--- title: Elizabeth Line, New London Train Line, Named After Queen description: London Crossrail line will be named the Elizabeth Line after Queen Elizabeth II canonical: https://time.com/4233740/london-queen-elizabeth-line-crossrail/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-23T16:58:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:30:24.648Z og:title: London Is Getting a Train Line Named After Queen Elizabeth og:description: London Crossrail line will be named the Elizabeth Line after Queen Elizabeth II og:url: https://time.com/4233740/london-queen-elizabeth-line-crossrail/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt920e6c28c4fcea30/69887ea9f887dc7af6e94bc4/queen-elizabeth-line.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: queen-elizabeth-line og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: London Is Getting a Train Line Named After Queen Elizabeth twitter:description: London Crossrail line will be named the Elizabeth Line after Queen Elizabeth II twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt920e6c28c4fcea30/69887ea9f887dc7af6e94bc4/queen-elizabeth-line.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # London Is Getting a Train Line Named After Queen Elizabeth  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Feb 23, 2016 4:58 PM UTC  On February 23, 2016, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II visited the site of the new Crossrail Bond street station in central London, which is still under construction. On February 23, 2016, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II visited the site of the new Crossrail Bond street station in central London, which is still under construction.Richard Pohle/pool—AP  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Feb 23, 2016 4:58 PM UTC A London train line will be named the [“Elizabeth Line”](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a3201b6df5034f23b7225197bd0e0853/new-london-rail-line-be-named-elizabeth-line-after-queen) after Queen Elizabeth II. The nearly 90-year-old monarch joined the city’s mayor Boris Johnson Tuesday to unveil a purple sign for the new line, known as the Crossrail project, at its future Bond Street station, where construction is still underway. The segment of the route that will run underneath central London is expected to open in December 2018 and serve [more than half a million](http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/23/crossrail-named-elizabeth-line-honour-of-the-queen?CMP=twt%5Fgu) passengers. The “Elizabeth Line” will be the latest rail line named after a royal, between the Tube lines “Jubilee” (honoring the Queen’s 1977 Silver Jubilee) and the “Victoria” (who was Britain’s longest reigning monarch — until [Queen Elizabeth II surpassed](http://time.com/4019998/queen-elizabeth-ii-reign-began/) that record in September 2015). British news outlets have already nicknamed the railway the [“Lizzie Line.”](http://news.sky.com/story/1647086/the-lizzie-line-crossrail-tribute-to-queen) The news has even inspired a [“make your own Tube sign”](http://www.buzzfeed.com/paulcurry/the-barry-is-a-legend-line?utm%5Fterm=.fpEnpvo5w#.mn1DQB4EJ) generator. While some on the Internet seem to be more interested in her [purple hat](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/queen-elizabeth-hat-purple%5Fus%5F56cc706ae4b041136f184665), many on [Twitter](http://mashable.com/2016/02/23/elizabeth-line-crossrail/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-Tw-main-link#G3blYNi87Pqj) seized on the news as an opportunity to make jokes. Examples below. > [](https://twitter.com/TechnicallyRon/status/702098646158942208) > [](https://twitter.com/below%5Ffold/status/702102427789606913) > [](https://twitter.com/mrjohnofarrell/status/702102439030296576) > [](https://twitter.com/innocent/status/702157683667955712) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4233740/london-queen-elizabeth-line-crossrail/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4233740/london-queen-elizabeth-line-crossrail/"},"headline":"London Is Getting a Train Line Named After Queen Elizabeth","datePublished":"2016-02-23T16:58:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:30:24.648Z","description":"It is expected to open in December 2018","url":"https://time.com/4233740/london-queen-elizabeth-line-crossrail/","keywords":["Newsfeed","World"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt920e6c28c4fcea30/69887ea9f887dc7af6e94bc4/queen-elizabeth-line.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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