London’s New £18BN Underground Railway

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The UK just opened a new £18.8 BN underground railway line in London. Since the 1940’s, dreamers have imagined a new underground rail line linking the Paddington and Liverpool Street stations in London, connecting the east and west. Then, in 2008, under the name Crossrail, the project was approved. Between 2009 and 2022, the enormous project was constructed. Over 40 kilometers of underground tunnels were bored, 10 new stations were excavated and constructed, and 50 kilometers of new tracks were laid. Then, on May 24th, 2022, the new line opened. Named the Elizabeth Line, it has increased London’s rail capacity by 10% and is expected to add £42 BN to the UK economy. It is a new favorite of London residents and will help commuters move across the city for the next 120 years.
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Thank you to the following sources!
Information
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossrail
www.theguardian.com/environme...
www.crossrail.co.uk/project/t...
www.therailwayhub.co.uk/10580...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...
www.railway-technology.com/an...
www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/doc...
Audio
Storyblocks
KZbin Audio Library
Graphics
Google Earth
Storyblocks
Crossrail
Video Chapters
00:00 - Intro
02:07 - Project Details
04:22 - Construction
09:53 - Elizabeth Line

[@hx0d]

Finally, a correct and well researched video, unlike the misinformation video about London made by OBF which claimed “no one was using transport” 🙄🙄

[@AnthonyBrusca]

OBF Plagiarizes anyway

[@yoleeliong2641]

@@AnthonyBrusca

[@christopherlloyd-roberts2205]

Shame he likes it to the tube, which it is not though 🙄.

[@curious5887]

@@AnthonyBrusca true, lot of OBF video (around 50 percent of his video) are copies of other but better video

[@kadinothebean3419]

There were a few mistakes bc I'm pretty sure crossrail trains are already operating to heathrow and places beyond Paddington to Abbey wood

[@eddolman3565]

Just a little correction, Elizabeth line services to Heathrow are in operation. They ran under the TFL rail branding for a while but the only difference is they dont run through Paddington onto Abbey Wood and instead terminate in Paddington alongside the GWR and Heathrow Express services. Apart from that great video :)

[@lesfuller5984]

Likewise, the Shenfield to Liverpool Street section of the Elizabeth Line is also in operation, having previously operated as TFL Rail for a number of years.

[@fem0]

@@lesfuller5984 same as reading to paddington

[@williamgardner2739]

Will you all just listen to yourselfs, arguing about a small subway. Don`t you know that on the other side of the M25 there is a place called Britain or UK, that could do well with the £18.8bn. NHS and the drugs problem to name a few springs to mind.

[@fem0]

@@williamgardner2739 you clearly need more funding in your schools if you can't tell that nobody is arguing anything. just adding extra bits of information.

[@Only1199]

@@williamgardner2739 says the guy moaning

[@YoungThos]

I've seen several videos on the Elizabeth Line at this point, and this is the one that has done the best job of explaining what it actually is (for someone not already intimately aquainted with the project)

[@gavinathling]

I agree. This video is like the ultimate encyclopedia entry on the Elizabeth line in engaging video format.

[@fastestslowest1864]

Who is Elizabeth

[@joshuaritchie3836]

@@gavinathling But it is not accurate in some areas.

[@MervynPartin]

@@fastestslowest1864 It's the name of the queen. They called it that because they want to get knighthoods, despite it being years late, still not complete and way over budget.

[@blava3155]

@@MervynPartin Actually not that way over budget and delays are very expected with projects of this magnitude and undertaking. Kudos for them for the work so far!

[@Unc3]

i love the new line - it is a massive step up compared to the older lines, and feels like you're in a whole different city when you ride the trains. Can't wait for all the lines to be proper connected in 2023

[@jakehandley3366]

So hold on a minute.. crossrail has been in planning since 40ss.. actually never mind that seems about right I mean Heathrow expansion planning was started 50 years ago, hopefully we’ll have it by 2089 👌🏻

[@jandron94]

By that time London will be flooded... better build some gondolas.

[@davidwright8432]

Optimist!

[@diiriyetv]

And Cross rail 2 is estimated to be completed?

