The £20 billion Elizabeth line has opened to Londoners with much fanfare after people queued throughout the night to take the first trains from Paddington and Abbey Wood.
There were extraordinary scenes and a party atmosphere as hundreds of passengers, the first of whom had been waiting since midnight, rushed down two flights of escalators to the platform to await the 06.33am, the first train to depart Paddington.
As the train set off bang-on time, Mayor Sadiq Khan exclaimed “phew!” and gave Transport for London commissioner Andy Byford a bear hug. Mr Khan, cupping his ear, told the Evening Standard: “Do you know what sound that is? Success.”
Mr Khan said: “It's a landmark day.”
There were some confusion when passengers were evacuated from Paddington station just before 9am after a fire alarm. The incident was brief and the platforms were reopened within about 30 minutes.
The new line, also known as Crossrail, will transform the daily commute for Londoners, slashing journey times between key underground stations, like Paddington and Canary Wharf.
