Elizabeth line: Eastenders star and Mobo award winner narrate new station audio guides

Mobo award winning rapper Guvna B and Eastenders star Scott Maslen are amongst the notable Londoners narrating free new audio guides about the Elizabeth line.

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a series of free three minute guides about the 10 stations that make up the central section of the purple line, which is about to celebrate one year of operation on May 24.

The audio guides can be accessed online, or by connecting to the station WiFi and scanning a QR code on a poster at each station between Paddington and Abbey Wood via Canary Wharf.

Each guide is narrated by someone who has a long-standing link with the local area.

Guvna B, who was born and grew up in Custom House, voices its station guide, while Maslen was born in Woolwich and narrates its station guide.

The Paddington station guide is voiced by author Karen Jankel, the daughter of Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond.

The audio guides include facts such as:

• The interior of Paddington station is long enough to house the Leadenhall Building on its side, the building also known as ‘The Cheesegrater’.
• Liverpool Street station has the shortest escalator on the Elizabeth line at 18.5 metres long.
• Tottenham Court Road station is home to the Elizabeth line’s only curved platform in the central section.

More than 100 million passenger journeys have been made since its launch in May 2022, around half of which were carried out in the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood.

On Sunday May 21, TfL will introduce the final version of the Elizabeth line timetable increasing capacity by 10%.

Emma Strain, customer director at Transport for London, said: “We are delighted that some incredible Londoners have lent their voices to this series of free audio guides.

“The Elizabeth line has transformed travel in London and beyond, and these guides offer a great way to find out more about the central section stations’ art, design and much more.

“We hope that Londoners and tourists will visit all 10 stations and listen to the full set on their travels.”

Guvna B, who narrates the Custom House audio guide, said: “I was born and bred in Custom House, it’s the place I call home.

“I grew up around working class English people as well as first-generation Brits from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

“We were all so different but our differences united us and that’s the beauty of this place.”