Crossrail is to be renamed the Elizabeth Line when its central section opens in 2018, London mayor Boris Johnson has announced.
The Queen visited the construction site for the new Crossrail station at Bond Street today, where Mr Johnson made the announcement.
She was given a tour of the site and met people involved in the construction of Crossrail, which will eventually run from Reading and Heathrow west of London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood.
The Queen at the Crossrail ceremony with the mayor and engineers
The Queen became the first reigning monarch to travel on the London Underground in 1969, when she opened the Victoria line.
In 1977 Prince Charles officially opened the Jubilee line, which was named to mark the Queen’s 25 years on the throne. In the same year, she opened Heathrow Central station on the Piccadilly line.
Mr 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.’
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin 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.’
