At ExCel London, the countdown is on for the opening of London’s Elizabeth Line railway on May 24. The line’s dedicated stop at the exhibition center—the Custom House station—is expected to make a major impact on the attendee experience.
While the venue is already served by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), the new high-speed Elizabeth Line, also known as Crossrail, will connect the venue to central London in 12 minutes, half the time it takes on existing lines. Door-to-door from Heathrow Airport to ExCel is expected to take just 43 minutes.
“In addition to reducing journey times and expanding catchment areas, we expect to see an even higher percentage of C-Suite delegates attending our events as a direct consequence,” says ExCel CEO Jeremy Rees. “In short, the Elizabeth line will give people more of that most precious commodity—time—allowing them increased opportunities to network, learn, and of course trade.”
The completion of the Elizabeth Line is more good news for the center as it works to rebuild business lost during the Covid pandemic. Last fall, ExCel’s owners, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, announced that the building would add 269,097 square feet of event space—a 25 percent increase in the venue’s current footprint.
The expansion will include 129,166 square feet of exhibition space on the ground floor, with convention space, meeting rooms, and catering facilities on the upper floor. Construction is expected to start later this year.
