Sadiq Khan has greenlit a multimillion-pound plan to refurbish a stretch of the Elizabeth Line after branding its service “not acceptable”. The Mayor of London has allocated nearly £140 million from existing budgets given to Network Rail to tackle issues on the line, which is less than two years old.
The stretch has become infamous in recent months due to a spate of failures and made headlines in December 2023 after broken wiring left 4,000 passengers stranded for hours near Ladbroke Grove.
With additional reported broken rails and signalling faults, Network Rail has acknowledged performance “hasn’t been good enough”.
The line will go through 18 months of phased reforms after having “consistently” let down its customers.
Figures from the Office for Rail and Road have shown that 5.2 percent of Elizabeth Line trains were cancelled between July and September last year.
Roughly one in three Paddington trains arrives on time, an issue of which Network Rail bosses have said they are keenly aware.
Marcus Jones, the office’s new route director, has admitted performance “hasn’t been good enough” and that the network has been “consistently letting down customers”.
He added that they “cannot guarantee a service every day”, but new works will seek to overhaul the line.
Stabilisation works have begun immediately, and the overhaul will continue in three phases over the coming 18 months.
Over the next four weeks, fewer trains will run late at night while engineers complete remedial work to the line’s tracks, signalling and overhead wiring.
Only two of four tracks will open late into the evening, with six months of stabilisation works for long-term solutions coming in the following six months.
The now 30-year-old overhead wires will also be replaced, and Mr Khan has promised he would hold Network Rail to account as the works continue.
The Mayor of London said recent performance on the Elizabeth line has been “below the high standards set”.
He added: “The Elizabeth Line has been transformational, seeing well over 4.5 million journeys every week, but it’s clear that the recent performance on the Elizabeth Line has been below the high standards set when the railway was opened.
“I have been absolutely clear with Network Rail, MTR (the line operators) and TfL that the issues we have seen over the last six months are not acceptable.
“I am pleased that they have brought forward a comprehensive plan to resolve the problems on the line, and I will continue to hold them to account.”
Express.co.uk has contacted Transport for London and the Mayor of London’s office for comment.
