Is everything ok with the Lizzy line?

The Spy can reveal things aren't going quite as well as recent fanfare would suggest

Morning — here’s what we’ve spied in the capital:

🟣 TfL has triumphantly announced that the Elizabeth Line has hit 100m journeys since it opened in May 2022 — but the Spy can reveal that, despite the fanfare, things aren’t necessarily going to plan. We recently acquired TfL’s own internal projections for the line’s usage via Freedom of Information, which showed the line was originally hoped to be carrying 250m passengers a year. Quick maths: if the Lizzy line is used in the next three months as it was in its first eight, that works out as roughly 150m per year — so 100m missing passengers. Hmm.

So where are they? More than anything else, the numbers probably reflect the rise of the work-from-home Londoner. Apparently over a third of of workers in the capital are still working from home. There’s also still the final part of the line to open on May 21 of this year to enable full “through running” from east to west. So maybe that’s it.

There might be another reason, though — recent reports suggest the Lizzy line has had a wobbly start. Commuters have complained to the BBC that the line has faced delays, cancellations and overcrowding. “It wasn't what we were promised," said one such commuter.

⚫ And while we’re on transport — a Northern Line extension to Clapham Junction is being considered. Wandsworth council hopes bringing the Tube to the station, which is currently used for Overground and National Rail services, will help ease its congestion problems.

🖼️ Owners of flats overlooked by the Tate Modern’s viewing platform have won their court case arguing it was invading their privacy. The platform, which opened in 2016, was meant for panoramic views of the city, but the flat owners claimed it also led to intrusion into their glass-fronted homes on the South Bank. More cases like this might be on the way in London and beyond, as the Supreme Court ruling is seen as enshrining tenants’ rights to privacy.

🚧 A road in Tottenham has become the latest battleground in the culture wars, after it was renamed due to racial connotations, then promptly protested. Efforts to rename Black Boy Lane to La Rose Lane were initiated by Haringuey Council in the wake of the death of George Floyd in 2020, with a new sign finally installed last month. Just 24 hours later the sign was vandalised with paint, and now this week a giant poster featuring its original name was screwed to the wall behind. Controversy swirls around the whole affair, from claims of ‘history being erased’ to potential misinformation about how much replacing the sign cost.

🧑‍🚒 More emergency worker misconduct — this time from a London firefighter, who took a selfie outside Grenfell Tower during the tragedy for his Tinder profile. The revelation came to light amid a hearing on a recent review of the London Fire Brigade that found the organisation was “institutionally misogynist and racist”. Things still aren’t looking much better with the capital’s police: out of desperation to fill vacancies, the Met has reportedly asked hundreds of retired officers with histories of misconduct to re-apply, while the mastermind for the force’s drugs strategy is now accused of taking magic mushrooms, LSD and cannabis.

📚 An extension to the British Library has been given the go-ahead. A new 12-storey building with extra galleries, commerical space and shops is set to open by 2029 after it go approval from Camden council.