Royal welcome: Queen attends official opening of long awaited Elizabeth Line

The Queen amazed everyone when she attended the official opening of the Elizabeth Line on Tuesday morning.

The monarch was pictured at Paddington station, where she was welcomed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Andy Byford.

The Queen, 96, met with Crossrail workers and was presented with an Oyster card, which she topped up, assisted by a member of staff.

Commenting on Her Majesty’s attendance, Johnson said: “We’re all incredibly touched and moved and grateful to Her Majesty for coming to open the Elizabeth line today. It was fantastic to see her.”

The Queen’s presence marked an already momentous occasion as the line will be open to the public from next Tuesday.

Crossrail was initially due to open in December 2018, but budget and construction difficulties delayed the project by three years and a half, raising its total cost to £18.9bn – £4.5bn more than what was initially predicted. 

TfL announced earlier this month that the line’s central tranche, from Paddington to Abbey Wood, would open on 24 May.

Services from Reading, Heathrow and Shenfield, TfL said, would be connected later this year, as for now the line would  operate as three separate railways.

Commuters from Reading and Heathrow would need to change at Paddington to access the line’s central portion while those coming from Shenfield would do the same at Liverpool Street.