<https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/crossrail-elizabeth-line-trains-wait-24849104.amp>

<quote>

Crossrail: Elizabeth line trains will wait on tracks between stations for
seven minutes in new timetable

Announcements will be played to keep passengers informed while the train is
stationary on the tracks near Paddington

Joining up the three separate sections of the Elizabeth line, which will
now happen on November 6, requires a lot of joined up thinking. Currently,
Elizabeth line trains between Paddington and Abbey Wood are entirely
self-contained so running a standardised timetable is relatively
straightforward because there are no other trains to negotiate. However,
the new 'through' services which will run in two overlapping sections
(Reading/Heathrow-Abbey Wood and Paddington-Shenfield) will have to share
tracks with other trains which means timetable planners have to make
compromises.

One of the most unusual compromises which has been made is a decision to
bring trains to a standstill for between one and seven minutes on tracks
between stations so they can 'wait their turn'. In order to get around slow
freight trains on the West London section of the route and slot into the
intense 16 to 22 trains per hour in the central section in the right order,
trains will wait on the tracks at Westbourne Park on the line between Acton
Main Line and Paddington. There are no platforms here so passengers cannot
leave the trains, and in some cases the following GWR train from Ealing
Broadway ends up overtaking the Elizabeth line train on its way to
Paddington.

Off-peak trains from Reading to Abbey Wood eastbound will have the longest
waits of seven minutes. Currently, these trains are timetabled nine minutes
to make the journey from Ealing Broadway to Paddington, but from November
this will almost double to 17 minutes for trains where there is a seven
minute wait en route. In some circumstances, two trains in both directions
will be held at Westbourne Park at the same time, blocking the line,
meaning if a delayed train is stuck behind one of them, a creative solution
will be needed to help it get back on schedule.

TfL has advised that: "This is factored into timetables and will be
announced to customers." Elizabeth line trains do have air conditioning but
no toilets. There will also be nine Paddington to Shenfield eastbound
journeys in the evenings which will wait at Pudding Mill Lane for up to
four minutes, again on the tracks between stations.

These waits will only happen on weekdays in the new timetable which will
run between November this year and May next year. On weekends, there are
far fewer freight trains which need to be manoeuvred around and there are
no extra peak hour passenger trains either which mean train paths (the
space given to each individual train over its journey) can be relaxed.
Services can be sped up and 'standardised' easier, which will mean it will
be bizarrely six minutes quicker from Heathrow to Canary Wharf on Saturdays
and Sundays than on Mondays to Fridays - 45 minutes instead of 51.

The good news is that the waits should be resolved in future timetable
changes, although it is not yet clear if that will be as soon as the
timetable which follows this interim one, in May 2023. From that point, a
full 24 trains per hour service (one train every 150 seconds) is expected
in the central section at peak hours and trains will run end-to-end across
the line to/from all destinations.

</quote>

Meanwhile…

<https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/crossrail-canary-wharf-elizabeth-line-24831004>

<quote>

Crossrail: Canary Wharf Elizabeth line services will actually be reduced in
new timetable from November

Custom House, Woolwich and Abbey Wood will also see a reduction in trains
on the line which opened in May

The announcement by Transport for London (TfL) that the city's newest
railway line, the £19billion Elizabeth line will run in two overlapping
sections instead of three separates one has been welcomed by businesses and
politicians. But it comes with a sting in the tail for residents of East
London and commuters to London's business district, Canary Wharf.

Although they will now benefit from direct trains to Heathrow Airport and
West London, there will be fewer of them than in the current interim
timetable. Since the line opened on May 24, there have been 12 Elizabeth
line trains per hour Monday-Saturday 7am-10.30pm between Paddington and
Abbey Wood calling at Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street,
Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.

This means each of these stations currently gets a train every five minutes
all day. However from November 6, trains will start running through the new
central section to Reading and Heathrow in the west (beyond Paddington) and
Shenfield in the east (beyond Whitechapel, using a new tunnel to Stratford
and then taking over the existing route via Romford).

With Bond Street station opening prior to the new timetable too,
Paddington, Bond Street, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel will
get 16 trains per hour off-peak and 22 trains per hour in the peaks. As the
trains coming from Paddington will have to serve both branches to Abbey
Wood and Shenfield, instead of just Abbey Wood at present, Canary Wharf,
Custom House, Woolwich and Abbey Wood will actually get fewer trains - just
eight per hour off-peak and 10 in the peaks (a train every 7.5 minutes
off-peak and every 6 minutes peak, meaning an increase of maximum waiting
times of 50 per cent off-peak and 20 per cent in the peaks compared with
the current service).

Although this seems excessive, it is part-mitigated for those who make
cross-Zone 1 journeys such as Reading-Canary Wharf, Hayes &
Harlington-Custom House, Ealing-Woolwich or Acton Main Line-Abbey Wood, as
they will now no longer need to change trains at Paddington, meaning their
overall journey will still be quicker despite the extra wait. Those who use
it to connect with other lines in Zone 1 or just between stations on the
branch (e.g. Farringdon-Canary Wharf, Liverpool Street-Woolwich, Custom
House-Dartford or Whitechapel-Abbey Wood), will lose out though.

Other touted benefits also will provide further mitigation - Bond Street
station opening should help further decongest the Jubilee line which will
indirectly benefit South East Londoners over its busy Docklands section,
and Sunday services will be introduced over this section from November 6.

From May 2023, the service between Whitechapel and Abbey Wood will be
restored to 12 trains per hour in the peaks (a train every five mins again)
and 10 trains per hour off-peak service (a train every six minutes). Astute
Elizabeth line observers will argue that this was always the plan as phased
introduction of services meant that there would be an initial uplift over
the branch to South East London.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "It’s great news that from November,
Elizabeth line trains will run directly from Reading and Heathrow to Abbey
Wood, and from Shenfield to Paddington, seven days a week. Services running
on Sundays through central London will also make thousands more journeys
quicker, easier and more comfortable. This enhanced capacity on the
Elizabeth line will play a crucial role in encouraging people to make the
most of the capital and will help support businesses in the heart of our
city."

</quote>