It's as enormous as they said it was and as excellent as you hoped it would be.
And although I've been all over it, including the secret lift, the escalator switchback and the very long passage, I can't possibly do the whole thing justice in a single post. And that's fine, it just means umpteen future posts to unpick everything, precisely as you'd expect. But I can show you 40 photos on Flickr if you didn't get down yesterday and fancy a flavour of what you missed. And I can also bring you a potted summary of every station along the central section, each with a not-entirely-representative-but-hopefully-alluring photograph of its own, starting out west...
Paddington
This feels quite different to the rest of the stations, partly because it's (currently) the end of the line and partly because it's deeply-stacked beneath a former taxi rank. Mainline passengers get to descend one set of giant escalators into something bricky and capacious, then down another set into a shallower slice where the trains run. It feels darker than most of the other stations, despite the flying saucer lamps in formation overhead, but there was a glorious moment when I spotted direct sunlight on the platform courtesy of the splodgy glass roof positioned way above. I felt a rhythm to the station as each westbound train arrived and emptied out, once every five minutes, just as the eastbound train that'd been slowly filling on the opposite platform closed its doors and headed off. How they're going to cope with rapid detraining when the service doubles later in the year I don't know (but that's precisely why the line isn't yet open on Sundays). Also of note is the escape tunnel to the Bakerloo line, which is indeed a fair yomp, and one particular set of steps is sure to appear in my future post All The Secret Crossrail Staircases You Never Knew Existed.
Bond Street
No Bond Street's not open yet, as announcements at all preceding stations are careful to announce. Instead trains pass straight through allowing you to review the state of the platforms and their general uncompletedness, including the odd incomplete panel on the walls and crews toiling in hi-vis down the crosspassages. A nice touch is that all the roundels have been renamed to read, alternately, Station Closed and Opening Soon... although because trains pass through at speed it's nigh impossible to get an unblurry shot.
Tottenham Court Road
Here's the first of the big central stations with entrances at both ends, although here it's relatively straightforward because all the underground interchanges are at one end and the other end's mainly for shopping. You can get your bearings architecturally because the walls are differently spotty and the lamps are differently gorgeous as you approach the foot of the escalators. Those escalators may be long but at least they'll whisk you out of the station in one go, which isn't always the case elsewhere. Passengers needing to please Instagram should note that the eastbound platform is gently curved so is inherently prettier, indeed uniquely so (and the curved crosspassages are arguably more photogenic still). Also if you're getting off at the Dean Street end watch out for 'Way Out' signs that mischievously point away from the exit, which are sure to appear in my future post Evil Arrows That Assume It's Rush Hour All Day Long.
Farringdon
The Crossrail/Thameslink nexus has two centres of gravity, one at each end, and the only way from one to the other is along the platforms. They're very long platforms, indeed even longer than they need to be because the architects futureproofed them with room for two additional carriages. This means that everyone arriving at the Barbican end has to walk a bit further along the glass wall to reach the first door, a potential optical illusion which means you might not spot a train is waiting in the platform until it's too late. I think I'd have been more awestruck by the scale of things if only I hadn't had a sneak preview down here at an Open Day four years ago. It is still the case that the Underground is only signposted towards the Farringdon end, with the 'Barbican' escalators instead funnelling passengers towards a brand new ticket hall by Smithfield Market. The lift connection to Barbican station is very understated and very easily missed, so is sure to appear in my future post You Won't Believe It's Now Possible To Walk From Liverpool Street to Farringdon Underground.
Liverpool Street
This is the slightly mind-bending one because it makes no secret of being one station at one end and a different one at the other. I even heard an announcement saying "Welcome to Moorgate station" while I was standing next to a purple Liverpool Street roundel, although that may have been a first day blip. The most impressive feature, which is likely to engender a "woo!" from first-time visitors when revealed mid-descent, is the central passageway lined by uplighter totems resembling a row of geometric trees. Liverpool Street is also the only station where you can stand in the middle and see the escalators at both ends, or at least the first of a set of two escalators because these platforms are really quite deep. I spotted a lot of able-bodied youngsters excitedly waiting to ride the funicular lifts that shadow the escalators up towards (but not quite as far as) the existing Liverpool Street station. As for the extraordinary passage that extends to the Northern line at Moorgate, and even includes seating halfway, this is sure to appear in my future post The Underground's Most Ridiculously Long Interchanges.
