London Underground's new Elizabeth line set to launch this May

After almost two decades, the Elizabeth line is preparing to launch in London. Photo / Getty

It's just a few hours until your flight departs from London's Heathrow Airport, however, you're still stuck in a business meeting in Canary Wharf or packing your things in a Hackney Airbnb. Nightmare.

Current public transport options take at least an hour, while traffic can make a taxi ride even longer. In other words, unless you've got lots of time, you'll likely miss your flight.

On the other side of the trip, after landing at Heathrow, you have two train options to get to downtown London. You can pay around $50 for a 53-minute journey on the Heathrow Express or spend over an hour on the Piccadilly and District line for a fraction of the price.

One new tube line will change all of that.

Enter the Elizabeth Line (also known as Crossrail); a new, mainly underground high-speed railway that will carry up to 1500 passengers up to 90mph from east London to west.

One year to go until the start of new @Elizabethline services running through central London – take a look at the map for December 2018 pic.twitter.com/cF32uzVFmN

— Transport for London 🐣 (@TfL) December 19, 2017

For the businessperson in Canary Wharf, this cuts a 73-minute tube ride into a 38-minute trip. Meanwhile, the arriving traveller can get to the heart of London in less time than it takes on the expensive Heathrow Express.

The 100 km network will serve central London areas like Docklands, City of London, West End and Heathrow, as well as commuter towns in Essex, Kent and Thames Valley.

Twin tunnels will run 40 metres below the city, cutting around other London Underground tunnels, building foundations and other structures.

Of the 100 km, 42 are brand new and were dug over three years in 2012 to 2015, and was, at times, Europe's largest engineering project.

When can we board this new super train?
A soft launch is planned for May and will see up to 12 trains run per hour, a frequency which will double in fall 2022.

By May 2023, the full schedule will be up and running with up to 24 trains per hour running across the whole network; a development that is said to transform travel around London.

This will mark the end of a 16-year project, with approval first granted in 2007 for a 2018 opening. Four years, and an extra $7.74 billion later, mismanagement of the $36.6 billion project has been a cause of 'anger and frustration' for London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Why is the Elizabeth Line such a big deal?
By linking Heathrow and Reading to Shenfield and Abbey Wood, Crossrail will essentially bring another 1.5 million people within 45 minutes of central London, and relieve the overcrowded Central Line.

Once complete, it will increase central London's rail capacity by 10 per cent, the largest single increase in the city's transport capacity in more than 70 years.

As mentioned, for travellers, it will also cut down the time and price it takes to get from the airport to the city centre.

How much will it cost to ride?
As part of the London Underground, you'll be able to use an Oyster Card as you do with any other Tube line.

According to Transport for London, "fares on the Elizabeth line from the east or west into the central section stations will be exactly the same as travelling today to a London Underground station in the same zone as the required Elizabeth line station, with fare capping also in place."

Currently, it costs £11.60 (NZ$23.20) to travel from Heathrow to Paddington.