GWR customers can look forward to even greater connectivity with next phase of Elizabeth line

From Sunday 6 November, customers travelling on through central London can look forward to even better connectivity, with a train every 163 seconds between Paddington and Whitechapel during peak hours.

Customers will also be able to use the Elizabeth line seven days a week as Sunday services commence for the first time.

The brand-new Bond Street Elizabeth line station, at the heart of London’s West End, is also set to open by November.

Since the central section of the Elizabeth line opened in May, more than 11 million journeys have been made between Paddington and Abbey Wood – more than 200,000 daily journeys. 

Ahead of the Elizabeth line opening and to illustrate the improvement in journey times, local railway historian Tim Dunn took part in a race against himself using both the Elizabeth line and traditional London Underground:

GWR regional growth manager Edward Goose said:

“We know the Elizabeth line has proved extremely popular with GWR customers who have taken advantage of significant journey-time savings from Paddington into key parts of the city.

“This announcement for the next phase on 6 November is incredibly exciting, delivering even greater connectivity and – with services commencing on Sundays ­– greater flexibility for our leisure customers visiting the capital at weekends.  

“The opening of the new Bond Street station will also be great news, taking passengers to the heart of one of the busiest shopping districts in the UK.

“This will help to make travel on GWR services into the capital even more compelling, attracting new customers across our network and boosting demand as we continue to work to attract customers back to the railway.”

November’s next stage will see the lines from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield connect with the central tunnels of the Elizabeth line. This means customers travelling from Reading and Heathrow will be able to travel east all the way to Abbey Wood without changing at Paddington.

Customers travelling from Shenfield in Essex will be able to travel west all the way to Paddington without changing at Liverpool Street, opening faster, more convenient journeys to prized destinations across the GWR network.

The frequency of services in the central section between Paddington and Whitechapel will increase from 12 trains per hour to up to 22 trains per hour in peak times and 16 trains per hour during off-peak.  

Ahead of the changes, from Monday 5 September, extended opening hours will run on the Elizabeth line between Paddington and Abbey Wood from around 0530 to around 2300. 

The final timetable, bringing full end-to-end journeys and up to 24 trains per hour during the peak between Paddington and Whitechapel, is on track to be in place by May 2023. 

Find out more about the Elizabeth line here.