MPs have called for the Elizabeth line to be extended into Kent – and for better rail links to Heathrow airport.
A debate in Parliament on Tuesday heard support for extending the £20bn line, which opened in May 2022, east from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet.
There were also calls for more semi-fast services and new stations on the 73-mile line – but one west London MP warned that the “delays and cancellations” being suffered by her constituents had to be tackled.
Concerns were also raised about the impact on Elizabeth line services when the rail line into Paddington shuts at Christmas for track work at the new HS2 station being built at Old Oak Common.
Dierdre Costigan, the Labour MP for Ealing Southall, said the Elizabeth line – nicknamed the Lizzie line – had been “a game changer”, with Southall station “very well used”.
But she told a Westminster Hall debate called to celebrate the line’s success: “However, two other stations, West Ealing and Hanwell, suffer from a less frequent service than Southall, and that is in the context of increasing development, particularly in West Ealing.
“There are also more delays and cancellations on the line than would be expected with new rail infrastructure.”
The Elizabeth line is a fantastic asset for Ealing Southall, but I want to work with TfL to improve the service so that it delivers for all of my constituents. pic.twitter.com/E0SMpkASet
— Deirdre Costigan MP (@deirdrecostigan) November 5, 2024
Supporters of an extension to Ebbsfleet say it would boost links to an area where many new homes are being built – and to enable an interchange with HS1 high-speed services between St Pancras and the Kent coast.
There is also the hope that Eurostar international services will one day call again at Ebbsfleet International station.
Daniel Francis, Labour MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, said: “There remains a strong case to extend the Elizabeth line to Ebbsfleet in order to serve residents in the thousands of new homes built there, in order to interchange with high-speed services and hopefully, in the future, with reinstated services to mainland Europe.”
Jim Dickson, the Labour MP for Dartford, said a Government study five years ago suggested options for improving transport connectivity between Abbey Wood, Ebbsfleet and Gravesend, to support new housing and employment.
“Unfortunately, since that narrowing of options in late 2021 when the business case was submitted to the last Conservative Government, we have seen little progress,” he said.
“I urge the Minister and his colleagues across Government to look at how we can get on and finish the Elizabeth line as originally intended to grow the economy, boost productivity and improve lives across our region.
“That means extending it to Ebbsfleet, where the links with high-speed and international services would create an ideal interchange. That must be a priority when considering the future of the Elizabeth line.”
However, rail minister Simon Lightwood said: “There are currently no plans to extend the line from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet International, though the route is safeguarded.”
The debate was called by Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for MP for Reading Central, to celebrate the massive economic impact attributed to the opening of the Elizabeth line.
He uses the line almost every day but had been “banned” by his family from talking about it, such was his enthusiasm.
He compared it to Britain’s greatest sporting achievements, and on a par with winning the right to host the 2012 Olympics.
But he said there was a “great deal of concern” in the area west of London, in Wales and the west country about the blockading of Paddington to allow work to take place at Old Oak Common.
Mr Rodda, who was a survivor of the 1989 Paddington rail crash, said the section of the Elizabeth line between Reading and Hayes showed the fastest growth in passenger numbers.
“When the Elizabeth line was envisaged… there was no guarantee that it would come to Reading. The original plan was for it to go as far west as Maidenhead,” he said.
“I have had requests for more north-south improvements in electrification in our area, between the south coast and Oxford.
“There has also been some interest in introducing more semi-fast services on the Elizabeth line—in other words, trains that do not stop at every station but move more quickly between the major stations. Some people have raised further station development.
“A western rail link is an important adjunct to the arguments about the Elizabeth line. The line has created a lot of connectivity and an east-west corridor between Berkshire, Essex and Kent, but people going to Heathrow have to approach London and go out again.
“Many colleagues from Wales and the west country—particularly south Wales, Bristol and further west—have, with me and other colleagues, lobbied for extra connectivity that would allow people to get on a train at Cardiff or Bristol and go straight to Heathrow, reducing surface transport and pollution near the airport, and freeing up local roads.
“It would also bring huge flexibility for commuters working at the airport, particularly residents of Slough and west London, where many airport staff live.”
