Sadiq Khan gets £19m makeover for sub-par Elizabeth Line – ‘just like Tokyo’

Sadiq Khan is giving the Elizabeth Line a £19million makeover to make it “just like Tokyo”.

Transport for London has confirmed that a contract has been awarded to the bosses of the Tokyo Metro to “bring the best parts of Tokyo and London to the Elizabeth Line”.

The consortium also includes Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo and UK rail and bus firm Go Ahead, which holds 65% of the group.

They beat out bids from previous operator MTR, which runs transport in Hong Kong, as well as Arriva UK Trains and a joint venture between First Group and French operator Keolis.

Tokyo Metro said it would use its “expertise in realising high-quality railway services with outstanding safety and punctuality” and “work to improve operations and increase the number of services”.

Public transport in Tokyo is world famous for its punctuality, with 99% of services arriving within five minutes of their scheduled arrival in 2022.

In comparison, only 83% of Elizabeth Line trains arrived within one minute of their scheduled arrival between April and June of this year.

The Elizabeth Line opened in 2022 and carried 700,000 people a day on the route from Reading and Heathrow to Shenfield and Abbey Wood.

The operator will also implement extra services to Old Oak Common when the new £1.7 billion station in Acton opens in 2030 to connect with High Speed 2 services.

Michael Solomon Williams from the Campaign for Better Transport, told MailOnline: “At a time when the railways are undergoing the most significant reforms in a generation, it is important that passenger experience remains the priority for all operators.

“The Elizabeth line’s outstanding success as Britain’s fastest growing railway shows the demand for reliable public transport, so we hope to see this success continue under the new operator.”

Claire Mann, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “The Elizabeth line has had a transformational impact since opening in 2022 and has quickly become one of the most popular and reliable railways in the country.

“The railway has provided new, more direct journey options which has led to huge numbers of customers using our safe and accessible trains and stations.

“I am delighted that we have appointed GTS Rail Operations to continue to build on the success of the Elizabeth line and I look forward to working with them.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Khan said: “In the context of this specific tendering process, which is needed to ensure we can continue to provide services from May 2025, TfL believe that the current approach continues to offer a high performing and cost-effective Elizabeth line operation.”