-118. Double deckers such as LX56/57-reg Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s commonly made an appearance although, these were largely allocated to the school routes operated out of the garage. As a result of routes in Central London receiving cuts in regards to their frequencies, the LX56/57-reg Enviro 400s were withdrawn from London service in 2022 and replaced by hybrid buses within the company. This means that double decker appearances have reduced massively since then. 

Go Ahead London E63 (LX57CHY) is seen at King George Hospital on route 396 heading to the stand after completing a journey from Ilford Broadway.
Taken during: July 2021
Bus type seen in the photo: Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 (Diesel double decker bus)

A lower deck interior photo of E63 (LX57CHY).

The contract renewal for the new electric single decker buses, to be introduced into service was Saturday 29th of March 2024. However, they were not going to arrive on time, unsurprisingly. By the 29th of June though, the four buses made their debut into passenger service fleet coded SEe332-335. 

Go Ahead London SEe332 (LF24ZCY) is seen at the end of it's journey at Ilford Hill on route 396 after competing a journey from King George Hospital. This was the first day that these buses had entered service (29th of June).
Taken during: June 2024
Bus type seen in the photo: BYD/Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC EV (Electric single decker bus)
Photo taken by Fabio Tanniguchi.

Go Ahead were the first operator to introduce the BYD/ADL Enviro 200 MMC EV into London entering service in 2016. Since then there have been over 300 BYD/ADL Enviro 200 EVs (at the time of publishing this blog) in operation for Go Ahead, which shows how successful the single decker model has been. These buses are also part of the revised versions of the Enviro 200 EV that took place in 2020. Before then, previously on the outside, there was a small battery pod at the top of the bus. 

Go Ahead London SEe13 (LJ66CFM) is seen at end of a journey at Waterloo Station on route 521, after completing a journey from London Bridge. This route was withdrawn in April 2023, as a result of the Central London bus changes by TFL. TFL like to modify through a consultation, and change or introduce bus routes if they go ahead or not, depending on people's opinions. 
Taken during: February 2022
Bus type seen in the photo: BYD/Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC EV (Electric single decker bus)
Photo taken by Fabio Tanniguchi.

London United RATP Group BE37020 (LJ18FKE) is seen at Ladbroke Grove, Sainsburys on route 70 heading towards Chiswick Business Park. 
Taken during: February 2023
Bus type seen in the photo: BYD/Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC EV (Electric single decker bus)
Photo taken by Fabio Tanniguchi.

I can't really make a direct comparison between older ones and current ones, as this was my first time riding these buses ever in London. But I can say, the current design looks a lot smarter and neater. I reckon also their range has also improved as a result, so that they can operate on routes for longer. Hence the extended pod. But hey, what do I know. 

Interior view of a BYD/ADL Enviro 200 MMC EV

I was out on the 11th of July 2024 (it was a Thursday) so I took a ride on one of them (this would be SEe333/LF24ZCZ), it had been two weeks at this point. Of course they still retained that new bus smell, that all new buses carry for a short time and contained the higher TFL specification. The bus had high backed seats, wood effect flooring that is laminated (not actual wood flooring), USB chargers and a new iBus display. Also the middle rear seat at the back has been retained, although these have been the standard on new electric buses since the specification was introduced in late 2021. So they had 5 seats instead of 4 which is new standard at the back now. LED blinds are also part of the package, so beware if you are trying to photograph buses with them, it can be tricky. Weirdly enough on my journey, the iBus display was not showing and this a new standard that shows the next stop and destination. I imagine this will get rectified eventually but Go Ahead and TFL have to programme them so yeah, it's gonna happen. The ride quality was not too bad, these having decent acceleration considering we were on the A12 (dual-carriageway) however, where I was sitting the bus had already contained some rubbish which, well, is not a huge surprise considering how much they are going to be used on a daily basis!

Rubbish at the back of the bus on it's second week of service.

The journey took 15 minutes from Newbury Park to King George Hospital, due to taking this trip during the evening but to be honest like I said earlier, route 396 is a very short route. 

USB chargers are offered onboard every seat.

