Range anxiety. A phrase first coined in the late 1990s when a US journalist voiced concerns over GM’s early electric cars which quoted a sub-100-mile range.

Nowadays, with EVs averaging well over 300 miles, these fears have become more psychological than technical, but nevertheless travel times, or more accurately travel perception times, will always be prevalent.

Put simply, time, not distance governs our travel decisions or what some refer to as the ‘Clash Phenomenon’ i.e. ‘Should I stay or should I go’.

Many of us live in a time-poor, content-heavy world these days and the millions of delegates, visitors and exhibitors who attend events every year are among them.

Surely then, an event – or venue – which offers ‘time back’ becomes the industry’s Holy Grail? Well, thanks to the Elizabeth line, I think we have it…

Opened on 24 May 2022, the Elizabeth line now completes some 800,000 journeys a day, making it the UK’s busiest railway. For Excel, its impact has been transformational, with our dedicated station at Custom House sitting right on our doorstep and perfectly complementing our two DLR stations.

In effect, it has moved Excel into central London, connecting us directly with Heathrow, the West End, the City, Canary Wharf and major rail interchanges across the capital. That has significantly increased our organisers catchment area, making it easier for visitors, exhibitors, speakers and international delegates to choose Excel with confidence. 

Demand has surged to such an extent that a further 10 new trains have now gone into production, reflecting how quickly passengers have embraced its speed, frequency and simplicity…not to mention the 5G connectivity onboard. For event audiences, the benefit is not just arriving faster, but arriving fresher, less stressed and with more time to meet, learn, trade and connect.

Its biggest impact though has undoubtedly been the direct access it offers to and from Europe’s busiest airport, Heathrow… and this is where it gets interesting.

I’ll be the first to admit that in years gone by, Excel suffered from its own perceptions of range anxiety. Often (unfairly) labelled as ‘hard to get to’, those sentiments have not just melted away but been replaced with almost the exact opposite.   

Pre-Elizabeth line, you might find Excel attendees taking a taxi after landing at Heathrow; a stop-start journey that could exceed 90 minutes in traffic, not far off the time the delegate has just spent in the air.

Now those same international visitors need half the time to go door-to-door without the hassle of changing trains or getting on the wrong platform (not to mention the sustainability benefits). Faster, frictionless travel equals more time… and who doesn’t want more time in their lives?

Of Excel’s four million annual visitors, around 25% travel from overseas. If each of those one million guests swap their 90-minute taxi for a 45-minute journey on the Elizabeth line – there and back – that’s millions of additional meeting hours generated for learning, networking and trading.

Since its launch, we’ve seen an increase in visitors through our doors here at Excel as a direct result of the Elizabeth line and overall connectivity. However, it’s not just quantity, it’s also in quality with a rise in C-Suite visitors. However, the really interesting bit is the 20% increase in the average daily visitor dwell time that we’ve seen here at Excel, now 7.5 hours per guest. 

Guests are no longer worrying about ‘getting back in time for the kids’ or ‘giving themselves an extra hour in case of traffic’. Instead, they’re spending that time doing precisely what they came here to do in the first place, connect.

Then, the dominoes begin. More visitors leads to more exhibitors, more exhibitors leads to more networking, more networking leads to more business, and more business leads to a stronger ROI.

Excel is not just a platform for events; it’s a platform for outcomes, global content, strong and engaged audiences and speedy, frictionless access.

All aboard.