New posters designed by London students promote the benefits of TfL Rail travel between Paddington and Heathrow Airport ahead of the Elizabeth line
"These young Londoners are the future of our city and we are glad to share their original poster designs with thousands of people living and working in west London"
Chris Macleod
TfL's Customer Director

Creative students living and studying along the Elizabeth line route have had their work installed across TfL fleet of state-of-the-art new trains, which are now running on TfL Rail from Paddington station.

The artistic young Londoners have had their winning entries made into train and station posters after submitting their creative designs to TfL as part of a competition.

Students from London primary and secondary schools, Special Educational Needs schools, colleges and universities near the Elizabeth line route were invited to take part, with 110 entries received.

Five eye-catching new designs were selected for the TfL Rail network in the west, which will become part of the Elizabeth line in December.

Five eye-catching new designs

They have been designed by:

  • Aaron Samuel, Springhallow School, Ealing
  • Rene St. Bernard, Sybil Elgar School, Southall
  • Anjuma Reshma Anbia, Swanlea School, Whitechapel
  • Ellie Tse, London College of Communication - University of the Arts London (UAL)
  • Eve French, London College of Communication - University of the Arts London (UAL)

One of the key criteria for the students was to present the benefits of the new TfL Rail services between Paddington and Heathrow Airport, which will become part of the Elizabeth line from December.

The winning designs showcase a variety of improvements including that stations are now staffed from first to last train and that customers can travel along the route using Oyster and contactless payment.

Their creative work also highlights that pay as you go fares on TfL Rail are in line with, or cheaper than previous Heathrow Connect fares.

World-class railway

Chris Macleod, TfL's Customer Director, said: 'It's been great to be able to exhibit these brilliant works of art in the new Elizabeth line trains running on TfL Rail from Paddington station.

'These young Londoners are the future of our city and we are glad to share their original poster designs with thousands of people living and working in west London.

'I hope that Aaron, Rene, Anjuma, Ellie and Eve will enjoy seeing their inspirational design work on TfL Rail ahead of the launch of the Elizabeth line in December.'

The new world-class railway, jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT) and TfL along with vital support and financial contributions from London's business community, will redefine the way that Londoners and visitors travel across the city.

When the Crossrail project is fully complete in December 2019, the Elizabeth line will carry over 200 million passengers a year adding 10% to central London's rail capacity.

Redefine London

Elizabeth line trains feature walk-through carriages, improved accessibility with dedicated wheelchair areas, and air-conditioning as well as three sets of wide double doors along each carriage for quicker and easier boarding and alighting.

Improved travel information for customers to plan their onward journeys is also provided using digital screens.

These new trains are initially running from Paddington to Hayes & Harlington and are 160 metres long, made up of seven spacious carriages. They will later be extended to nine carriages and the full length of 200 metres to carry up to 1,500 people at a time.

In December, when Elizabeth line services open through central London, the campaign will continue with creative students along the route again invited to submit their designs. The winning artwork will celebrate the opening of TfL's new railway and the benefits for the future of London.

Notes to editors

  • Download poster designs and images of the winning students here: https://www.flickr.com/gp/tflpress/3Pk1t4
  • TfL is providing grants to the competition winners to encourage safe, active, sustainable travel in London
  • When these new trains were first launched on TfL Rail in the east between Liverpool Street and Shenfield in June 2017, new posters were designed by east London students in a similar competition
  • The Elizabeth line, part of the Crossrail project is being delivered by Crossrail Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of TfL, and is jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport and TfL
  • The Elizabeth line will open in phases, with this campaign being part of the latest phase in the launch:

December 2018

Services through central London begin, three separate services will operate:

  • Paddington to Abbey Wood
  • Paddington (mainline station) to Heathrow
  • Liverpool Street (mainline station) to Shenfield

May 2019

Direct services will operate from Paddington to Shenfield and Paddington to Abbey Wood. Services from Paddington to Heathrow will continue to start and terminate in the mainline station

December 2019

The Elizabeth line will fully open, with services running from Reading and Heathrow in the west through the central tunnels to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east