Go Ahead London SEe333 (LF24ZCZ) is seen on stand at King George Hospital on route 396 having worked a journey from Ilford Hill.
Taken during: July 2024
Bus type seen in the photo: BYD/Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC EV (Electric single decker bus)

Here are the allocated buses for the route:

SEe332 - LF24ZCY

SEe333 - LF24ZCZ

SEe334 - LF24ZDA

SEe335 - LF24ZDC

Another route goes green for London. The route has been largely single decker since the disappearance of the LX56/57-reg Enviro 400s but, double deckers do occasionally make an appearance - not that much though, sadly. Go Ahead have managed to retain the route for the next 7 years, having gained it back in 2019. I wish the operator all the best in terms of it's operation and maintaining the route.

Thank you for reading and happy riding!

For the previous post of the London Bus Route 396 that I reviewed back in 2020, (if it's of any interest) click here. 

Northern line station closures - Colindale and Kentish Town

If you are/not local to the Northern line on the London Underground, you may be aware that (you might have had no idea that this occurred and that's absolutely fine) there were two station closures recently up in North West London. Colindale and Kentish Town stations. Trains would not call at these two stations due to improvement works and all that. If not, then like I say, no problem. Let me explain.

Thameslink (part of National Rail - hence the red symbol) also serves Kentish Town station, this part of the station was unaffected during the closure.

We begin with Kentish Town. Kentish Town (Underground, as National Rail also serves here, too) station was closed from Monday 26th of June 2023, this was to do with escalator works taking place. The London Underground escalators are heavy duty machines running for long hours on a daily basis. They weigh around 40 tonnes and transport millions of people each year. A normal escalator with a 15-meter rise has 15,000 moving parts (yes that's a lot, I know!). Basically, what this improvement programme was about is that two escalators had to be replaced as they have been running since 1997, as a result, age has caught up to them and it caused last minute station closures bringing delays to the network. The previous escalators were the most unreliable on the London Underground network. 

Recently, the station re-opened on Monday 23th of December 2024. It was originally supposed to open in June 2024 but it got pushed back to Winter. The two new escalators at Kentish Town have more efficient motors and drivers meaning electricity will be reduced. When the escalators are not in use, they will operate at a slower speed to save energy. Other improvements that also occurred at the station included: removing the ticket office (that is now not operational), realigning the ticket barriers to allow more space for commuters to enter, adding ticket gates and the station receiving a deep clean, being painted up with new floors and wall tiles including new signage installed too. 

Colindale was another station that was closed between June 2024 and December 2024.

Moving onto Colindale station. The station is being rebuilt to have step free access and spacious ticket hall. Why you ask? Colindale is growing in terms of people, as it's one of fastest growing neighbourhoods in London by 70% since 2011, due to the development of houses in the area near to the station. What will the improvements include? Let me list them for you:

• A new building to replace the current entrance
• Ticket hall will be spacious, this will increase station capacity
• Lift to be provided at the station offering step free access from street to platform level
• An accessible toilet 
• Improvements to infrastructure and more parking for bicycles
• New in station retail space
• Sustainable blue and green roof drainage system with wild plants

So those are the improvements that are being done. The station re-opened on Friday 20th of December 2024. It was closed on Friday 7th of June 2024 for 6 months - this is part of the first phase of these works. The new staircase has been put in place but the new entrance is not in operation yet. Access to the platforms will be via a temporary passage leading you to the staircases. There will be a one way system in place and the station could be busy during peak times so, bare that in mind.

Signage up at Tottenham Court Road station, seen talking about the two station closures.

Stickers were placed in the train carriages, showing that the trains would not call at Colindale and Kentish Town stations.

I am yet to visit these two stations, but if I ever do then there will definitely be blog posts about them. While Kentish Town works have been complete, Colindale still has some more work left for to be fully complete. TFL (Transport For London) says it should be by Autumn 2025, but we will see. Colindale station can be found on Edgware branch and Kentish Town on the Mill Hill East/High Barnet branches of the Northern Line. See below.

Colindale and Kentish Town stations both on different branches.

Not sure if this is of interest to anyone - admittedly I wasn't sure about writing this at first, although if you felt like it helped pass the time then your welcome and no worries. 

There has been a noticeable lack of blog posts since the last one, (which was in August 2024) however, I have found some time to go out and about - expect some blog posts to be released over the coming months. 

Thank you for reading and happy riding!

The Return to Cardiff (03/09/23)

The summer holidays is usually the time of year where the weather is at it's peak. Last year (2023), May and June felt like this. That is until July came. The weather since July had felt pretty much like Autumn, with there being a mix of showers and heavy rain, with occasional sunny spells. After the trip I undertook in August 2022 to Edinburgh in Scotland, it seemed like this summer I would not go anywhere else at all. Along came September and the weather started to improve, so on Sunday the 3rd of September 2023, I did a day trip returning to the city of Cardiff in Wales.

