First look inside new Elizabeth line train ahead of Crossrail launch

Unveiled: The first Elizabeth line train
PA
Hatty Collier29 July 2016

These are the first images of a new Elizabeth line train ahead of the launch of the £14 billion Crossrail project next May.

It is the first in a fleet of 66 air-conditioned trains, which will operate on the Elizabeth line, linking Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood in south-east London to Heathrow and Reading, via Canary Wharf and Oxford Street.

Transport for London commissioner Mike Brown was today driving the train on Bombardier Transportation’s test track in Derby. He said the trains, to be introduced in stages, were “a showcase for British design and manufacture”.

The new ‘Class 345’ trains will enter service when the first section of the line, which will be known as Crossrail, opens next May between Liverpool Street and Shenfield in Essex. It is believed the final interiors may differ in design to the first look seen today.

Step inside: the interior of an Elizabeth Line train (Twitter/@ianvisits)
@ianvisits

The first trains will initially be seven carriages and 160 metres long to fit existing platforms at Liverpool Street.

Step inside: the seats on the new Elizabeth line
Railway Gazette International

A full nine carriage, 200 metre-long train, with a capacity of 1,500 people, will be introduced on the line from May 2018, initially between Heathrow and Paddington.

A test engineer on the first Elizabeth line test train 
Joe Giddens/PA

Val Shawcross, London's Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “These state-of-the-art trains will play a key role in London’s future – helping to deliver a modern, world class transport system through the new Elizabeth line and enabling London’s transport network to cope as our population rises.

“Alongside the new and modernised stations they will serve, the new trains will transform travel across London and will make life better for millions of Londoners.”

Launch: How the trains will look 
Joe Giddens/PA

The rail route will officially become the Elizabeth line when the trains start running through central London in December 2018.

Inside the train, seats upholstered in bright orange material line the walk-through carriages.

The outside of the train is splashed with a deep purple in keeping with the Elizabeth line’s royal name and colour theme.

Transport Minister Lord Ahmad, said: “The Elizabeth Line and its new trains are a great example of our commitment to improve passenger journeys by investing in one of the most ambitious infrastructure programmes ever undertaken in the UK.

Inside the new Elizabeth line train 
Railway Gazette International

"This investment will transform the way people travel across London and beyond. And it doesn’t stop here. The Government is spending record amounts on upgrading the rail network, providing a huge boost to capacity to keep Britain moving, support economic growth and bring our country closer together.”

TfL has also released timelapse footage of engineers building the new train piece by piece.

The first train will now undergo a rigorous testing programme and will be loaded with over one hundred tonnes of weight to simulate being full of passengers.

Once fully launched in 2019, the Elizabeth line is expected to carry about half a million passengers per day.

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