Crossrail - Construction updates and progress towards opening (now expected 24 May 2022)

[BahrainLad]

Why on earth doesn’t it have 4G/5G in the tunnels and the platforms!?

 

[Roast Veg]

Why on earth doesn’t it have 4G/5G in the tunnels and the platforms!?

Because it hasn't been installed yet?

 

[BahrainLad]

Because it hasn't been installed yet?

Surely it should’ve been installed prior to opening?
it just seems ridiculous that a brand new line is going to open without cellular connectivity.

 

[Snow1964]

Why on earth doesn’t it have 4G/5G in the tunnels and the platforms!?

Who was going to pay for it in advance, there has been no customers upto now.

Actually there are dozens (maybe hundreds) of station platforms around the UK where can’t even get 3G yet, and of the approx 10,000 platforms in UK, very few have 5G

Expecting currently closed platforms to have 5G installed then remain unused until now, is unlikely to have made any commercial sense to any mobile operator

 

[zwk500]

Surely it should’ve been installed prior to opening?
it just seems ridiculous that a brand new line is going to open without cellular connectivity.

Given the delays, and the additional need for testing open mobile phone connectivity would required (to ensure no disruption to safety-critical or operationally necessary communications equipment), it's hardly surprising that's been pushed down the priorities.

 

[matt_world2004]

There will be wifi on board the trains. that will work in the tunnels.

 

[BahrainLad]

Have there been any other new build subway/metro lines that have opened in the last 10 years without cellular connectivity from day one? I’m thinking of the North South line in Amsterdam for example.

 

[Roger B]

Pleased to see they are getting on with it and not pursuing total perfection

Will they be using the Westbourne Park for reversing units from 24th, or will they just reverse at Paddington (if the trackwork permits - and I think I've read somewhere on this thread that it doesn't).

And if using Wesbourne Park, will the auto-reverse be used from day 1 - or is that expected to be introduced some time later?

Many thanks

 

[Agent_Squash]

Will they be using the Westbourne Park for reversing units from 24th, or will they just reverse at Paddington (if the trackwork permits - and I think I've read somewhere on this thread that it doesn't).

And if using Wesbourne Park, will the auto-reverse be used from day 1 - or is that expected to be introduced some time later?

Many thanks

They're using Westbourne Park without auto reverse iirc.

 

[Cowley]

Afternoon everyone.

We’ve decided to keep this thread running as it is up until opening day (hopefully the 24th May) at which point we’ll set up a new thread covering the start of services etc.
Obviously there’ll still be some outstanding work being done in various areas but it feels like a good time to close this lengthy one and start afresh with a new discussion.

Thanks all.

 

[matt_world2004]

If the first TfL rail from paddington is 4:40 am does that mean the first Abbey wood departure is going to be 4:10 when the service opens fully or will early morning and late evening trains continue to operate starting from paddington

Also the last train from the west gets into paddington at 00:40 does that mean the lat train getting into abbey wood would be at 1:10?

Seems like there is only a service closure of three hours.

 

[Basil Jet]

How would Stratford to Abbey Wood via Liverpool Street be quicker than DLR to Poplar, walk to Canary Wharf Elizabeth?

 

[Malaxa]

I’d question how much demand for carrying bikes through the core there would be. Unless there are loonies who just drag bikes round everywhere for the sake of it, surely the point of having a bike in London is to ride it to get from A to B. London may be big, but Zone 1 is small enough that getting around by bike is feasible.

No, the easily manageable demand, which would seem not to interfere with the smooth running of the system, would be on through journeys , say from Shenfield/Abbey Wood [and via changes from further east] to Reading and beyond. Do you enjoy cycling between Liverpool Street or London Bridge and Paddington?

 

[306024]

If the first TfL rail from paddington is 4:40 am does that mean the first Abbey wood departure is going to be 4:10 when the service opens fully or will early morning and late evening trains continue to operate starting from paddington

Also the last train from the west gets into paddington at 00:40 does that mean the lat train getting into abbey wood would be at 1:10?

Seems like there is only a service closure of three hours.

No Paddington and Liverpool St main line stations will be used for the early morning and late night trains. The maintenance time in the core is about five hours.

 

[JaJaWa]

The resolution ratio of this new map might be a little bit low...

Enjoy this PDF then https://content.tfl.gov.uk/elizabeth-line-car-line-diagram-may-2022.pdf

 

[AM9]

I hear that Shapps is whining about the Mayor announcing the opening day during the pre-election period. That's a bit rich coming from a party that closed parliament to stop detailed discussion on brexit.

 

[JaJaWa]

I hear that Shapps is whining about the Mayor announcing the opening day during the pre-election period. That's a bit rich coming from a party that closed parliament to stop detailed discussion on brexit.