The journey began at 5:50am, the roads feeling deserted as I walked to the station. At Goodmayes station I boarded an Elizabeth Line service - this was the second train of the day (arriving at 6:15am, the first train was at 6:00am) heading to London Liverpool Street. I had to change at Stratford as the Elizabeth Line service terminated on the upper National Rail platforms at Liverpool Street. On weekends, the Elizabeth Line services towards Paddington start a bit later than on weekdays - after around 7:30am, on weekdays it's from 5am onwards. The Central Line train approached the platform on a service towards West Ruislip, this journey was pretty much standing into Central London. I am certainly glad there's another quicker way to get there now that's for sure...  I alighted at Oxford Circus to change for a Victoria Line and alighted at Victoria, this journey had less passengers onboard though, it was only two stops. Finally, I walked from Victoria (exiting the station) to Victoria Coach Station, this being a 5 minute walk. 

It was around 7:10am when I made it to the Coach station, in total 22 coach bays are situated here, although the seating areas inside were not really enough considering the usage. Typically, the coach I was supposed to get was in a bay further down, so I made my way there. I booked my trip with National Express, a large coach operator that operates a range of long-distance services to other cities and towns in the UK. My coach to Cardiff was supposed to leave at 7:30am, however there was no sign of the coach at all. On the screen as the time came nearer it showed the service as "delayed". This didn't seem promising, as later one of the staff members came to us and said that the coach to Cardiff was cancelled. As a result, we were told to join another National Express service going towards Swansea - at 8:30am. The reason for this was due to the 10K run that happened to be taking place in Cardiff, I couldn't help but feel like I wasted time on getting up early, the main concern however being whether this service will go ahead as well or suffer the same fate. At long last, the coach finally showed up after waiting for almost an hour. 

 

Was informed by staff to move to Gate 6 and board another coach service, heading to Swansea but stopping at Cardiff.

While the coach was being prepared for service, passengers commented on how the communication in regards to the service being cancelled was communicated really late, which I certainly agreed on as I bet none of us, expected to be joining another National Express service but here we are! Felt glad to be sitting on a coach, rather than in the departure boards waiting area that's for sure. At 8:30am we departed the coach station, the driver onboard announcing that there will be one additional stop to be made on route (this stop being Newport), due to the cancellation of the Cardiff service. 

About to hop on the coach numbered route 507, onboard the 08:30 service that was heading to Swansea.

The coach we would be riding on is a 22 plate Caetano Levante 3, an upgraded version to the original Levante model. These coaches seem to be a recent purchase by National Express to replace their older buses. They come equipped with USB ports to charge your device, given the distance we covered it certainly is useful. After leaving London, we were on the M4 and honestly the motorway is as straight as an arrow. 4 hours of open fields and a view of the countryside, it felt picturesque at times I guess, the best bit of the trip being on the Prince of Wales Bridge. Passing underneath is the River Severn and honestly it's quite a view. The swans managed to enjoy themselves in the water, though I couldn't really say the same for myself, having been sat in the same position for a long period of time. The legroom felt tight and didn't really have much room to stretch out, the seats almost made me want to sleep - they are comfortable but after a while it does get to you!

View of the River Severn from the Prince of Wales Bridge.

Not long afterwards we entered the city of Newport, our first stop in Wales and on our journey. The station from this stop is a bit of walk, so good luck if you are trying to navigate with luggage. I could recognise the shopping centre and the bus station from my last trip, as we made a loop around the city centre. There seemed to be electric buses present in the bus station, but not much else otherwise. 

Newport Bus Station, looks a bit different in terms of buses compared to when I last took the photo in 2018.

Leaving Newport behind, we were on the last stretch to Cardiff still a couple of miles away - but not hundreds, thankfully. I was taking in the views on the approach, needless to say there was traffic upon arrival. Finally after 3 hours of travelling we arrived at 11:46am, on approach to midday. 

Alighting our coach at Cardiff, Sophia Gardens. This coach continued onwards to Swansea - a couple more hours away.

