Whitechapel Crossrail station handed over to Transport for London

Whitechapel has become of the the last stations between Paddington and Abbey Wood to be handed over to TfL today, while the station’s main entrance has also reopened with step-free access possible.

A second entrance to the rear of the site has also opened which will benefit not only Crossrail passengers but also Tube and London Overground users.

A progress update video on Crossrail has been released:

Whitechapel is the seventh station to be handed over on the first stretch set to open between paddington and Abbey Wood in the first half of 2022.

The original 1876 entrance has been deep cleaned:

Bond Street, Canary Wharf and Abbey Wood remain, with Bond Street in particular having seen a number of issues throughout construction.

I’m not sure why Abbey Wood still hasn’t technically been handed over. TfL have operated it for some time now, and it appears complete – and has done for about two years.

Bond Street is expected to be last – with numerous issues during construction.

Canary Wharf was one of the first to “finish”, though later problems emerged with are now being rectified.

Testing on the line continues at 12 trains per hour. When complete, Abbey Wood will be 15 minutes from Whitechapel and Woolwich will be 12 minutes on the Elizabeth Line.

That ensures numerous areas of employment, leisure and healthcare are closer to hand, with BARTS Hospital a short distance from the station.

Whitechapel market is outside, and there’s Whitechapel Gallery nearby. Many areas that were previously a bit of a slog become easy to reach.

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