A new Crossrail station has been completed ahead of the expected opening of the Elizabeth Line within the first half of this year, TfL has confirmed.
Burnham station has been upgraded with a brand-new accessible ticket office building, a cycle parking area, and a lift to provide step-free access as it prepares to welcome Elizabeth Line services before the summer.
Situated between Slough and Reading, Burnham station will eventually connect Elizabeth Line passengers with central London as well as Shenfield in the east.
Initially, passengers from Burnham will have to change at Paddington for services into central London as Crossrail will be split into three separate railways until the full route opens at a later date.
Howard Smith, the chief operating officer of the Elizabeth Line, said: “Burnham station has had quite the transformation ahead of the Elizabeth Line opening in the first half of this year. The improvements, particularly the bright new ticket office building and the new cycle parking area, will help make Burnham station and the surrounding area a far safer and easier place to navigate.”
TfL commissioner Andy Byford revealed last week that the Elizabeth Line is “tangibly close” to completion after a four-year delay and having gone almost £4 billion over budget.
Mr Byford said he was “delighted with the progress we’re making” and that Crossrail “really is that close” to being finished.
Last month, Canary Wharf became the latest Elizabeth Line station to be handed over to TfL following the completion of upgrades, leaving just Bond Street to be completed on the central section of Crossrail.
With a second phase of “dress rehearsal” trials having began on Elizabeth Line services at the end of January, TfL documents have revealed that there is an 80 per cent chance the line will open in June 2022.