I felt relieved that I could finally stretch my legs after enduring a long ride, so I made my way to the city centre. I sat down on a bench enjoying the meal deal lunch that was purchased the day before, making the most of the hot weather. After some time, I wandered off to the museum since I didn't visit it on my prior visits and yeah - I mean it wasn't that bad of a visit but, I am not that person who would stay for hours exploring every single floor. If you are around the area and you want to visit then it's called National Museum Cardiff. 

The heat got even more worse during the day, so I was around the city centre capturing some of the bus services that operate around Cardiff. 

Cardiff Bus 412 (CE71 YDH) on route 44 towards the City Centre.
Bus model seen in this photo: Yutong E12 (Electric bus)

Cardiff Bus 116 (CE63 NYO) on route 27 towards Thornhill via Birchgrove.
Bus model seen in this photo: Mercedes Benz Citaro (Diesel bus)

Cardiff Bus 114 (CE63 NYM) on route 21 towards Pantwmawr via Birchgrove and back to the City Centre.
Bus model seen in this photo: Mercedes Benz Citaro (Diesel bus)

Cardiff Bus 412, (CE71 YDH) seen a bit further up on stand awaiting departure on route 44 towards St Mellons.
Bus model seen in this photo: Yutong E12 (Electric bus)

Cardiff Bus 111 (CE63 NZS) seen in Cardiff City Centre.
Bus model seen in this photo: Mercedes Benz Citaro (Diesel bus)

Cardiff Bus 742 (CN59 CKX) on route 28 towards the City Centre.
Bus model seen in this photo: Scania Omnicity (Diesel bus)

Cardiff Bus 428 (CE71 YXN) on route 49 towards Lianrumney.
Bus model seen in this photo: Yutong E12 (Electric bus)

Cardiff Bus 137 (CN17 FZY) on route 58 towards the City Centre.
Bus model seen in this photo: Mercedes Benz Citaro (Diesel bus)

It seems that Cardiff Bus has decided to take on some electric buses and replace their older fleet, since my last visit. After that, I took a visit inside their shopping centres to see what was on offer and to kill some time too. I ended up getting up a meal deal at Tesco Extra for the journey ahead. 

Around Cardiff Library, in Cardiff City Centre.

Near Sophia Gardens Coach Station in Cardiff, about to board the coach back towards London.

The time has now come to an end, which I was sort of grateful for as the heatwave was getting to me.  When I arrived at the coach station there were three coaches, now this felt confusing as one of them would be ours heading back to London, although it wasn't shown. As it turned out, I would be getting the coach on the far right despite the one left saying London, anyways I can't complain really at least the delay was not an issue. 

The coach departed Cardiff on time at 5:00pm, as the long journey back to London began. While we were on the motorway cruising along nicely, the driver suddenly did an emergency stop. The driver pulled over to the side of the motorway and came to the back of the bus, it felt like someone was smoking or vaping, I couldn't really tell but the smell was not pleasant to say the least. There were three people and none of them told the driver, that said they did cause quite a racket onboard the journey. Apart from that the rest of the journey was nothing too concerning to worry about.

The sunset at around 7:36pm along the M4 motorway.

As it got darker, we entered London Victoria at 8:40pm, a journey taking almost 4 hours since we departed Cardiff at 5:00pm. 

Arriving at London Victoria after the long 4 hour journey from Cardiff.

It seemed to be a mixed bag for National Express on this day, with the marathon affecting majority of the coach services in the morning, although it didn't seem to be as bad coming back. Thankfully the weather was good during this time and felt great to visit Cardiff again after a while. Bit of a late summer's break day out I suppose.

Thanks for reading and happy riding!

If you are interested, I did a blog on my previous visits to Cardiff in 2016 and 2018 - both are combined together. The link is below:

https://transportunited.blogspot.com/2019/12/wales-2016-and-2018.html

London Bus Route 24 - the full journey

It's been quite a while since I have done a full journey. Part of me always wondered where Pimlico actually was, so on Sunday 1st of October 2023, I decided to take a full journey on the London Bus Route 24. 

The route runs from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico via Camden Town, Mornington Crescent, Warren Street, Goodge Street, Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, St James Park and Victoria. As far as records can trace, since 1934 the route has pretty much stayed the same with no adjustments or changes being made. It is the oldest unchanged route in London. The frequency is every 10 minutes, increasing to 12 minutes during the evening. Additionally, it runs 24 hours a day.

