The Woolwich Elizabeth line station has officially been transferred from Crossrail to Transport for London (TfL).
The Elizabeth line, which will be run by TfL, will improve transport links to the City and the West End from southeast London.
This is the fourth of the new Elizabeth line stations to be transferred over to TfL, alongside Custom House, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road stations, and TfL will be responsible for the station as the infrastructure manager.
When operational, travellers from Woolwich will be able to reach Canary Wharf in seven minutes, Liverpool Street in 14 minutes and Bond Street in 21 minutes.
Extensive testing and commissioning of systems has been finalised in advance of trial operations, which are set to begin later this year. This will include real-time testing of scenarios including evacuations of trains and stations before opening the Elizabeth line.
The contractor, Balfour Beatty, will continue demobilisation from the site.
The station was built at the historic site of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich and was initially a dockyard established by King Henry VIII. It became increasingly important as an arsenal and ordnance factory in the 17th century, housing a military academy and Royal Laboratory, as well as a new brass gun foundry designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in the early 18th century, which remains there to this day.
Today, the new station is a key part of a new development on the Royal Arsenal site, which includes 3,750 new homes as well as new cultural, heritage, commercial and leisure facilities.
“Woolwich station transferring to TfL is a testament to the hard work and co-operation between us and the Crossrail team ahead of the Elizabeth line opening. My operations and maintenance teams will now be working to prepare Woolwich for trial operations. When the Elizabeth line opens the station will be a real gateway for southeast London and will be well connected to the TfL network, including local buses.”
