Crossrail Tunnelling: Behind The Hoardings & Construction Of London Crossrail [Videos]

Credit: Crossrail.co.uk

Crossrail is Europe’s largest infrastructure project. Stretching from Reading and Heathrow in the west, across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, the new railway will cover over 100km of track including 21km of new twin-bore rail tunnels and ten new stations. From improving journey times across London, to easing congestion and offering better connections, Crossrail will change the way people travel around the capital.

Crossrail will, for the first time, deliver a direct connection between all of London’s main employment centres; linking Heathrow with Paddington, the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. The new railway will reduce journey times, ease congestion and improve connections.

40 STATIONS CONNECTED, 10 NEW STATIONS - A NEW RAILWAY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

• 30 existing Network Rail stations from Reading in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east will be connected to 21km of twin bore tunnels under central London 
• New Crossrail stations will be built at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House, Woolwich and Abbey Wood.
• The new stations will be on a scale not seen since the Jubilee Line Extension opened in 1999

21 KMS OF NEW TWIN-BORE TUNNELS UNDER CENTRAL LONDON

• New twin-bore tunnels measuring 21km in length will be built under central London with tunnelling starting in spring 2012
• Over the coming year, Crossrail’s tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will be delivered after which digging of the tunnels under London will begin
• The TBMs will weave their way between existing underground lines, sewers, utilities and building foundations at depths of up to 40 metres to create the tunnels required to deliver the new railway

NEW TRAIN SERVICES, REDUCED JOURNEY TIMES

• Crossrail will deliver new train services and reduced journey times with up to 24 trains per hour between Paddington and Whitechapel during peak times
• Each Crossrail train will be around 200 metres long and be able to accommodate up to 1,500 passengers
• Around 200 million passengers will travel on Crossrail each year

SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS

• Crossrail will deliver substantial economic benefits in London, the South-East and across the UK
• Over the past few years Crossrail has let some of the largest value contracts in recent UK construction history – providing a much needed boost to the UK construction industry as well as creating major employment opportunities
• The estimated benefit of Crossrail to the UK economy is at least £42 billion