In terms of operator history it's been back and forth. Since introduction it was operated by Arriva London, transferring to Metroline in 2002, then to Go Ahead London in 2007, returning to Metroline again in 2012 before going to Abellio London in 2019. Upon it's return to Metroline in 2012, it was allocated New Routemasters (the irony is that they are not even that new anymore) being the first London bus route (of many) to convert. The route operates at Battersea (QB) garage so I imagine it isn't too far to get to Pimlico. 

Two New Routemasters stand at the Hampstead Heath terminus in South End Green awaiting their journeys on route 24 towards Pimlico.
Photo taken by Maggie Jones
Photo taken during: April 2016.

The route begins at South End Green in Hampstead Heath, close to the Royal Free Hospital. Hampstead is not the largest of areas but does have housing which is quite expensive. There are 6 bus routes in the Hampstead area, one being a night bus and 4 running during the day (apart from route 24 of course as that runs day and night). Hampstead Heath also is close by and if you have time and want to wander around, then it's definitely worth exploring - it's a large park and contains a number of ponds. I haven't been inside it myself but I saw alot of people walking towards there. Certainly a peaceful area for sure, alongside the cafes, restaurants and off licence stores nearby.  

I arrived at the bus stop at around 3:00pm in the afternoon, with the bus coming around from the stand (which was a tight turn) to let us onboard. I took my seat upstairs and we were on the move. Departing away, we took a left hand turn onto the one way Agincourt Road, leading us to the outskirts of Gospel Oak. On the right hand side a school and a church made an appearance as we twisted left and right before it became straight again. So far, the route had felt residential aside from the occasional off licence stores appearing now and then, although there was an interesting mix of buildings. The 46 bus route has followed us since we began at Hampstead Heath, after the stop Prince of Wales Road at the junction it heads it's own way while we remain on Ferdinand Street. The housing section was over (for now at least) turning left at the junction onto Chalk Farm Road. 

The next area of interest is Camden Town, Camden Market made an appearance on the right while the day to day shops is on the left, notably this area can get particularly busy on weekends (due to Camden Market) around this area and it certainly was the case when I travelled today being Sunday. Taking a left hand turn, avoiding the main touristy bit onto another one way road. I would say this bit is the more quieter end of Camden Town, mainly being housing and a couple of railway bridges. After the Camden Gardens bus stop, the road turns into four lanes and we take the furthest one towards the right. Now on Camden Road, a Sainsburys store made an appearance while stopping at Camden Town station, served by London Underground Northern Line. The station gets really busy and this is where the bus started, to fill up a bit with tourists and local passengers. We twisted left heading towards Mornington Crescent, along with more housing looking largely identical to each other. At the end of this road, we went right with the sign ahead directing us towards Central London and Euston. The left hand turn followed at the second junction heading away from Camden. Mornington Crescent seemed bit more quieter than the bustling Camden though it still contained a decent amount of shops and restaurants. We navigated through Harrington Square Gardens (essentially a one way road) which was in the middle, the next bit containing many buildings and construction work for HS2 (High Speed 2 - a railway project). 

Onboard route 24, on approach to Tottenham Court Road.

Entering into Central London, Warren Street station (served by the Northern and Victoria lines) appears after crossing the busy Euston Road junction, this is where it starts to get touristy. Now we are on Tottenham Court Road (the name of the road not the area yet), and pretty much a mixture of shops, restaurants and eateries. Further down is Goodge Street station (served by the Northern Line) passing through an array of traffic lights that so close to each other. Approaching another station, Tottenham Court Road (served by Central, Northern and Elizabeth lines). Since the Elizabeth Line now passes through here it has become a very busy station, right on the heart of Oxford Street. Venturing south on Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square is our next point of interest the bus I was riding still full with passengers. The station is served by the Piccadilly line. You will get the usual horde of tourists between here and Westminster, notably demonstrations take place. Trafalgar Square is a very famous tourist area that people love to visit and there seemed to be an event going on with food stalls and music to entertain the crowd. You can also alight here for Charing Cross station (Bakerloo and Northern Lines), and for Southeastern services at London Charing Cross heading towards Kent. Continuing onwards to Whitehall for Horse Guards Parade, before reaching Westminster and Parliament Square not long after. Navigating through Parliament Square, the bus decided to go past Westminster Abbey and St James Park, the office buildings and shops making an appearance. 

