Canary Wharf has turned its iconic buildings, bridges and parks purple to celebrate today’s opening of the Elizabeth line.
The new air-conditioned trains come with WiFi, are 205m long and can carry up to 1,500 people – over double a Piccadilly line tube capacity. The high-speed trains will run every five minutes and cut journey times to central London stations by up to 20 minutes.
Commuters are now able to get to Canary Wharf in just 12 minutes from Tottenham Court Road compared to nearly 20 minutes previously, while travel time to Liverpool Street has been cut by 80 per cent, from 26 to just six minutes long.
The new line offers speedy access to London’s largest outdoor collection of public art, the UK’s fastest go karting track, London’s only free minigolf course and the country’s first vending machine-like Short Story Stations. Diners can easily visit hundreds of bars, cafés and restaurants including the new ‘floating’ Hawksmoor on the docks and Pergola’s first bricks & mortar restaurant in the country.
Visitors will see the famous One Canada Square building lit up in purple for the next week, while Crossrail Place Roof Garden, Jubilee Park and Canada Square Park’s benches will have the purple treatment for a full month from today. The famous Camille Walala designed Adams Plaza Bridge will have dazzling moving lights all across it in celebration of the line.
What to expect on arrival at Canary Wharf:
A purple celebration: to mark the new line’s opening, Canary Wharf has lit up a number of its iconic buildings, parks and bridges in purple
London’s largest public art collection: over 110 outdoor artworks from artists including Henry Moore and Yinka Ilori, plus a diverse programme of exhibitions and events throughout the summer
Over 100 restaurants, bars and cafes: street food markets join hundreds of bars and restaurants including Hawksmoor, Caravan, The Ivy in the Park, Emilia’s Crafted Pasta, Six by Nico and Mercato Metropolitano. Many are set to offer alfresco dining this summer, their terraces spilling out onto the pavements, squares and rooftops
Wharf Weekender: exclusive discounts and deals at the Wharf’s four day shopping and food event from Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th May
Capital Karts: the UK’s fastest indoor go-karting track is open at Canary Wharf with speeds of up to 40mph. Groups of all sizes are welcomed to race against each other to take the title
Minigolf: London’s only free minigolf course* designed by transatlantic duo Craig & Karl can be found in Montgomery Square alongside Ping Pong tables and weekly food markets
Crossrail Place Roof Garden: an oasis above the station and one of London’s largest roof gardens which will host live acoustic music throughout summer
GoBoats: to sail around the river in style
Summer cinema: don’t miss any of the summer’s most exciting games, races and championships as Canada Square Park and Union Square is playing them all on the big screen
The Elizabeth Line: the facts
High speed trains will run from Canary Wharf west to Paddington and east to Abbey Wood
The state of the art trains are 205m long can carry 1,500 passengers – more than any other line. That’s over twice as much as a Piccadilly line (798), and much more than the Jubilee line (904)
Trains equipped with air conditioning and Wi-Fi, wheelchair spaces, luggage spaces and a mix of metro and main-line type seats
Speed to Canary Wharf from all over London – Excel 3 mins, Whitechapel 3 mins, Liverpool St 6 mins, Farringdon 9 mins, Tottenham Court Road 12 mins, Bond St 14 mins, Paddington 17 mins
Once the full line opens, there will be one train every 30 seconds at Canary Wharf during peak times, with 12 Elizabeth line trains per hour, 15 DLR and 32 Jubilee in each direction
