Her Majesty the Queen visited the under-construction Crossrail station at Bond Street as the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, announced that the new railway will be known as the Elizabeth line in her honour.

The Elizabeth line will transform travel across the city, boosting the economy by billions of pounds and supporting thousands of new jobs and homes.

The Mayor was joined by Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, London’s Transport Commissioner Mike Brown MVO, the Crossrail construction company’s Chairman Terry Morgan, and Chief Executive Andrew Wolstenholme, as they gave Her Majesty a tour of the Bond Street station site. 

Bond Street Station will see 24 trains per hour in each direction when the central section of the Transport for London (TfL) run railway opens in 2018.

Her Majesty, who celebrates her 90th birthday in April, met a wide range of people involved in the construction of Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project. This included apprentices working on building the railway, engineers fitting out the station and drivers of the trains that will serve the line.

This marks the latest in a long-held association between the royal family and London’s transport network. 

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: "As well as radically improving travel across our city, the Elizabeth line will provide a lasting tribute to our longest serving monarch."

The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP said: "Given Her Majesty the Queen’s long association with UK transport, it is very fitting that this vital link across our capital will be named the Elizabeth Line in her honour. This is an example of British engineering at its best and will transform the way people travel across London and beyond from 2018, bringing better and faster journeys, while boosting jobs and driving economic growth.

Mike Brown MVO, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: "This new railway is absolutely vital to meeting the needs of the capital’s rapidly growing population. The Elizabeth line will transform the way people get across our city and will enable London to continue to succeed, contributing to the economic health of the entire country. In running this important new railway we will ensure that it serves as a fitting tribute to Her Majesty the Queen."

Stretching from Reading and Heathrow in the west across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, the Elizabeth line will change the way people travel around London and the south east and add much needed new capacity to London’s transport infrastructure.

When the railway fully opens it will significantly increase the capital’s rail capacity, carrying over half a million passengers per day. Some 1.5 million people will have better access to the jobs and opportunities of London’s main employment centres, and an estimated £42 billion will have been added to the economy of the United Kingdom.

A fleet of brand new 200 metre long trains will run on the Elizabeth line, featuring nin walk-through carriages, air conditioning, CCTV and real-time travel information.