More rush hour trains announced on ‘overcrowded’ Elizabeth line station

Stations across west London will get more frequent rush hour services when extra trains are rolled out as part of the Elizabeth line upgrade.

Elizabeth line, or Lizzy line to fans, has become the UK’s busiest railway route less than four years after opening, clocking half a billion passengers last year.

The purple line running through Paddington has become so popular that Transport for London is bringing 10 new trains after £220 million from the government.

For commuters relying on the Lizzy line, the additional trains mean more services, including at Acton Main Line, Southall and Hanwell stations, which have reportedly been plagued by overcrowding at rush hour due to limited services.

Thanks to the extra trains, which are currently in production, Southall, Hanwell and Acton Main Line stations will be served by an additional three trains every morning.

The new timetable will kick in from Monday, May 18, with additional stops between 7.30am and 9am on weekdays.

In total, the changes mean that ten trains will stop at Southall, six at Hanwell and eight at Acton Main Line during the busiest rush hour between 8am and 9am.

Bassam Mahmouz, the London Assembly Member for Ealing and Hillingdon, told Metro: ‘It’s going to make a huge difference to commuters at Acton Main Line with more trains stopping at that crucial morning peak time.

‘I’ve been calling on TfL and the Mayor to deliver extra trains at Acton and Hanwell. These new trains will mean less stress and greater reliability for local residents.’

Trish Ashton, TfL’s director of rail, said: ‘The Elizabeth line is the UK’s single busiest railway service, carrying an average of 800,000 customers a day during the week.

‘These timetable updates at west London stations will provide additional capacity during the peak hours of the morning, helping customers travel more comfortably on the line during this busier time.’

The boost will be a relief to Acton residents in particular, who raised the alarm last year over ‘inadequate’ services last year.

Only trains from Heathrow Terminal 4 stopped at the station, while services from Heathrow T5, Maidenhead and Reading passed it.

Commuters reported severe overcrowding, with trains packed so full that passengers were unable to board them and faced 15-minute waits for other busy trains.

Nearly 5,000 people signed a petition calling for all services on the route to make a stop at Acton Main Line station.

Bassam Mahmouz, the London Assembly Member for Ealing and Hillingdon, told Metro what the commute for Acton Main locals is like.

He said: ‘You are already waiting for the train to get there, and then the despair when you see the train coming in and it’s absolutely full to the brim of people.

‘It is unimaginable for those commuters. And all you want to do is to get to work and just crack on and do your job and get paid without having to stress about.’

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