[@john_something_or_other]

A few errors: 1) Tottenham Court station is actually Tottenham Court Road 2) Abbey Wood labelled as Stepney Green 3) It is not part of the London Underground 4) It already operates to Shenfield, Heathrow and Reading, but there are no through trains. These are to be added later in the year.

[@admiralbenbow5083]

Its also 5 years late and we have had to pay for that.

[@toobeast5485]

@@admiralbenbow5083 I’m in New Jersey, USA. All our rail plans for our region have been delayed because of the new tunnel between NYC. $20 Billion. It’s going to take us till 2035….

[@jackmartinleith]

... and Abbey Wood is in Kent, not east London, which is north of the Thames.

[@Cloudrak]

Good graphics and a nice briefing of the project. Like OBF but without the misinformation. Nice!

[@strawberry7799a]

Also without the plagiarism

[@SKAOG21]

@@strawberry7799a who did OBF plagiarise?

[@samsam21amb]

@@SKAOG21 Vox

[@Absolute_Zero7]

There is a bit, he refers to this line as if it was part of the London Underground - it isn't, the Elizabeth Line is a completely separate thing from LU..

[@SKAOG21]

@@samsam21amb ohhhh

[@tonycutler3769]

The Paddington-Reading branch I know for a fact is running, because I rode it on Saturday. And as far as I know the other branches are also running, they're just not connected with each other yet.

[@liamp1994]

Rode it for the first time last friday, it was amazing: fast quiet spacious and an oddly calm respite from the bustle up above. We ended up planning most of our week visiting london around the Liz Line stops!

[@donquixote2553]

Those bodies at Liverpool Street, were found to be customers waiting to be served in Hamilton Hall....😁

[@darthwiizius]

They were the original Crossrail planners, if it had taken much longer they would have been fossilised.

[@6z0]

So glad to see your channel doing well! I remember when you had

[@slavenmatic6819]

Here at 15k. One of the best channels

[@xandermcfield3519]

Almost to 200k subs

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Londoners: We had to wait a long time for Crossrail to finally open! The New Yorkers that have been waiting for East Side Access: *....that's rough, buddy* No surprise that the MTR is operating it, the MTR in Hong Kong is the one of the most impressive systems anywhere. They run on-time 99.9 percent of the time, and if there's a delay of more than 31 minutes, they must apologize and pay a fine to the HK government.

[@kadinothebean3419]

Ikr crossrail is so similar to the new territories line in Hong Kong! The screen doors, the space, the ventilation, e.t.c. (I went on crossrail on a hot day btw). It's such a big step up compared to the central line or Victoria line which I normally take!

[@marcoroberts9462]

@@kadinothebean3419 the Victoria line is amazing and better than crossrail. just look at the acceleration on that 2009 stock beast

[@kadinothebean3419]

@@marcoroberts9462 it depends what u what, good acceleration, etc or proper a.c., more room, etc. I may have stressed the a.c. on crossrail too much but it was 30°C, and when I went on the other deep level lines, it was unbearable!

[@jubrilliant4835]

Regarding about the last part, you are incorrect The Elizabeth Line is opened fully, it just hasn't been connected fully yet, so Paddington to Abbey Wood is once branch of it which is the one that recently been opened But Reading - Paddington and Liverpool Street - Sheffield branches have been opened for a good way as the "TFL Rail"

[@COMEINTOMYWORLD]

Absolutely fantastic video. The Elizabeth line is insane in its magnificence. That you can bounce between Soho, The City, and Canary Wharf in 5 stops is mind blowing.

[@kelvinhill9874]

We just arrived home in Australia from three weeks in London. We used the Elizabeth line almost every day and it was great.

[@michaelcampin1464]

Custom House is not a new station. It is a refurbished station. My grandmother used to live there at Vandome Close so I used to use the station when i visited her via the Spanish Steps pub lol

[@Hollandstation]

Great video! today exactly 1 week ago I got the chance to travel on this line myself when I was in London filming. It was a very good experience with its quiet trains compared to the underground!

