Has the Elizabeth line paid for itself?

Important as this central government contribution has been to the project, it needs to be put in context: pandemic years apart, London contributes a tax surplus equivalent to two whole Crossrails every year. So we can justifiably say that London has paid for the new line.



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As a result, roughly 40 per cent of the nearly £19bn cost has been paid for by London's businesses. This is not money that would have otherwise been spent in other ways, but new money on top of existing tax contributions, with the balance coming from London government, Network Rail and general government funds.

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Is the Elizabeth line making money? TfL's Finance Report Period 7, 2022/23 says “Journeys on the Elizabeth line (EL) have been above expectations since the opening of full services on 24 May. Journeys are 20 million better than Budget in the year to date, with income £29m higher than expected.

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Construction of the line hit £18.9 billion, that's $25 billion, but Byford said in March that £150 million was still needed to finish the project. Crossrail Ltd was still figuring out how to fund the additional costs, he said.

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Why isn't the Elizabeth Line considered a London Underground line? There are two key reasons why TfL does not consider the Elizabeth Line to be an addition to the Tube network. The first is that the line goes across a large amount of the National rail network, using Great Eastern and Great Western infrastructure.

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Transport for London (TfL) has increased fares to try and raise £27 million per year. These are a part of the conditions that have been imposed by the government, which has seen TfL granted a £3.6 billion bailout.

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How much does it cost to travel on the Elizabeth line? Fares are the same on the Elizabeth line as the rest of the London Underground network and vary by the time you travel (peak and off-peak fares), as well as how many zones you travel through.

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While the tunnelling had gone OK, the technical side of things was faltering. Three signalling systems didn't want to talk to the new trains. Bond Street station slipped badly behind. The project suffered a huge, undignified fall from grace and became a bit of a joke.

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The remaining 32p is spent on modernising and expanding the network and making it more accessible for the capital's growing population. So, yes, the tube makes money – but not a profit.

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The most controversial aspect of the new trains is that there are no toilets. A spokesman for TfL explained why. He said: Toilets are not provided on the TfL Rail/Elizabeth Line trains. Adding toilets to the trains would take up space and displace approximately 600 passengers per hour.

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The Elizabeth Line is about half the price of a full-fare Heathrow Express ticket, but takes twice as long to reach Paddington. Trains depart every 30 minutes and it takes just 35 minutes to travel between Paddington Station and Heathrow.

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Oyster cards You can pay as you go to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, most Elizabeth line, IFS Cloud Cable Car and Thames Clippers River Bus services. You can also travel on most National Rail services in London and some outside London. You can also add: Travelcard.

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Freedom Passes will be valid to use on all of the Elizabeth line including stops outside of London.

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