As someone who isn’t from London, learning how to navigate through the London Underground network and taking my first ever journey on the Elizabeth line proved to be quite difficult. Let alone trying to get from A to B, the confusion I felt on knowing when and if I should tap in and out due to changing from National Rail to the Elizabeth line meant I found it tricky to know what I should be doing.
My first day using the line was quite a shock. The Elizabeth line is much cleaner than my experience of using the Tube. The seats are comfier and there’s a lot more room for people to fit in. I hope that in future the Tube network will eventually be like this as I’ve found the Jubilee line in particular to be congested and dirty to the point where my hands were covered in black dirt.
I found the digital indicators of the routes in Elizabeth line stations to be handy in reassuring me on whether I was on the right platform or not. However, what I found on my first day was there always seemed to be a delay.
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I was stuck in Hayes and Harlington for two hours with no route back. This was mind boggling as there was no alternative route provided for us, we were told to exit the station with no instruction on where to go further.
I also found myself stuck between Liverpool Street and Whitechapel in a tunnel that was pitch black for about 10 minutes. In September, Office of Rail figures revealed the Elizabeth line topped the list for train cancellations in Britain. Despite these delays, I found when the line was running smoothly it seemed to be quite efficient with a train arriving between every two and four minutes.
However, my biggest issue was that I do not think it is very clear where to tap in and out when changing from National Rail. I usually commute from Bedfordshire and assumed that you could tap in from the usual entrance to the Elizabeth line. This was not the case as you can get fined for not properly showing where you came from.
I soon learned there is a yellow card reader tucked in the corner to say you must tap to show your change in journey. This was unclear for many others too, and they’ve been commuting for months. Maybe the signage needs to be a bit clearer, especially for those visiting London. It’s easy to be caught out.
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