Whitechapel
Here's where TfL's 'no expense spared' mantra ran out. Whitechapel's a lovely station, indeed arguably the purest of the lot, but they only built one exit because it was decreed that the Blind Beggar pub and the big Sainsbury's didn't merit a second. This means there's just one set of escalators at one end and no need for passengers to walk much further, so the platforms get spookily quieter the further along you go. The member of staff patrolling the farend gave me funny looks as I walked past the last platform door and entered the overspill where the emergency exits are. One of my favourite things about Whitechapel is the art that appears in place of adverts along its length, these being a selection of lifesize aluminium collages by Chantal Joffe depicting local people she saw on Whitechapel Road one Sunday in 2017. If you're only passing through it'll give you something nice to look at as the train slows down, and is sure to appear in my future post That Thing You Just Walked Straight Past Is Actually Art.
Canary Wharf
Blimey that was quick, Crossrail really speeds through, indeed we only left Paddington 16 minutes ago. The most obvious thing about Canary Wharf is that its escalators are brightyellow, indeed canary yellow (see what they did there). There are a lot of these yellow escalators, first three sets up from the platforms to a (surprisingly sparse) mezzanine level, then three more sets up to what passes as basement level on the Canary Wharf estate. Prepare to get quite confused as you try to interchange through the adjacent shopping mall, with the Jubilee line signposted from the quieter end you'd never use otherwise. Also by now you'll probably have noticed that only five companies are advertising across Crossrail stations, not quite the global megabrands TfL intended back in 2017 but they did reel in Google, Reed, Sage, Schweppes and, er, MoneySuperMarket, all of whom are sure to appear in my future post The Further Prostitution Of Public Transport.
Custom House
Let's be honest, this is the dull one. It's a single island platform with a DLR station and exhibition centre at one end, so has been ready for ages, and my word its staff must have got really bored over the last year. You enter from the overbridge and must then filter down to purple train level via the cheapest infrastructure TfL could get away with. Don't think you need to walk down, or up, because immediately beyond the first set of steps will be a single escalator going the same way. Less than half of the platform is covered so if you arrive at the wrong end during a torrential shower, as was the reality on opening day, you're going to get very wet. Also even the plastic canopies at the 'dry' end have gaps in them, a damp error that's sure to appear in my future post Well It May Look Nice But It Doesn't Actually Work.
Woolwich
Woolwich is a bit like Whitechapel in that it only has an exit at one end, but also not like Whitechapel in that it has one central platform rather than two separate bores. The roof is supported by a central row of thumpingly thick concrete columns, the lights resemble giant shower heads, and for a budget station added to the line at the last minute the overall effect is really rather appealing. The glass on the platform walls was surprisingly mucky though, far grubbier than at any other station. So long as you alight at the nearend you can be up in the ticket hall very quickly but you'll greatly increase that time if you make the mistake of alighting at the other. I tried walking the full length of the platform at normal walking pace and it took me 2 minutes and 55 seconds because that's how long these horizontal behemoths are, as is sure to appear in my future post Crossrail Journeys Where The Endless Walking Takes Longer Than The Actual Train Ride.
Abbey Wood
And finally, after precisely 29 minutes, it's the end of the line. I checked with a stopwatch and just over 5 of those 29 minutes had been spent waiting at stations, indeed the dwell time at some of the central London stations is really long. The train is not going to zoom off without you. An oddity at Abbey Wood is that trains on one platform stop two-carriages-worth further down the platform, and an annoyance is that it's not as blatant as it ought to be which of the two trains will be departing first. Yesterday the platform was abuzz with spoddy passengers grabbing train pics, helpful staff wielding route maps, police officers eyeing everything closely and a couple of blokes in 'Security' jackets who appeared to be overkill. And every day you can either cross the footbridge to grab a Dartford train or exit through the gateline into the actual borough of Bexley which has never had a TfL rail service before. The surrounding area is thrilled to suddenly be in close contact with central London, a truth which has already featured in my earlier post Visit Abbey Wood, so rest assured there's only a finite amount of Crossrail content still to appear.