Victoria. One of the last busy areas we pass through in Central London. Passing Westminster Cathedral, the bus stop for Victoria station (Circle, District and Victoria Lines), is immediately twisting left, opposite the Apollo Theatre. Heading to the main London Victoria station, served by Southern and Southeastern, you can get train services towards South London, or even further towards Kent and Sussex. The bus emptied out here which was a relief, as I pretty much had to endure a packed bus since Camden Town! A few twists and turns led us to Wilton Road, essentially a backstreet section of Victoria. A Sainsburys shop had appeared to the right of me, one those shops that I pretty much went to a few times in the past. The scenery began to change again with an eventual left turn, passing through more housing, it felt quite posh though this time. Pimlico. Passed through St George's Square, where you can alight for Pimlico station (served by Victoria line). Getting close now but at the next set of traffic lights we turned right, this road featuring  a mixture of housing, a few shops and parked cars on both sides of the road. This route seems to like twisting and turning, as a left hander followed at the next traffic lights, though I could see the railway bridge and Battersea Power Station across the River Thames. The lights went green, we made the final left hand turn onto Grosvenor Road, the terminus of the route arriving at 4:15pm. 

Battersea Power Station seen across the River Thames.

Was quite the journey to make but happy to have done the route, I would say it's perfect if you like touristy routes, as this route covers the main ones. It took me around 75 minutes to do end to end, so not too bad considering the length is 7 miles in total. This route was actually proposed in recent times to be withdrawn by Transport For London (TFL) as part of their consultations they do. It managed to avoid being axed so it survives... for now.

Battersea Power Station seen in the distance.

Grosvenor Road, at the first bus stop for route 24 heading towards Hampstead Heath.

If you want to kill time, then yes I recommend the route - preferably during the quieter times of day such as early morning.

Thanks for reading and happy riding!

The Elizabeth Line Experience

Hello! Hope you are doing okay. Last year one of the biggest rail projects that has been heavily delayed, was finally opened to the public on Tuesday 24th of May 2022. The Elizabeth Line. Crossrail. Whatever you want to refer to it as. It's original date was supposed to be in 2018, but there were so many complications that arose as the project progressed through. Anyways, regardless, in this blog post I will be discussing my ride with the Elizabeth Line on two separate days and how it has been going since then. 

A TFL Rail Class 345 is seen at Goodmayes station on a service towards Gidea Park. This photo was taken a couple of days before the rebranding to "Elizabeth Line".

 

The opening day on the 24th of May 2022 was quite something. People all around the world had come to witness the brand new railway being opened, even going as far as camping nearby or staying in a hotel that they booked to catch the first train out of London Paddington. I am sure on that day it must have been fun, although I was unable to make the trip on that route. It's also worth noting that this was part of Phase 1 of the line opening in stages. 

Phase 1 - Tuesday 24th of May 2022:

The section between Abbey Wood and Paddington opens to the public, with the East and West sections of the route being rebranded from TFL Rail to Elizabeth Line.

- London Paddington to Abbey Wood (Central section)

- London Paddington to Heathrow Airport Terminals 4 and 5/Reading (West section)

- London Liverpool Street to Shenfield (East section)

At the time of operation the line was not fully connected, so to access the West sections (i.e. towards Heathrow Airport and Reading) passengers at Paddington had to go platforms 11, 12 and 14. Similarly for Liverpool Street, passengers needed to change over to platforms 16, 17 and 18 to continue their onward journey towards; Stratford, Romford and Shenfield. The central section was also not operational on Sundays as a result of engineering works, to ensure everything was running okay and to iron out any issues. Another thing, is that Bond Street station did not open in time with the other stations, but the station itself fell behind schedule meaning - it needed more time to be fully complete. So yes, as much as it was a grand opening it felt like one part of a jigsaw puzzle that is missing. 

The Elizabeth Line map showing Phase 1 of the Elizabeth Line, with the stations at Liverpool Street and Paddington showing where passengers had to change platforms to continue their journey. 

This information was also displayed on the maps, upon rebranding of the route.

Phase 2 - Sunday 6th of November 2022:

The East and West sections are connected to the central section of the Elizabeth Line, with the route now running seven days a week. 

- Heathrow Airport Terminal 4/Terminal 5 to Abbey Wood (the West route now goes via the central section)

- London Paddington to Shenfield (the East route now goes via the central section)

It had been a couple of months since the Elizabeth Line opened, though soon another section of the route become operational. The West and East sections had become connected up to the core section, which was good news for me as I needed to go somewhere on the day. Here's how it went.

