Speaking exclusively to RailBusinessDaily, mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that the opening of Bond Street station on the Elizabeth line was “really exciting for London and the country, because it means all 41 stations are fully open including ten new ones on the central section of the new railway.”
The station opened exactly five months after the central section of the Elizabeth line between Abbey Wood and Paddington began operating. From 24 May, nine stations were opened, however Bond Street was delayed for various reasons.
Speaking to RBD at Bond Street on 24 October, the day the station opened, the mayor said: “For this part of London, it means improve access and connectivity to our shops, to our restaurants to hotels, which is incredibly important.
“Our shops and our hospitality really suffered [during the] last two and a half years, this will be the first decent Christmas they’ve had since 2019. And this is a real boost – exactly what they need.”
He believes that the new station will bring 140,000 people a day, adding to the 70,000 that already use the existing London Underground station at Bond Street via the Central and Jubilee lines. He added that the Elizabeth line has also seen more than 50 million journeys since 24 May.
“This new station means connectivity from Paddington is three minutes, from Heathrow it’s 33 minutes, from Canary Wharf it’s 60 minutes. So it’s bringing more people to the Elizabeth line because connectivity improves, current capacity improves, accessibility improves, and all of our stations are step free – that is really important if you’re in a wheelchair, if you’ve got a heavy shopping.”
Currently Elizabeth line trains serving Bond Street are only running between Abbey Wood and Paddington. From 6 November, trains will operate between Shenfield and Paddington, and from Abbey Wood to Heathrow Airport and Reading.
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