[@tron1852]

it's so weird watching this having just hopped on this line last weekend multiple times without even thinking about it

[@BrunoMonstersChannel]

Really great video, thing I need to point out is the Elizabeth Line IS NOT part of the London Underground, it is a similar concept to Thameslink but operated by TfL

[@LowTierWitcher]

I’ve been in the Elizabeth line from Tottenham Court Road to Liverpool Street, and the experience was nice

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

The Elizabeth Line isn't an Underground line, it's a new mode of transport. Think of it like the RER in Paris and how it's different from the Paris Metro. It's like how the London Overground isn't a Tube line either but rather a suburban rail network currently operated by Arriva (and formerly MTR like the Elizabeth Line) on behalf of Transport for London. But in terms of beauty, our Pyongyang Metro has this beat by far

[@Stealth360stealth]

The fact you pronounced Reading correctly amazed me

[@svenstein5119]

what a nice video ...very good edited ... loved it !

[@zennnnyOfficial]

Rode the Elizabeth line the other day for the first time, and loved it! The trains are so spacious, and there was air-conditioning throughout. Really did help with the scorching weather we had!

[@sssdddkkksss]

Great video. Really well explained - good level of history

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

For the record, the Elizabeth Line isn't actually part of the London Underground - it's part of National Rail

[@MikeWillSee]

What an excellently well-made explainer video! I can tell a lot of effort went into the research and production of this so great video overall! My only criticism would be that when you show the map of the 10 new stations, you have the most easterly one marked as being 'Stepney Green' when in reality it's actually Abbey Wood. An easy mistake to make but still one I thought I should point out!

[@michaelcampin1464]

No it isnt. Abbey Wood is in South London. Stepney Green is in East London

[@MikeWillSee]

@@michaelcampin1464 have a look at a map of the Elizabath line. There is no station on it called Stepney Green. There is a station called Abbey Wood, which is the south-eastern terminus of the line.

[@michaelcampin1464]

@@MikeWillSee i didnt say there was i was just pointing out a basic fact that Abbey Wood is in South East London. I went to school at Stepney Green/ Bow Road so i know where they are

[@MikeWillSee]

@@michaelcampin1464 just checked and Abbey Wood is actually further east than Stepney Green, albeit south of the Thames. In any case that doesn't change the point I originally made, which is that it's the line's most Eastern terminus, and that it's labelled wrong on the map in this video.

[@michaelcampin1464]

@@MikeWillSee yes i agree it is the eastern most terminus until Shenfield is opened fully then itll be Shenfield although Abbey Wood will have servicing depot.

[@ChochoLevi]

Very good video helped me understand the history of Elizabeth line. Thank you very much.

[@dylan.t180]

Love your videos so informative and well explained

[@sheilasmith7991]

I've used crossrail a few times and it's amazing. It's fast, clean and plenty of space in the huge stations. Now we need crossrail 2 from south west London to north east London. To be honest, Thameslink the north to south line should surely be called crossrail 1, with the Elizabeth line being crossrail 2. That would make more sense because it actually does cross London, and also links many towns and cities in the south east of England. Anyway, I hope the Elizabeth line is extended in the future to link more of London's peripheral towns. It could continue to Dartford from Abbey Wood for example, or even continue to Gravesend or Rochester. In the west it could be extended to Basingstoke, Newbury and Oxford. I don't think this will happen but it's a good idea to extend the Elizabeth line to millions of other people in the region.

[@Olleetheowl]

Excellent video. Interesting, informative, and well produced..

[@alowais32]

Great video as usual 🎉

[@lesfuller5984]

Another small point is that it is: Tottenham Court Road station, not Tottenham Court. Great video though!

[@philiphart6688]

Great 'tube. Many thanks for creating and posting.

[@laudermarauder]

Superb video. Style and substance. Well done.

[@InSimonated]

The Pudd part of Pudding Lane, rhymes with 'Good' - not 'Mud'.

[@LightbulbTedbear2]

Such a weird mistake, since the word 'pudding' also exists in American English

[@InSimonated]

@@LightbulbTedbear2 Some KZbinrs deliberately mispronounce words to artificially drive content engagement, manipulate KZbin's algorithms to drive more traffic to their content, and ultimately score more advertising revenue. I don't think that's the case here, however if I notice further instances more ordinary words mangled into BS, it's an immediately unsubscribe for me.