It was a cold and rainy Sunday morning, as I walked into Chadwell Heath station while I waited for the train. Roughly around 10:15am the train arrived onto the platform with the destination boards displaying "Paddington", this did slightly baffle me a bit as I was used to seeing "London Liverpool Street" but then I realised what happened - the second phase of the Elizabeth Line had arrived and coincidentally being the first day I hopped onboard. 

The interior of the Class 345s taken during the evening rush hour, a few days after phase 2 become operational. The train has largely longitudinal seating, though transverse seats are also present on some some carriages seen above in the other carriage.

To give you a bit of context, the train that I boarded was the Class 345 Aventra built by Bombardier Transportation. 70 of these trains were built between 2017 and 2019, with the first train entering service in June 2017 under the TFL Rail brand. I have already covered a blog post on this already and contains a bit of background on TFL Rail itself. Click here for more information on that. Upon introduction, the trains were 7 carriages, as of now all trains on the route are 9 carriages and over 200m long. They are fully air conditioned (a plus on the previous passenger train stock that was lacking), equipped with free Wifi and has a mix of longitudinal seating (the front and rear being fully this type) while near the middle of the train there are some transverse seats, as this line goes outside of Greater London boundary. 

Departing Chadwell Heath (at 10:20am) through the miserable weather, we made our way towards Central London. Of course since these trains were introduced, I had been quite familiar with the seating layout and luckily I managed to bag a two by two seat facing the window, just to let you know, these seats are popular and tend to get taken up quickly. So if those seats are empty when you board the train - go for it. There are no toilets or USB charging sockets onboard, the latter being something that new trains nowadays tend to come equipped with but, given the intense services these trains have to go through, you have to question whether it's worth it or not. The announcements are pretty much straight to the point, albeit it does sound robotic, that said I am sure passengers wouldn't want to be listening to bombarded next station information! Some of the stations that we stopped at on route (Seven Kings, Manor Park, Forest Gate and Maryland) could not accommodate the full 9-car, due to where they are situated thus, the doors on that carriage didn't open. Despite all the platforms being extended on the route but hey ho...

By the time we got to Stratford, the loads started to pick up a little bit - maybe not too much due to the weather. Usually at Stratford station I would have gotten off and changed over to the other platform to get a Central Line train. Not anymore. Not on this journey, as after a couple of minutes waiting (presumably we arrived early) we departed away and a view of the Olympic Park became visible. Turning off the Great Eastern Main Line, could only mean one thing.... underground!!! That's right, we entered a tunnel and now running underground for the remainder of the journey into Central London, taking about roughly 6 to 7 minutes to reach Whitechapel. Our next stops were; Whitechapel, Liverpool Street, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road. I needed to change at Tottenham Court Road (arrival into the station at around 10:51am) for an onward connection elsewhere but wow... those platforms are certainly spacious! No kidding, each of the stations here felt futuristic. I enjoyed travelling onboard this journey, particularly through the core. 

The platforms westbound at Tottenham Court Road - very large indeed!

 

Information displayed at Tottenham Court Road informing passengers where to exit the station at.

Information showing how long it would take to get from one station to another. Also includes timetable information - considering the date at the time I took this photograph, the timetable most likely would have been updated.

The second part of my Elizabeth Line journey occurred on Sunday 15th of January 2023. At Tottenham Court Road, I decided to instead of going home, have a look at Paddington station and explore another section of the route. So I took a short journey from Tottenham Court Road to Paddington calling only at Bond Street along the way and arrived at London Paddington. Very spacious when I arrived, even had designed "clouds" on the rooftop to make you think it's actually shining outside. Well, guess what, you're wrong! I spent 10 minutes exploring the station before boarding another Elizabeth Line service.

I made my way down to the Elizabeth Line platforms after taking in views of the station at London Paddington. The next service towards Abbey Wood came by and was notably busy, as it served stations from the West section of the route (i.e. from Heathrow and Reading). Departing Paddington, after serving a couple of stations in Central London, we made our way towards Whitechapel and this is where the line splits in two sections after leaving the station. Diverging onto the Abbey Wood branch, we headed to Canary Wharf, staying underground until emerging from the tunnel to serve Custom House station. Going through two tunnels, (the second tunnel of which goes under the River Thames) Woolwich station followed, another underground station and the penultimate stop for this service. Couple of minutes later, the daylight appeared once again rising out of the tunnel, with the terminus of Abbey Wood station following briefly. The whole journey took around 30 minutes, felt insanely quick!  

