It’s almost four years late, has cost a whopping £19billion and has seen its opening date pushed back several times, but finally the Crossrail project to build a new West-East cross-London railway line will open in the next few weeks as the Elizabeth line. Originally conceived in the 1940s, with plans presented in the 1970s, a project team forming in 1999 and final legal powers awarded in 2008, it has been a marathon effort by generations of transport planners, campaigners and officials to give birth to the line which will provide 10 per cent extra capacity (space) to London’s rail network.

As it has been such a lengthy journey, the same transport planners, campaigners and officials have been conscious to avoid delays for any future major London transport projects such as Crossrail again. It means they have already started planning a second and third Crossrail, even though the first is not technically open yet. Transport for London (TfL) even has a dedicated ‘Crossrail 2’ team ( which is currently ‘frozen’ due to its financial crisis and pandemic-related losses).

Crossrail 2 would not likely open until the late 2030s, with Crossrail 3 in the 2040s looking at current proposals but both of them have the same function as the initial Crossrail project (aka Crossrail 1/Elizabeth line ) – to de-congest existing lines which will imminently reach maximum capacity and to provide a new cross-London transport corridor for areas of significant growth. MyLondon takes a look at exactly what is going on with each of these projects and what they mean.

READ MORE:London’s major transport projects we could see by 2050 and how likely it is they’ll actually happen

Crossrail 1

Status: Imminent

When current plans expect it to open: Before June 30

Also known as:Elizabeth line

Where it will go : Reading/Heathrow Airport – Central London – Abbey Wood via Canary Wharf/Shenfield via Stratford

Why: The aim of Crossrail 1 (to be known as Elizabeth line from opening day) is to de-congest the London Underground Central and Jubilee lines plus parts of the DLR which are reaching maximum capacity, as well as introducing quicker, easier cross-London links to key destinations including Canary Wharf, Paddington, Heathrow Airport, the West End, Farringdon and the City.

It will also massively speed up cross-London journey times, with Farringdon to Canary Wharf taking just nine minutes. Heathrow will be directly linked to Canary Wharf for the first time. The line also provides a new river crossing at Woolwich, which will help ‘cut a corner’ of the Southeastern-DLR interchange thousands of commuters make every day at Woolwich and Greenwich.

The main advantages and winners : East and West London thanks to improved journey times, especially Custom House, Woolwich and Canary Wharf. Those with extra mobility needs will also benefit from all stations being 100 per cent step-free train-to-street.

The main disadvantages and losers : Thames Valley and people travelling from stations on the Greenford Branch line – they have lost their direct train services to/from Paddington.

The latest development: The line is currently in the absolute final stage of testing and is waiting safety approval from the regulator ORR. When this happens, TfL will announce the official opening date to the public which is expected to be between May 15 and June 30. A software update took place at Easter to boost performance but TfL commissioner Andy Byford wants the line to be ‘flawless’ so will not open the line pre-maturely within his self-defined deadline.

Crossrail 2

Status: Paused

When current plans expect it to open: Late 2030s

Also known as:Chelney line, Chelsea-Hackney line

Where it will go : Surrey (various destinations currently served by SWR) – Wimbledon – Clapham Junction – Central London – Angel – Dalston – New Southgate via Turnpike Lane or Wood Green / Broxbourne via Tottenham Hale

Why: The Victoria line physically cannot be improved – its trains are already automated, there are trains every minute in the rush hours and there is not much room at the line’s terminus stations to rebuild them without causing a massive inconvenience for years. Crossrail 2 duplicates much of the Victoria line on a southwest-northeast axis so would massively help to de-congest, reducing instances of current overcrowding. This is similar to the principal aim of Crossrail 1 in de-congesting the Central line.

The main advantages and winners: Everyone who currently uses the Victoria line – it won’t be as busy. Surrey – Oyster/contactless would be likely extended. Chelsea – there would be a new station on the King’s Road. People who use Euston, King’s Cross and St Pancras International stations – the Crossrail 2 platforms would be built in-between the stations which would effectively join them all up into one, accessible gigantic station complex similar to Chatelet or Auber stations in Paris.

The main disadvantages and losers: Some Outer London and Home Counties rail stations would no longer have a direct service to Waterloo or Liverpool Street as services would be diverted onto Crossrail 2 instead. The services would be more frequent though, with cross-platform interchange at Wimbledon or Meridian Water/Tottenham Hale.

The latest development: Michele Dix, TfL’s Crossrail 2 boss, retired after the project was mothballed by Sadiq Khan in the face of TfL’s current funding crisis. There are no immediate plans to restart the project, although it is very much still on the table – the British Library’s recently announced extension plans do account for a new Crossrail 2 station underneath it.

Crossrail 3

Status: Not started

When current plans expect it to open: 2040s

Also known as: Thameslink 2

Where it will go : West Anglia/Stansted Airport/East Hertfordshire/Shenfield – Stratford – Canary Wharf – Lewisham – Croydon – Gatwick/Brighton

Why:Inner East London is seeing the highest growth in rail passenger numbers across the country. Last year, Stratford was the busiest station in the entire country and half of the top 10 interchange stations in the country were in the area, all served by London Overground. To keep up with that growth, an additional heavy transport solution is needed. Crossrail 3 would effectively provide a new commuter belt for Stratford and Croydon, which are rapidly becoming cities of their own.

It is being pitched as a solution as the current London Overground East London line cannot have its platforms extended at key locations such as Canada Water so will reach maximum capacity. In addition, the DLR between Stratford and Lewisham still has single track sections which reduce overall capacity and the Jubilee line is one of the most intensively used Tube lines on the network. Depending on the route selected, trains on the new line could also have the potential to serve Stansted, Southend and Gatwick Airports as well as the international station at Stratford, a short walk away from the main station.

Railfuture, a railway campaign group promoting the proposal, recommends the line is referred to as ‘Thameslink 2’ as unlike the other Crossrail projects, it will not go through Zone 1 and the service pattern will be more akin to the current Thameslink service, with mix of fast and all stations services to many destinations instead of that of the Elizabeth line.

The main advantages and winners: East London – would provide an additional river crossing and further de-congest the busy Jubilee line and DLR in addition to Crossrail 1/Elizabeth line. Outer London – would massively speed up journey times on cross-London journeys by avoiding Zone 1 (Croydon to Stratford just 30 mins). Home Counties – parts of Hertfordshire, Essex, Surrey and Sussex would have two rail options to cross the capital.

The main disadvantages and losers: Residents along the route would probably see years of construction work causing disruption. The current West Anglia and Brighton Main Line services would likely see some services diverted or changed in order to accommodate the new services.

The latest development: The line has been considered in Network Rail planning documents, notably in regards to the Brighton Main Line and Croydon reconfiguration works but has yet to be adopted formally by any major transport organisation.

Which of the three Crossrails do you think would have the biggest impact on London? Tell us in the comments below!

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