[@cpkingadam5]

Good and mud do rhyme though ?

[@SkepticalSteve01]

@@cpkingadam5 Not really.

[@SkepticalSteve01]

@@LightbulbTedbear2 Route, pronounced “rowt” instead of “root”, is also mildly irritating. But the Americans won’t stop doing it. More irritation.

[@tortozza]

Thank you for making this fantastic video

[@labibastley]

The way abbey wood turned into stepney green in 3:04 😭😭

[@Junokaii]

Love the idea of a north to south crossline.

[@Flavor88]

Great to see awesome public transportation and accessibility. In Boston they planned since early 1990 to extend the metro system, they did in 2021 by adding 3 more stations. Great job Boston, 3 new station in 30 year 👏

[@jandron94]

Use your car, eat your popcorn and drink your soda !

[@Matttix94]

Love the video! Is there a source for the plan to extend to Staines btw? :)

[@user-fu3co7xc9h]

We are looking forward to an episode about the Thessaloniki Metro (U/C for 16 years now and way over budget) or the new Athens Metro Line 4 (which is currently U/C)

[@levichalcraft8702]

Just one thing that’s incorrect about this video, the Elizabeth line is not a tube line. It’s a National Rail service Otherwise this is a fantastic video and very well put together

[@sihollett]

It's a tube line and an underground line - running underground in a tube. It's just not a Tube line, or an Underground line, ie part of London Underground (though you should treat it as functionally part of that network, even if administratively part of a different one - it's frequent trains charging the same fare scale).

[@bob_0146]

A brilliant overview!

[@AndrewG1989]

Rumours has that Bond Street station is on course to be completed in September/October this year. And from early/mid 2023 trains will soon be able to run to & from Reading & Heathrow Airport to Abbey Wood & Shenfield (with some to terminate at Hayes & Harlington and Gidea Park).

[@ceruleangolem4936]

Nice video! Congratulations! Are you the Sam who got featured in the video?

[@FuturologyChannel]

He is my brother!

[@Samester48]

Excellent video! I have only one amendment to make to the information which is that in June 2022 (slightly before or around the time of this video’s release), I was on an Elizabeth like train from Reading, so they are operating there already

[@Someguy2458-r3j]

I have a Idea for a video, what about covering the Sydney Metro?, It's the largest Railway project in Australia, and is still under Partial Development

[@ratyjoona]

Having tested part of the line in early June...it's great!

[@socialistsolidarity]

One of the best videos I have seen on this project. Although, I think Crossrail sounds way better than Elizabeth line.🤷🏽‍♂I reckon many will keep calling it Crossrail, because it is still a rail line and not your traditional tube line, so it makes sense to call it that.

[@Progan666]

nope its the lizzy

[@qwertyTRiG]

It's the CrossElizPurp line.

[@MayankSharma01]

We are also making something like crossrail here in Delhi, RRTS it's trial would start later this year and will be fully operational by 2025.

[@darthwiizius]

I hear that you are going big on upgrading your rail infrastructure, great days ahead I think.

[@PatrickMapper]

The way he said pudding lmao

[@mothiurNCL]

00:30 where's the light railway DLR?

[@movieeater123]

Brilliant video

[@andrewmurray655]

Excellent !!!

[@zaydbhula1161]

As a user of the elixabeth line from Liverpool street I can say it can be annoying sometimes as elizabeth line has 2 different rails that I need to crossover. Dont know why but at least it works

[@robotnitchka]

They'll connect the tracks by 2023, then you won't need to change

[@tariqsiddique4561]

Nice video 👍 brother Iam from London

[@Noone-bi2gv]

great video

[@HomeboyHotel]

Impeccable video and thoroughly well researched! Don’t forget they also have capacity to extend the 7 car trains to 9 cars! And Tottenham Court Road is already future proofed should Crossrail 2 be built

[@Super_Trainspotter]

the trains are already 9 cars. the core stations have been built for 11 cars, which will be used in the future

[@gooseface2690]

I love this narrator's accent (or lack thereof)...seems so universal. Go London!

