Elizabeth line: Commuters say service 'not what was promised'

Commuters have told the BBC the Elizabeth line is overcrowded, unreliable and stressful to use

All of the huge modernist stations are now open and it is architecturally impressive, but what has service on the Elizabeth line been like since it opened in the summer?

Many say it has been hit and miss, and commuters in West Ealing have been in touch with me to highlight some of the problems.

They recorded some of their journeys for BBC London, and it doesn't look pleasant.

Many are really fed up with the delays and cancellations and above all the overcrowding.

Commuter Sophie Meyrick says it's "stressful" to use the Elizabeth line

Sophie Meyrick, who gets the Elizabeth line to work in Hammersmith, said: "I was expecting it to be a reliable, efficient service, where I'd get on the trains no problem. That's not what it is in reality.

"In reality, it is a very stressful experience most of the time. It wasn't what we were promised."

Another Elizabeth line user, Christal Douglas, said she liked the link to Heathrow, but had heard of multiple issues with the service.

Christal Douglas said when the service has problems it can be a "nightmare" to travel on

"When it works it's perfect; when it doesn't it's a nightmare," she said.

"My partner gets it and he's always complaining about it, and I know that neighbours are complaining about the crowds and not getting on."

Yoga teacher Justine Sullivan said she'd had to turn down work because of the line's unreliability.

"If you get on it it's great, but I would say more than half the time it's not predictable," she said.

"It's not reliable, it's too full, too busy and too stressful. What are the options? Get the bus, drive instead?"

The line's popularity with Heathrow passengers means carriages are often busy

One of the main problems they all mention is the volume of Heathrow passengers who use the service.

The Elizabeth line is cheaper than the Heathrow Express and faster than the Piccadilly line, so it is an attractive option.

But that means there is often a lot of luggage on the floor, in carriages with no luggage racks, meaning airline passengers and commuters are jostling for limited space.

The most recent TfL report on the Elizabeth line reflects on some of the issues it has faced.

These include many points failures in west London - where the infrastructure is owned and maintained by Network Rail, not Transport for London - as well as the impact of industrial action.

But if we look at the performance and reliability of the Elizabeth line, it is pretty good compared to other operators, with 93% of services arriving at the station within five minutes of when they are meant to.

The number of passengers using the Elizabeth line is also exceeding expectations, and continuing to increase.

A total of 3.5m journeys were made a week through November and January compared to the original estimate of 2m - the equivalent of about 600,000 journeys a day.

It's also important to note that the Elizabeth line isn't actually finished yet.

It won't be until May that it will operate as one railway and passengers will be able to travel end to end without changing.

The number of trains will also increase in most areas to 24 an hour - one every three minutes - although in west London TfL says trains will only increase to six an hour.

Howard Smith, from Transport for London, says the service is "getting more reliable week by week".

He said: "Since Christmas we have had some of our best performance ever on the line, so after a difficult period after launch we are confident we have got a good, reliable service going forward - more capacity from May, and faster journeys as well."

So are these just teething problems to be expected a new railway line opens?

Some commuters still need convincing. After waiting so long, they say the service simply isn't what they were promised and want to see improvements quickly.

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