The Elizabeth line just had its busiest month yet

It’s been up and running for the best part of 18 months, but the Elizabeth line still feels like a bit of a novelty. After years of hot, stuffy, run-down tubes, every time we get on one of the Lizzy line’s spacious, speedy carriages it feels a little too good to be true.

But the purple line continues to go from strength to strength – and it just passed another milestone, having officially just had its busiest month yet.

According to London travel expert IanVisits (have a look at the full data set here), between September 17 and October 18 2023, the Lizzy line carried a whopping 17.3 million passengers. That’s far more than the 28-day period before that, in which it saw 15.6 million users.

What’s more is that IanVisits reckons next month could be even bigger: due to the recent DLR strikes, more users may have been pushed onto the Elizabeth line while those services were interrupted.  

At Time Out we’ve naturally followed the development of the Elizabeth line closely, from Bond Street station finally opening to the line connecting up to Heathrow in May. In recent months, however, things have been a little less smooth. After becoming one of London’s busiest rail routes in August, the purple line was named Britain’s worst train lines for cancellations in September.

London travel disruption to know about this weekend, including on the Elizabeth Line, Tube and Overground.

Plus: Richmond’s gorgeous Art Deco train station is getting a makeover.

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