[@harrybarker4370]

It’s literally just an American one 😂

[@josh-gt9fm]

love how abbey wood is labelled as stepney green at 3:05 😭 they could not be 2 more different places if you tried

[@blacked2987]

The fundamental nature of the universe are not particles but fields. These are fluid-like substances that can be perturbed, they can vibrate and experience excitationsFields have the property that they can give their vibrations or energy away. If you shake the field hard enough, they will affect other fields. So in this decay, the energy of the quark fields of the Neutron can be transferred to the quarks fields of the Proton, plus electron field and antineutrino fields.Once you tap the field hard enough, however, a particle is created. This discrete unit of energy that the field can accept is what we call the rest mass energy of particles in a field. It is the fundamental amount of energy that must be added to the field in order to create a particle. Some particles like the Higgs Boson, require a lot of energy to create it. That’s why the Large Hadron collider had to be built to detect it.

[@neuralwarp]

It was written right there: Department for Transport. Not Transportation. Transportation is when you send convicts to the Americas.

[@grievousarmy4061]

9:58 The Elizabeth line is NOT A LONDON UNDERGROUND LINE. ‘line’ should have a lowercase ‘l’ and it operates nothing like a London Underground line.

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

Nice video.

[@doublea06]

11:54 - Like the Waterloo & City line.

[@UkSapyy]

It does annoy me how Cross Rail can go up and up in the budget. But high-speed rail lines and other projects that serve the nation or lesser developed cities get cut over and over. Considering the distance cross rail covers more people in the UK should be angry about how much bias there is towards London with infrastructure projects as other areas with development potential get ignored.

[@gaius100bc]

Nobody cares about plebeian struggles in some distant provinces. Either you accept the civilization by moving in to the capital, or get a cart with a donkey, for your daily commute, because only Londinium actually matters.

[@resilientlemon1302]

@@gaius100bc If that's not sarcasm, then you should know the trend is in the opposite direction. London has high standard of living so most of them moving to places like Surrey or Kent to commute into London. One would expect those "plebeian " areas to grow significantly within 2 decades.

[@jandron94]

@@resilientlemon1302 Why commute instead of walking to work like they used to do in the old times.

[@resilientlemon1302]

@@jandron94 In the old times you could buy a house for 50p, these days a cubicle in London costs all your organs and a bag of wotsits.

[@dpg227]

Impressive job.

[@ajmulla92]

I took the Elizabeth line from Paddington to Heathrow in June

[@simpilotadamt1012]

In your maps of the route, why was Abbey Wood labelled at Stepney Green? Also your pronunciation of Pudding Mill Lane kinda triggered me after going thru there a lot. But as an explainer of the whole project, I liked it

[@highpath4776]

Tottenham Court Road ( not Tottenham Court - which was a former house of Lord Tottenham)

[@AA-hg5fk]

Just a small point to make, a bill has to be passed by parliament BEFORE it receives royal assent, not the other way around!

[@S8ANC]

Abbey wood is south east london. Dont let an east londoner or a south east londoner get the two confused as they dont like each other so much lol

[@LawrenceSingha]

can't wait crossrail 2 & 3

[@anthonyehrenzweig1635]

I am afraid you have made a pretty stupid error on your map at 10-14 - the terminus station is Abbey Wood - Stepney Green is over the river on the District line.

[@maecarpenter69]

Correction: It's not a Tube line. Services are also running between Paddington and Reading, to Heathrow and out to Sheffield. I don't know where you're getting that from, it's just not been fully integrated yet with the proposed through services, but they are running.

[@millhilljimjimmy6731]

It's just a bigger tubeline

[@maecarpenter69]

@@millhilljimjimmy6731 No, it isn't a tube line. Definitely not a Tube line.

[@isaacdies]

Damn, OBF but factually accurate. Amazing

[@doublea06]

Bond Street EL station is not opened yet.

[@daiyan7973]

3:04 the far right station on the line is abbey green not stepney green just a little editors mistake

[@LizzieWhiz]

Abbey Wood is in South East London not East London. East London is North of the river Thames where as Abbey Wood is South of the river Thames.

[@sheilasmith7991]

Come on, this guy is not a local! Give him a break. This is a damn good video.

