Meet the Elizabeth Line superfans who flew 3,000 miles to take a 30-minute train ride

The new Elizabeth Line takes less than half an hour to whisk passengers on its purple seats from Paddington to Abbey Wood under the streets of central London.

However, as the first service set off at 6.30am on Tuesday morning, many travellers had completed far longer and arduous journeys to ride the 13-mile stretch of track.

They queued for the privilege, decked themselves in purple hats, waistcoats and wigs, and came from as far afield as Canada, the Netherlands and Scotland to witness the first major expansion of the capital’s railway network since the London Underground Jubilee Line was extended in 1999.

Reece Martin, a 25-year-old transport YouTuber, had flown more than 3,000 miles from Toronto to be there for the start of the service.

“Did I really fly thousands of kilometres to bounce around the Tube and wake up at an ungodly hour to ride a not entirely done transit megaproject? You bet I did!” he said.

Others had been monitoring the line’s progress with anticipation from Europe. Ruben Toren, 22, said: “I’m from the Netherlands and I travelled here for the opening of the Elizabeth Line. I’ve been watching the construction of the line from the Netherlands and have watched it evolve. We have similar lines in Amsterdam, but this is a whole other step.”

With London awash with trainspotters, one passenger declared that the atmosphere was “like Glastonbury”.

Danny McLaren, 21, from Edinburgh, arrived at Paddington at 1.30am to reach the front of the queue and described the event as “an epic day”, spending about five hours on the train visiting every single station and photographing each one.

Speaking to The Telegraph, they said: “I wanted to be one of the first as there is an element of kudos where you can say you were one of the first on the brand new Elizabeth Line.

“I would say it was 100 per cent worth [the journey from Edinburgh], although next time I may bring a chair to sit on while I wait.”

James “Chads” Chadwick, a freelance stage designer, may only have travelled from Clapham, south London, but his commitment could not be faulted. The 31-year-old spent £2,000 making a waistcoat out of Crossrail’s seat fabric.

In the early hours of the morning, there had been no pushing or shoving as hundreds of enthusiasts assembled outside London’s Paddington station, penned in only by flimsy blue plastic gates.

The excitement was palpable among the throng desperate to be the first to ride on London’s new train line, the over-budget and much-delayed railway that spears east to west under the capital.

It was a big day for the Mayor of London as well. Sadiq Khan’s staff had been up since 4am to make sure that the official launch went smoothly. In the preceding weeks, contingency plans had been put in place for every eventuality.

After being at Paddington for the first service, the mayor resurfaced in Farringdon. There he was greeted by the Elizabeth Line’s very own choir for a rendition of Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

Mr Khan was accompanied by London’s transport commissioner, Andy Byford, the Plymouth native nicknamed “Train Daddy” by New Yorkers, whose subway system he transformed.

Mr Byford revealed he was desperate for the “Lizzie line” to be up and running in time for the Platinum Jubilee.

In the pursuit of this goal, sacrifices had to be made, however. Services will not run on Sunday, apart from the Queen’s bank holiday itself. Meanwhile, the most-troubled part of the troubled line, Bond Street station, remains closed until at least autumn.

British public transport would be out of kilter without some sort of disruption no matter how well the launch was planned. And this was duly delivered in Paddington at about 9am when hundreds of commuters were rushed off platforms as a fire alarm led to a mass evacuation and red faces among the high-visibility staff.

Mr Khan, however, was unfazed by both the short-term chaos and questions about overruns, with the Elizabeth Line – the official name for the Crossrail construction project – starting three-a-half-years late and £4 billion over budget. The full route, which links to Reading, Heathrow Airport and Shenfield, will not run direct services until 2023 at the earliest.

“This line will be transformative for decades to come,” he told The Telegraph onboard a trip to Woolwich station, south-east London.

“I was in New York recently. Go to Paris, go to Madrid. I’m not casting aspersions on other global cities. But you tell me one other global city that has this sort of infrastructure at a time of national recovery.

“Alright, there has been an overspend and a delay. But actually, every year we’re going to contribute a net £42 billion towards the national economy.

“You speak to… TikTok, [whose office] is on top of Farringdon. They’re saying that this is a good example of being pro-business.”

Mr Byford later added: “I think that in five or 10 years’ time, all that people will be thinking about is the massive benefit that this has brought not only to the capital, but the UK.”

Crossrail’s opening day was not just one for the trainspotters. Others were less interested in how comfortable the seats were and more concerned about cutting their commute.

“I’m excited just to see how quick it actually is,” said Niyana Saratatt, 45, who works in central London. “At the moment I need to take a train, a bus and a Tube. This will cut my journey in half. Everyone’s happy.”

Meanwhile, James Robert, 48, from Wigan, was on the first train from Paddington with his 11-year-old son Matthew. “It’s lovely and bright and fast,” he said. “I wish we had trains like this in Wigan.”

Colin Farmer, 84, from Croydon, was more measured, saying: “Yes, Crossrail is ‘a great achievement’ now it is up and running.

He said: “It’s history. It’s about time there were trains right through London without changing to the Underground.”

However, he added: “We’ve been waiting long enough for it.”