Students at Goldsmith University will have a speedier journey up north as part of the new East London line opened yesterday, 27 April.  The new line allows for faster travel from Dalston Junction East London to New Cross and New Cross Gate, south of the river. The other part of the line, connecting Dalston Junction to south London at New Cross/Crystal Palace and West Croydon, will open on 23 May.

Sir Marc Brunel's twin underwater tunnels run below the Thames and were the first of their kind—in the world!—to be built. Photo Credit: diamond geezer/flickr

The East London line runs along former rail and tube lines, connecting parts of the city that sorely lack public rail transportation. The line’s cars all have air conditioning, a particularly welcome improvement. Given the timing, the opening of the line caused some speculation about Mayor Boris Johnson using the line to campaign for the elections. But for regular Londoners, the main thing is that travelling from Hackney to south of the river is now much faster.

Don’t get too excited too soon though: Although you can now use the East London line, the service is only running from 07:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Friday. Transport for London calls it ‘a limited preview service’ and says there will be a full timetable after the opening of the rest of the line on 23 May. By May next year, TfL hopes to extend the line from Dalston Junction to Highbury and Islington station.

An interesting fact: part of the East London line uses the oldest part of the London Underground—older, even, than the Underground’s first train line (connecting Farringdon and Paddington stations). Sir Marc Brunel’s twin tunnels were built as pedestrian tunnels in 1843, but were used for train traffic after 1869.

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