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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Kieren Williams

Elizabeth Line evacuated at Paddington Station hours after big opening on first day

The Elizabeth Line has been evacuated at Paddington Station on its first ever day, hours after its big opening.

Only a few hours after the first train left the station, the brand new line has had one of its largest stations evacuated.

Hundreds were led out the station after a fire alert, but the line has now reopened and service has resumed. Footage showed crowds leaving the station.

A spokesperson for TFL told the Mirror that it had thankfully been a false alert, and in-line with procedure, they evacuated the station.

However, shortly afterwards commuters were allowed back onto the line and it quickly reopened.

Commuters being evacuated from Paddington Station due to a false alert (rachaelvenables/Twitter)

One commuter caught in the evacuation tweeted: "Trains already won't stop at Paddington because of 'fire alarm activation' #ElizabethLine #PurpleTrain."

Another said: "London Fire Brigade reported to be on their way to Paddington #ElizabethLine to 'carry out their checks'. Apparently someone pressed the fire alarm."

This comes after hundreds of people queued this morning to be first onto the line.

The first train on the new line left on time at 6.33am carrying hundreds of passengers.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, who also travelled on the first train, said: "It's a landmark day. I'm excited. I'm like the little boy before Christmas."

After the false alert the station has since reopened and normal service has resumed (rachaelvenables/Twitter)

He called the Elizabeth line a "game-changer" that will "transform our city".

The new line hasn't had a quiet morning, along with the evacuation, another station saw a protest over workers' rights.

Tottenham Court Road station saw a protest staged by the RMT union, where they unfurled a banner calling for protection to TFL workers' pay and pensions.

It comes after an announcement yesterday that 4,000 station Tube staff are set to walk out on June 6 following the threat of 600 job losses.

The £19billion Crossrail opened today after 12 years of work.

The long-awaited railway is expected to carry 200 million people a year and will increase London's rail capacity by 10%, according to Transport for London.

However, the line will not operate direct end-to-end services at first, as it is being opened in phases.

And the new station at Bond Street won’t open until later this year.

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