The much-delayed and over-budget opening of the Elizabeth Lane railway line in London, in the hope that it will provide the economic boost needed by the British capital and country.
Hundreds of people lined up in front of Paddington station in west London to board the first train, which left at around 0630 (0533 GMT). According to Transport for London (TfL), by 10 am, 130,000 people were on the line.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was one of the first passengers on the first train, told AFP the line was “a game changer for our country and our city”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the project is expected to bring up to £42bn ($52bn) to the British economy. And opened one of three lines between Paddington station and Abbey Wood in southeast London.
Nyana Saratat expressed her enthusiasm for the train and said: “I want to know its real speed. Now I have to take train, bus and subway to get to it. This line could cut my trip in half.” “It’s a big shift that’s been cut in half,” said David, 60, who was on a delegation to Abbey Wood after returning from a night’s work in central London.
Two other lines, between Shenfield in east London, Liverpool Street station, Heathrow Airport and Reading, west of the capital, and between Paddington station, will start operating next May. The line, named after Queen Elizabeth II, is expected to carry 200 million passengers a year, providing a 10% increase in the capacity of the British capital’s network.
Work on the project began in 2009 and was supposed to be launched in 2018. However, he ran into a number of problems and the cost rose to 18.9 billion, exceeding the budget by 3 billion.
