London’s Elizabeth Line, once known as the Crossrail project, has become the UK’s busiest single rail line, carrying half a billion travelers in its first two-and-a-half years.
The line, which operates as part of London’s Underground system, stretches from Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, is best-known for the very long, very deep and for years very disruptive tunnel which carries the line across central London, connecting with a host of other lines and services.
While the improved Heathrow connection may be the most obvious aspect for visitors, surveys indicate the line has made major differences for Londoners, easing some connections and creating job and housing opportunities in areas that were previously too difficult for connections. The line is being credited, at least partially, for 378,000 new jobs within one kilometer of its stations.
Image: Sunil060902/Wikimedia Commons