Farringdon station on the Elizabeth line
(Picture: Crossrail)You may think that London will gain a new Tube line when the Elizabeth line opens today (Tuesday 24) but the man who led its design disagrees. “It’s not the Underground, it’s not the Overground,” says Julian Robinson firmly. “It is its own thing.”
This is not just a proud father talking. The Elizabeth line uses its own full-size trains, is of enormous scale and operates somewhat differently. It may be part of London’s transport system but is its own special creation, like the DLR. Which is why, for instance, the purple roundels say “Elizabeth line” rather than just “Elizabeth” as is the convention on, say, the Bakerloo or Metropolitan. Rather than simply an additional line, it is a different “mode”, Robinson explains. “A conundrum,” he adds.
