How much Crossrail costs compared to Tube and if you can use Freedom Pass

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London’s new £18.9bn Elizabeth line is finally open after numerous delays and setbacks, having first been signed off in 2007 by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Transport enthusiasts hailed the “momentous occasion” as hundreds queued from the early hours of the morning in board the first train in central London.

The Elizabeth line, built by the Crossrail project, stretches from Reading in Berkshire and Heathrow Airport in west London to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in Essex.

But how much does fares cost?

How much Crossrail costs compared to the Tube

Fares on the Elizabeth Line match Tube prices across most of London, with journeys within zones 1-6 costing the same as pay-as-you-go fares on the Tube.

Journeys to Heathrow are the exception, with the fare to Paddington costing £10.70 off-peak and £12.70 at peak times. Even so, this is less than half the cost of the current £27 standard fare on the 15-minute Heathrow Express.

TfL fare caps you can pay a maximum of £14.10 a day, so any additional costs incurred after transferring from Heathrow will be limited.

According to the London Council’s website, Freedom Pass holders will be able to use their passes from 9am on weekdays and throughout weekends and Bank Holidays on the entire Elizabeth line up to and including Reading.

Disabled pass holders will also be able to use their passes on the entire Elizabeth line up to and including Reading.

Where does the Elizabeth Line run?The Crossrail line will run from Paddington to Abbey Road at first before extending in Autumn (Image: TfL)

TfL has released an official map showing the route of the Elizabeth line. For a full high resolution map, click here.

The new central section, which consists of ten stations, runs through tunnels from Paddington in west London to Abbey Wood.

It will initially be closed on Sundays – apart from during the Platinum Jubilee weekend – to allow further testing and software updates to take place.

The ten new stations are:

PaddingtonBond Street (Opening later this year)Tottenham Court RoadFarringdonLiverpool StreetWhitechapelCanary WharfCustom HouseWoolwichAbbey WoodMore from NewsJourney timesThe Elizabeth line will cut journey times from Abbey Wood, south-east London, to Paddington by almost half to 29.Journeys minutes between Liverpool Street and Wo. be halved to 15 minutes.Trips between Farringdon and Canary Wharf will take 10 minutes, instead of 24.

Other example journey times:

Bond Street to Liverpool Street: Seven minutesWoolwich to Farringdon: 14 minutesPaddington to Canary Wharf: 17 minutes

East section journey times (autumn 2022)

Stratford to Bond Street: 15 minutesRomford to Liverpool Street: 27 minutes

West section journey times (autumn 2022)

Tottenham Court Road to Ealing Broadway: 13 minutesPaddington to Slough: 26 minutesWhere to change train

There are 41 stations on the Elizabeth Line in total, which currently operates across three separate railways: Reading to Paddington, Paddington to Abbey Wood and Liverpool Street to Shenfield.

Today has seen the opening of the Paddington to Abbey Wood section, meaning all parts of the network are running, but not yet connected.

By changing at Paddington or Liverpool Street, you can transfer between the different parts of the line and access every station.

TfL says the three sections should be directly linked by autumn 2022.

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