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Dave

Bond Street Elizabeth line station to open on 24 October

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The final Elizabeth line station will provide a new link to one of the busiest shopping districts in the UK with entrances at Hanover Square and Davies Street.

Bond Street’s Elizabeth line station will open on Monday 24 October, subject to final approvals. The opening of the station will further transform travel across London and the South East by providing a new link to one of the busiest shopping districts in Europe ahead of the busy festive period. 

The new station will relieve congestion at Oxford Circus station and make the area more accessible with step-free access from street to train. The Elizabeth line has seen more than 45 million journeys, and from Sunday 6 November will run to Reading, Heathrow, and Shenfield via central London as a seven-day service.

From 24 October, two brand new, spacious ticket halls, with an abundance of natural light, will lead passengers to the 255-metre long Elizabeth line platforms. Both entrances feature columns which blur the line between interior and exterior spaces and help the station fit into its surroundings with the choice of materials: red sandstone at Davies Street, and pale Portland stone at Hanover Square.

The new station is step-free from street to train with two lifts, further enhancing accessibility on the Elizabeth line and across the TfL network.  The station will accommodate nearly 140,000 Elizabeth line passengers daily, contributing to an overall station capacity of 225,000 across the Jubilee, Central and Elizabeth lines. Bond Street will start with a train service every five minutes. There will be no service on Sunday 30 October, but from Sunday 6 November, trains will be every three to four minutes, seven days a week.

Beside the Bond Street station entrance on Hanover Square is Medici Courtyard which will become the first public courtyard to open in Mayfair for more than a century. This area of public realm was transformed by Westminster City Council as part of the Elizabeth line development in collaboration with adjacent property owners and developers.  

From Sunday 6 November, the lines from Reading, Heathrow, and Shenfield will connect with the central tunnels of the Elizabeth line – opening up new direct journeys across the capital and providing a huge boost to the West End as it continues to recover from the pandemic and gears up for the busy festive period. Customers from Heathrow, Reading and Shenfield will then be able to go directly to Bond Street without having to change trains at Paddington or Liverpool Street mainline stations.  

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Paddington’s Elizabeth line station in May to mark the completion of the new railway. During her visit, Her Majesty officially unveiled a plaque to celebrate the completion of the line named in her honour.  

Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, said,

When we opened the brilliant central section of the Elizabeth line earlier this year, I promised that Bond Street station would open this autumn and I am extremely pleased that Londoners and visitors will be able to use this magnificent station from 24 October.  

Bond Street was of course the station site that Her Majesty the Queen visited during construction in 2016 to mark the renaming of the railway in her honour. It was also our honour that Her Majesty graced us with her presence earlier this year to mark the completion of the railway.  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said,

I’m delighted that the new Elizabeth line station at Bond Street will open on Monday 24 October. The latest stunning addition to this transformational line will give Londoners and tourists quick and direct access to the heart of London’s West End.

Millions have already travelled on the Elizabeth line, and the opening of a station at Bond Street will help draw people back on to our world-class public transport network, encourage people to make the most of the capital and support businesses across the city. It will also provide a new link to one of the busiest shopping districts in Europe as retailers anticipate the ‘golden quarter’ ahead of the festive period.

Transport Minister, Katherine Fletcher said,

The opening of Bond Street station next month is set to cement its status even further, enabling over 140,000 people to access one of the UK’s biggest shopping areas and the heart of the legendary West End, adding an expected £42 billion to the UK economy over the coming decades.

London’s transport system is its lifeblood and the £9 billion of Government investment which helped the Elizabeth line dream become a reality will transform the lives of millions for generations to come.

Adam Hug, Leader of Westminster City Council, said,

The opening of the new Bond Street station is fantastic news. Not only will it be more convenient for new visitors to take public transport into the heart of our city, it also offers the many local people who work in the area’s retailers and restaurants a quicker, cleaner route to and from work – linking our communities and making life easier.

We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to the city.’

Dave

High-speed mobile internet to be made available to customers of all four mobile networks on London Underground

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Access to high-speed mobile connectivity on the Tube has taken another major step forward, with Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 joining BAI Communications’ (BAI) network.

Customers of all four mobile network operators – Three, EE, Vodafone and Virgin Media O2- will be able to access high-speed 4G and 5G-ready mobile connectivity across the Tube, including within the tunnels. 

BAI was awarded a 20-year concession by Transport for London (TfL) in June 2021 to deliver mobile connectivity on the Underground. Once complete, customers will be able to make calls wherever they are on the Underground, check the latest travel information, keep on top of their emails, catch up on social media and live stream videos, transforming the passenger experience and securing London’s transformation into a smart city. 

BAI’s neutral host mobile network will also host the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), which will give first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in live situations and emergencies on the frontline.

Work on delivering 4G coverage across the Tube network is well underway, following the successful transfer of the previous pilot section on the eastern end of the Jubilee line to BAI earlier this year. Positive progress now means that the next five stations to get coverage – Bank, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Euston, and Camden Town – will go live within the next six months. The additional connectivity within these stations will help customers visiting the city to make plans for shopping, events and socialising with friends and family in Central London across the festive season.

All stations and tunnels across the Tube network remain on course to have high-quality and uninterrupted mobile coverage. Some sections of Tube network will go live by summer 2023 – including parts of the Central line including stations and tunnels through the City and West End. TfL and BAI are also continuing to progress with delivering mobile coverage across the recently opened central section of the Elizabeth line between Paddington and Abbey Wood.

Mobile operators will also ensure continued and improved coverage via Wi-Fi on the London Underground and Elizabeth line when the network transfers to BAI in April 2023.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said,

Improving the capital’s connectivity and digital infrastructure is central to London’s economic recovery from the pandemic, so I am delighted that Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 customers will now have access to high-speed mobile coverage when travelling on the Tube.I committed to Londoners that I would deliver 4G throughout the Tube network as part of my determination to build a better London for everyone – and I have no doubt that this will transform journeys for millions of passengers.

Billy D’Arcy, CEO of BAI Communications UK, said,

We’re delighted to welcome Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 to our network and to reach another key milestone in our work to build a backbone of connectivity across the capital. Staying connected is more important than ever, and we are proud to be working with our partners to offer 5G-ready connectivity which will transform the way people move and work in the capital, allowing them to travel more smartly, safely and securely.

Ahmed Essam, CEO at Vodafone UK, said,

The UK needs world class digital infrastructure, and bringing 4G and 5G to the London Underground is a big part of that. 4G on the eastern stretch of the Jubilee line is already making a huge difference to our customers, and we’re proud to continue our investment in keeping consumers and businesses connected across more parts of London.

Lutz Schüler, Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Media O2, said,

With our 5G network already reaching two-thirds of Londoners, this investment will bring next-generation mobile connectivity deep underground for the first time ever, giving our customers a seamless service while on the move. We’ve already invested hundreds of millions of pounds in the capital to expand and upgrade our fixed and mobile networks which has accelerated London’s transformation into a cutting-edge digital hub, fuelling growth and connecting communities to gigabit services.