Revealed: TfL’s Elizabeth Line had more cancellations than any other railway line in July and August… just MONTHS after Sadiq Khan opened new line, data shows
- 9.1% of Elizabeth line trains cancelled in four weeks to August 19, ORR reveals
- Passengers infuriated by problems over train reliability and infrastructure
Elizabeth line passengers have suffered the most cancellations of any UK rail service in the past two months, official data has revealed – with nearly one in ten trains axed.
The £18.9billion line in new tunnels through Central London was launched in three sections in May 2022 to great fanfare by Mayor Sadiq Khan – who hugged colleagues and posed for selfies on the first train – before the full timetable began this May.
But a troubled rollout amid problems over train reliability and infrastructure in recent months has infuriated passengers, with some left stranded in tunnels or at stations.
Transport for London (TfL) apologised today after Office of Rail and Road (ORR) data revealed Elizabeth line cancellations hit 9.1 per cent in the four weeks to August 19.
This was more than any other UK rail operator – with CrossCountry being the second worst at 7.5 per cent; then Grand Central and Northern Trains, both at 6.5 per cent.
There was disruption once again across the Elizabeth line today due to a broken down train at Paddington. One passenger posted a photo this morning of huge queues at Woolwich station
Following behind were TransPennine Express at 6.4 per cent and Great Western Railway at 5.4 per cent. The best performing was Caledonian Sleeper at 0.3 per cent.
Overall, the ORR reported cancellations across Britain rose to 3.9 per cent from 3.3 per cent in the previous four weeks.
They are now at their highest level in eight months since being at 8 per cent in the four weeks to January 7, 2023.
The latest period was the worst month by far for the Elizabeth line since it launched 15 months ago. Its previous high for cancellations was 4.3 per cent in the four months to March 31 this year – less than half the latest proportion.
The line running from Heathrow Airport and Reading in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east opened £4billion over budget and four years late.
And despite passengers praising its quick and pleasant journeys when timetables run to plan, others have been taking to social media to complain about disruption which is causing them to be late for work or social engagements.
This morning, there was disruption once again across the line due to a broken down train at Paddington. One commuter said on X: ‘New week, more Elizabeth Line cancellations and delays.’
Another added: ‘Elizabeth Line don’t start again… too early for this.’
A third said: ‘Elizabeth line strikes again. When will it become efficient?’
A fourth posted a picture of huge queues at Woolwich station, saying: ‘Irony: watching a piece on BBC London about how the Elizabeth line is always delayed at 7.30, greeted by this sight in Woolwich at 8.30.’
Former Transport Minister, who now works for the Campaign for Better Transport, told MailOnline today: ‘The Elizabeth line has been a huge success and enabled speedy connections that simply did not exist before.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan embraces Transport for London Commissioner Andy Byford as they travel on the first eastbound train on the Elizabeth Line from Paddington on May 24, 2022
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan poses for a selfie on the first Elizabeth line train on May 24, 2022
‘It is a pity therefore that the line has had a rough period in terms of cancellations, which appears to be largely down to Network Rail.
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‘It is important that Network Rail doubles down to prevent any further recurrence of their poor performance on this line.’
MailOnline has contacted Network Rail for comment on these claims.
Elizabeth line director Howard Smith said today that issues with signalling systems and a broken maintenance train were among the reasons behind disruption reported in the ORR data.
He told MailOnline: ‘The Elizabeth line has rightly and quickly become one of the most popular railways in the country. It has also been one of the most reliable, but we have had a difficult period which included disruption for our customers for which we apologise.
‘There were a number of recent issues including significant problems with Network Rail’s signalling systems and infrastructure on the western section, and a defective maintenance train.
‘We continue to work with all parties involved in the Elizabeth line to provide a safe and reliable railway. This includes our partners, such as Network Rail, and a programme of upgrades delivered by the train manufacturer, Alstom, will further improve reliability of our fleet of trains.’
The Elizabeth line has been a big success for TfL in terms of usage, with it having carried more than 200 million passengers since opening in May 2022 and more than four million passenger journeys now taking place each week.
However, the western section of the route was hit by a major Network Rail signalling system outage from July 25 on the western section.
People queue for the Elizabeth line at Paddington station before the first train on May 24, 2022
The first passengers for the Elizabeth line at Paddington go down an escalator on May 24, 2022
The line runs from Heathrow and Reading in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east
This severely impacted services for two days and meant trains were not able to easily get to and from the Old Oak Common depot, located in Acton near the proposed HS2 station.
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Then on August 16, there was another incident where a maintenance train leaked hydraulic fluid within the central tunnel section of the line.
This fluid had to be cleaned from more than 1.2 miles (2km) of track before TfL could safely run again services. The line was part suspended from Abbey Wood to Whitechapel for most of that day, which severely limited the number of trains that could run.
Sources at TfL confirmed a review had ‘already resulted in changes to maintenance practices and to incident management’ following this disruption.
It followed disruption on May 16 that saw rush-hour passengers trapped on an Elizabeth line service for 75 minutes, with the delay so long that one passenger allegedly had to urinate on the carriage floor because there were no toilets on board.
TfL also claimed in July that the Elizabeth line was responsible for 140,000 ‘new’ journeys in London each day, and said more than a third of those who have switched from the Underground preferring it over the Central line.
Transport bosses have also now named Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon and Liverpool Street stations as being the first to get superfast 4G connectivity by the end of this year.
TfL said the line’s seven other subterranean stations and tunnels are set to get signal by the end of April, as transport bosses also ramp up the 4G rollout across the Underground network over the coming months.
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