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The Elizabeth line is turning Japanese. Since it opened two years ago, the line has been operated by MTR – a company chiefly owned by the Hong Kong government – under a Transport for London (TfL) contract.
In that time, the line has won the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize and its ridership has been sky-high. But the punctuality and regularity of Elizabeth line services have come under heavy public scrutiny.
So TfL are changing tack, handing the reins over to a consortium involving the firm behind the Tokyo Metro. Famed for their dependability, Japan’s trains are the envy of the world.
But the new Elizabeth line operators, which are also partly government-owned and take over in May, will face the same problems as MRT: ancient rail infrastructure out west and busy shared trainlines.
The RMT union has accused London mayor Sadiq Khan of creating an “island of privatisation” in a country moving to nationalise rail.
TfL hopes the purple trains rumbling deep beneath London will now take inspiration from places further east than Essex.
