A line straight to the heart of the capital

IF YOU were unsure as to whether Crossrail had captured Londoners’ imagination, you needed only to witness the joyous scenes both outside and inside Paddington station this morning. Hundreds of people lined up — some since midnight — not to purchase the latest Harry Potter book or get an appointment with the Passport Office, but to ride the Elizabeth line train departing at 6.33am.

London’s new train line — TfL doesn’t want you to call it a Tube — is a game-changer. Boosting capacity by 10 per cent and cutting some journey times by more than half, it demonstrates what is possible when central and local governments work together rather than against one another. There are still the usual grumbles: on cost, delays and the continued absence of Bond Street station. But those are for another day. Today, we celebrate the capital’s exciting future — and its present.