[@JeffreyLincrunchie]

Fun fact: The Elizabeth Line is actually NOT a tube line, according to the crossrail staff it is more of a "railway service running in tube environment", which is the reason why the stations along the route are all included in the national rail services network, unlike usual tube stations!

[@jandron94]

The UK is not that big so indeed they can easily integrate that line on a not too small national rail network map.

[@johnchastain7890]

They must have gotten that moniker "railway service running in tube environment" from the US Pentagon, where a shovel is a "portable land evacuator." ;-)

[@JeffreyLincrunchie]

@@johnchastain7890 Hence it's over budgeted ;)

[@JeffreyLincrunchie]

@@jandron94 That's actually a different story in the UK though. In the UK they got the franchising system which seperates maintenance and operation, in Lizzie Line's case, the operation is granted to MTR whilst the maintenance is still managed by Network Rail, subsidized by DfT. On the other hand the tube, track and operation are all managed by TfL, hence the tube stations that don't have a National rail services connection will not be counted into the network

[@juliuschas]

@@JeffreyLincrunchie If we'd cancel a Batplane or two, we could afford modern trains from DC to NYC and Boston. But NOOOOoooo....

[@therandomidiotontheinternet]

3:05 Ah Yes My Favourite South London Station. Stepney Green.

[@greek9244]

Also he said downtown London no one says that it should be central London

[@therandomidiotontheinternet]

@@greek9244 It should be abbey wood

[@noeldunsky]

Such an exciting and even emotionally moving project! Finally, a positive outcome of human ingenuity. Bravo for a great video on this topic!! :)

[@deanbarnett8538]

This is what the rest of the UK needs. An underground railway system going direct to all of the major cities. Wheather for public use or freight would be for the operators to decide upon. But an underground system would alleviate the very congested roads. Freight trains underground could take many heavy goods vehicles from the motorways.

[@seansmith445]

Tunnelling is very expensive.

[@deanbarnett8538]

@@seansmith445 HS2 was very expensive,and nothing was constructed. Just consultation fees.

[@marcoroberts9462]

2:31 wrong, this bit is not a tunnel it is out in the open

[@neuralwarp]

We have always had transport across London. The North London Line, Circle Line, Metropolitan, Hammersmith, Central .. This is just one more shortcut. We don't need it. What we need is a line from Inverness to Truro, then Dover, then Bangor.

[@lordmackery]

Shut up

[@OADINC]

I like this video, but I must say that I find the animations a bit to much. If you could dial it back by like 10% it would be easier to follow. I found them distracting because of the amount of animations in such a quick succession.

[@jdawkins4730]

Isn’t it funny how one city gets 18 billion train line on top of a underground but the rest of the 50+ million people get £36bn between them 😂😂😂

[@nicandrogb2954]

Abbey Wood is in south east London not east London

[@Mika30041975]

Could you talk about the CAT LINH's fiasco train line in HANOI, Vietnam ? Thank you.

[@ianthomson9363]

Very informative commentary, but I found the graphics exhausting to watch, with edits every few seconds.

[@yannischupin7787]

I like how this new line is bringing new connections between people... I hope that crossrail will be a thing. It is also cool to see how London is aiming to do what Paris has done with the RER.

[@jandron94]

Ils ont toujours un train de retard

[@electrostar5161]

it is already a thing the lizzibeth line

[@bangfu9392]

epic

[@jackwatsonepic626]

It's amazing what they can achieve now so can you imagine what it's going to be like in 100 years time .

[@winfredsackitey6820]

Cool but whens Croydon getting a tube

[@canerdogar6499]

Cost of transportation via train from Stansted to Liverpool St is almost £20. I can't imagine how much this will be.

[@sm8476]

It’s the same as any tube cost. Relatively cheap

[@Lakesider52]

As usual, travellers into Fenchurch Street station from the South of Essex remain without such a connection, particularly to Heathrow airport.

[@Rfue]

Best line to use in a heatwave

[@sorrytodisappointyouwhy586]

3:04 mistake, should be Abbey Wood, not Stepney Green

[@PlayitonPan]

@3:04 “Stepney Green”??? …should read Abbey Wood (but we know what you mean)