The same Grant Shapps that Tweeted this? https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1521816090774577152

Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
@grantshapps
CROSSRAIL NEWS
London's newest tube - the Elizabeth Line - will be opening to passengers on 24 May.

Thanks to £9bn of Government support, it will transform the lives of Londoners for generations to come and deliver a £42 billion boost to the whole UK economy.



7:36 PM · May 4, 2022·Twitter Web App

(Image shows Elizabeth line opening date poster with the Conservatives logo rather than TfL logo)

 

[CapitalStar378]

The Canary Wharf interchange diagram suggests that there is one combined station but the Jubilee and DLR are quite a distance from the Crossrail complex. Should there not be a walking distance shown?

 

[Horizon22]

If the first TfL rail from paddington is 4:40 am does that mean the first Abbey wood departure is going to be 4:10 when the service opens fully or will early morning and late evening trains continue to operate starting from paddington

Also the last train from the west gets into paddington at 00:40 does that mean the lat train getting into abbey wood would be at 1:10?

Seems like there is only a service closure of three hours.

Where did you get that time from?

 

[DC1989]

The Canary Wharf interchange diagram suggests that there is one combined station but the Jubilee and DLR are quite a distance from the Crossrail complex. Should there not be a walking distance shown?

Indeed - Is Canary Wharf DLR station even the closest?

 

[Roger B]

They're using Westbourne Park without auto reverse iirc.

Many thanks Agent_Squash

 

[JonathanH]

Where did you get that time from?

The OP is referring to the current first train from Paddington (main station) to Heathrow and surmising that it should start from Abbey Wood or Shenfield when the line is fully open rather than continuing to run from Paddington (main station).

 

[Mikey C]

The Canary Wharf interchange diagram suggests that there is one combined station but the Jubilee and DLR are quite a distance from the Crossrail complex. Should there not be a walking distance shown?

Similarly they have the same NR symbol above Woolwich and Abbey Wood, when with the former the NR (and DLR) station is at a separate location, across a busy road

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

There's a spat between Grant Shapps and Sadiq Khan, about the latter announcing the opening date before the local elections tomorrow.
It is of course a joint DfT/TfL project, delivered by TfL.
From the BBC piece:

But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps accused the Labour mayor of breaking pre-local election rules by announcing the opening date a day before local elections take place across London on Thursday.
Mr Khan is chair of TfL, which made the announcement.
Rules restrict what communications activity can take place in the run-up to elections.
Mr Shapps said: "This announcement is an act of breath-taking political cynicism by the mayor.
"I am therefore immediately referring this breach to the Electoral Commission for investigation."

 

[Starmill]

There's a spat between Grant Shapps and Sadiq Khan, about the latter announcing the opening date before the local elections tomorrow.
It is of course a joint DfT/TfL project, delivered by TfL.

It's amazingly rich for Shapps to complain that Khan is breaking the law around the purdah when he himself is also doing the same thing, and has previously done so with the rail sale during the purdah.

 

[Horizon22]

The OP is referring to the current first train from Paddington (main station) to Heathrow and surmising that it should start from Abbey Wood or Shenfield when the line is fully open rather than continuing to run from Paddington (main station).

I don't see why that would be neccesarily the case, but it could. Start of service is normally a bit different, and will probably run direct from Old Oak Common into Paddington.

 

[Mikey C]

There's a spat between Grant Shapps and Sadiq Khan, about the latter announcing the opening date before the local elections tomorrow.
It is of course a joint DfT/TfL project, delivered by TfL.

It is a bit sneaky of Khan to announce this date on the the last day of campaigning for local elections, in London.

 

[AM9]

It is a bit sneaky of Khan to announce this date on the the last day of campaigning for local elections, in London.

It was confirmed to the DfT last week, so it's hardly a brand new announcement. There are a number of operational activites that need to start today for an opening on 24th so it would have got out anyway.
Of course it could be argued that announcing it for London today might have a negative effect on Labour's success tomorrow in places where the Conservatives will point out "uh! London getting the money again".

 

[mrmartin]

There will be wifi on board the trains. that will work in the tunnels.

But I assume that wifi will be using 4G/5G to backhaul from the trains via the tunnels? So the equipment must be all installed if there is going to be Wifi (assuming this on day 1, or will it be enabled later?).

 

[AM9]

But I assume that wifi will be using 4G/5G to backhaul from the trains via the tunnels? So the equipment must be all installed if there is going to be Wifi (assuming this on day 1, or will it be enabled later?).

But it doesn't need to be there on day one. Ironically the time spent in the underground core is hardly long enough to be an issue for a few months. Better to have a functioning railway without it for the time being.