The Elizabeth Line will change its operator contract to the Tokyo Metro Company in May 2025, with the Japanese group taking 17.5% ownership.
The line, named after the late Queen Elizabeth II, was opened in May 2022 by Her Majesty and operated by MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited, taking 13 years to build and costing £18billion.
The new seven-year operator contract, which could be extended by a further two, is a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group, which will own 65%, Tokyo Metro, which will own 17.5%, and Sumitomo Corporation, which will own 17.5%.
A Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson said: “We ran a highly process-driven and transparent procurement process to ensure we could extract maximum value for money and benefit for TfL, and GTS Rail Operations were awarded the highest score in that process.”
“MTR has held the concession since 2015, initially for eight years, later extended by two more.
“The extension expires in May 2025.”
The Elizabeth Line is part of the TfL network and has interchanges with the London Underground, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services.
TfL authorities are primarily responsible for online passenger communication, fares and ticketing, and service updates.
TfL went through a process to develop the Tokyo Metro as the right campaign to operate the Elizabeth Line, and this will be the company’s first line outside of Japan’s capital city.
Tokyo Metro intends to use its nearly century-old expertise to prove high-quality railway operations with outstanding safety and punctuality.
The company will bring the best parts of its home city and London to optimise the current operation and prepare for the increase in service to Old Oak Common, which is planned to open in 2030.
This will include maintaining a focus on the safety of customers and staff and collaborating with partners and Network Rail to ensure high performance and customer satisfaction, along with delivering more than 500 apprenticeships over the contract terms and supporting strategic resourcing and training.
Plus, it offers grants to local community groups to support critical grassroots movements.
Miguel Parras, the Go-Ahead Group’s CEO, said: “Our objectives are aligned with TfL – to connect communities across London through safe, reliable, and sustainable public transport services delivered to the highest level of customer satisfaction.”
