Custom House Elizabeth Line Station
Custom House, London, UK · Part of Crossrail project (completed and handed over to TfL as the first new Elizabeth Line station) · Part of the overall Crossrail/Elizabeth Line project (approx. £18.9bn overall project cost). Specific cost for Custom House station not publicly disaggregated. Kite Glass contract value £335,000.
The judgement call
Account-gated at launch* The station was the first new Elizabeth Line station to be completed and handed over to TfL. * Design emphasizes natural light, instinctive wayfinding, and future passenger growth. * Use of an 18-degree angle throughout the design to align with the surrounding street layout. * Artist Sonia Boyce commissioned for a permanent public art installation along the trackside wall.
Key engineering challenges
* Designing a free-standing station with a strong architectural presence in a challenging urban context. * Implementing a "kit of parts" solution with off-site manufactured precast concrete components for efficient construction. * Working around existing DLR tracks and high voltage cables. * Integrating the station with the ExCel exhibition halls and improving north-south connectivity.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Transport for London (TfL), Crossrail (now Elizabeth Line)
- Lead contractor
- Laing O’Rourke (overall contractor); Delta Structures (Kite Glass contractor)
- Lead designers
- Allies and Morrison (architects); Atkins, Arup, Ramboll (structure and services)
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- Single interchange with DLR; open columnar structure with a two-storey colonnade; large canted translucent ETFE pillow roof; 24-hour bridge from Freemasons Road.
- Disciplines
- Architecture; civil; structural; mechanical; electrical; urban planning; landscape architecture
- Standards & frameworks
- Crossrail standards; London Underground standards; CDM Regulations
Sources: * Allies and Morrison (Undated), "Custom House Elizabeth Line Station", https://www.alliesandmorrison.com/projects/custom-house-elizabeth-line-station * Kite Glass (Undated), "Crossrail: Custom House Station, East London", https://www.kiteglass.co.uk/portfolio_page/crossrail-custom-house-station-east-london/ * Railway Gazette International (2022), "London's underground overground Elizabeth Line opens today", https://www.railwaygazette.com/infrastructure/2022/05/24/londons-underground-overground-elizabeth-line-opens-today/