London's newest underground railway named for Queen

The colour and name of the newest addition to London's Tube map was unveiled on Tuesday, with Transport for London revealing the Crossrail project would be coloured purple, and titled the Elizabeth line.

It came as the Queen visited Bond Street station in central London - one of the £15bn project's major construction sites - with Mayor Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to view progress, and meet staff.

Johnson said he had the idea to name the route after Her Majesty two years ago, but managed to keep it a secret until this week.

"Queen Elizabeth has given extraordinary service to this country over an unprecedented period, and it is entirely right that she should be honoured with a living tribute that will last for centuries," the mayor said.

Once complete, the Elizabeth line was expected to carry 200 million passengers a year. It would run from Reading and Heathrow in the west, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, and would take pressure off a number of crushed Tube lines, particularly the Central.

Unlike current, cramped deep-level Tube services, the Elizabeth line was being built to full mainline standards, with larger tunnels and trains allowing more passengers on each service.

The first services on the route would start running between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, Essex next May, though it would be known as Crossrail until the main tunnels in central London came on line in 2018, at which point the Elizabeth line name would be applied.

"Given Her Majesty'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," said McLoughlin.

The Queen had long shown a keen interest in the railways, having become the first reigning monarch to ride the London Underground when she opened the Victoria line in 1969.

Work on the Elizabeth line began in 2009, and tunnelling was now complete, with work focusing on fitting out the tunnels and stations. Once fully operational, 24 trains would ply the line each hour.

Journey times between Bond Street and Heathrow would be reduced to 29 minutes - 20 minutes faster than now - and Bond Street to Paddington would take just two minutes.

Official figures anticipated the route would bring another 1.5 million people within a 45 minute commute of London's key employment districts, and add £42bn to the UK economy.