More than 130,000 passengers piled aboard the first trains running on the new £18.9 billion Elizabeth line within the first few hours of its launch. Transport enthusiasts gathered at Paddington station and Abbey Wood, in southeast London, to be on the first morning trains. A slight hitch came as Paddington, a major hub on the route, was evacuated due to a fire alarm at 08:30 BST. London Fire Brigade (LFB) gave the all clear about 30 minutes later. LFB said the alarm had been set off accidentally. Amid a celebratory atmosphere, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he felt like "the little boy before Christmas" as he boarded a train at Paddington. The Elizabeth line links Reading to the west with Essex to the east, via central London. A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman said about half the journeys on the morning of the launch involved the new central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood. The journey times between these stations have almost slashed in half. There will also be quicker travel to places like Bristol due to the Paddington connection. The first train left the terminus of the new line, Abbey Wood, at 06:30, where eager commuter Paul Powlesland had arrived two hours earlier to claim his spot. The barrister said he was thrilled to be the first one there, in plenty of time to get a selfie with the station manager and be given a commemorative badge. Woolwich was the next stop, where a queue had also built up by 06:00, before the shutters were raised. As they streamed into the new station, commuters were celebrating their journey times being halved. Some of the first passengers told the BBC they had been waiting years for this moment. The first train from southeast London rolled into Paddington at 06:58, 28 minutes after its departure from Abbey Wood. A "loud and hearty" cheer greeted the train"s maiden Elizabeth line journey as it arrived on time — unlike the project itself. Those arriving at Paddington were greeted by staff sporting large purple Elizabeth line fingers, while passengers wore wearing all manner of purple clothing. Socks, badges and even purple hair were flaunted to show appreciation for the line named in honor of the Queen. Len Goody was among those sporting purple garb for his first Elizabeth line journey. "No screeching", said an appreciative Goody He was particularly pleased about the smooth and quiet tracks and said it was "nice to know you"re the first person to travel on the first service". "You don"t get an opening of a new line very often so when something like this comes along you"ve got to have a go, try it out and see what it"s like," he said. "It"s smooth and ever so quiet. There"s no screeching like the normal Tube lines. It obviously isn"t a Tube line but it"s lovely, really nice." BBC London also spoke to "really excited" 10-year-old Raphael, who was one of those on board first on the Paddington-bound train. "It"s very quick and cool, and you can sit back and relax as the train goes through the tunnel," he said, adding he would 100% be using the service again in the future. The line isn"t operating from one end to the other yet — but those on board were celebrating the realization of a long-held ambition for transport bosses: running a new east-west railway with paying customers without any major hiccups. Mayor Khan, who travelled on the first train from Paddington, said the Elizabeth line was a "game-changer" that would "transform our city". He added the trains were "fit for a Queen" — the monarch visited Paddington last week to mark the completion of the Crossrail project. Although there was praise for the engineers involved, the ticketing system was described as a "dog"s breakfast" by Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs" Association (TSSA) trade union. He has called on the government to simplify the complicated fares structure outside the TfL zones 1-6. Elizabeth line fares are the same as those on the London Underground. Services currently operating as TfL Rail will remain unchanged, although there will be a £7.20 premium on journeys to and from Heathrow. Peak single journeys to Heathrow Airport from central London (weekdays between 06:30-09:30 and 16:00-19:00) will cost £12.70 and be £2 cheaper at other times (peak and off-peak Tube fares currently cost £5.50 and £3.50 respectively, while the Heathrow Express costs £25). Contactless pay-as-you-go payments are accepted across the line while daily and weekly capping also apply. — BBC