The station entrance at Abbey Wood station.

The station entrance is situated on a bridge, with around 7 main TFL routes (as well as one night route) serving the station, some of which have had their routes altered, or have been newly introduced to serve the Elizabeth Line. You might immediately think that with the greenery and housing development around that you're outside of London. Yes, although there a couple of shops including a big Sainsburys if you exit and head towards the left. My explore here was brief, though I am sure for passengers that regularly use this station, are happy that they have a quicker alternative to Central London and beyond, seeing as the two other train operators (Southeastern and Thameslink) are under National Rail and goes to London Bridge, which must be a tedious journey just to interchange onto other lines. Nonetheless, they do have services that head towards Kent, so, definitely handy. The station is Zone 4 believe it or not.

A Elizabeth Line Class 345 is seen at Abbey Wood station about to start a service towards Heathrow Terminal 5.

It was certainly an interesting journey, however, I needed to catch to the next service out of Abbey Wood and given how long they take on Sundays compared to weekdays, I wasn't going to take the risk of getting a later service. Conveniently, there was a Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 bound train on the platform (seen above) thankfully as I had time, the departure wouldn't be for another 10 minutes meaning I managed to grab a seat (thank god, the standing was killing me on this day) and board another Elizabeth line service home at Whitechapel. Sadly, the lack of time meant I could not explore the Heathrow and Reading branches and even if I did go up to Reading (which is outside the Greater London boundary) my oyster card would not have been valid, though that adventure is for another day. 

Recently, Phase 3 began on Sunday 21st May 2023, enabling trains on the Eastern section to go from Paddington to Heathrow direct. Yes, direct. This means that the whole route is fully connected from east to west, a year later after opening. Here's how the services look now;

Phase 3 - Sunday 21st May 2023

The departure board inside the shelter at Goodmayes station, on the first day of Elizabeth Line services extending further to Heathrow.

The full route runs in seamless network with more trains running towards Heathrow Airport. Shenfield services from Paddington are extended to Heathrow.

- Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 to Abbey Wood

- Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 to Shenfield

- Maidenhead to Abbey Wood

- Reading to Abbey Wood

- London Paddington to Shenfield

Note: Some services may during the peak time, or early/late evening services go to London Paddington and London Liverpool Street. Additionally, some services may terminate at shorter destinations along the route. This is so that there are many trains running through the core section and to spread out the number of trains at the terminus. 

A Elizabeth Line Class 345 is seen approaching Goodmayes station on a service towards Heathrow Terminal 5.
Taken during: July 2023

Notably, on the more recent trips I tend to see that the Heathrow bound trains are more busier than the Paddington services, obviously since the train goes to Heathrow + passengers with suitcases boarding, it equals a recipe for a very busy journey - I imagine those passengers are slightly annoyed that they have to hold their suitcase with them, the Class 345s lacking a suitcase rack to store their belongings. Overall, the Elizabeth Line has completely transformed travel around London, in a good way, as getting to stations are quicker and require less interchanging which is a bonus. The stations served on the line is flourishing, to be expected. The trains, despite breaking down from time to time are nicely air conditioned and have a maximum operating speed of 90mph, with the acceleration being rapid departing from stations. Admittedly, the service as of late has been hit and miss, while the East section has been operating okay, the Abbey Wood and West sections, alright, considering it runs over an existing section of track west of Paddington, I accept, having said that, the Abbey Wood branch is the new bit and given that if a delay happens over there it causes alot of trouble for trains heading in other directions - especially signal failures. Those are the worst. The whole line just goes into meltdown mode. Otherwise, if you can overlook those minor things, the line is brilliant.     

What's next?

As for the Elizabeth Line the main project is complete, however, of course there will be extensions and proposals as such that eventually may come into place in the future. Generally, trains come every 7 minutes, note this may vary depending on what section of the line you are on. If you want more information on the timetable and about the line, click here as it provides the necessary information in regards to that. Alternatively, speak to member of station staff if any assistance is required or grab an Elizabeth Line leaflet at stations.

As I type this post, the trains currently serving the route are being equipped (one by one) with USB charging sockets - eventually the whole fleet will get them but at the moment its very early stages.

What else can I say? If this post does not encourage you to ride on the Elizabeth Line then I don't know what will, just try it out!

And with that, I know it has been a long one (as always), thank you for reading and happy riding on the Elizabeth Line!