Crossrail Ltd (CRL) has confirmed the appointment of an Arup/Atkins team to undertake one of the largest and most important elements of the Crossrail project – the detailed design of the major twin tunnels to be bored beneath Central London.
In all there will be 46km of 6m diameter tunnel in two parallel bores along a 23km route running from Paddington through to the East of London. This will include a crossing beneath the Thames at Woolwich and interfaces with six major new underground stations. The tunnels will be constructed using Tunnel Boring Machines; one of the largest tunnelling projects in Europe at present.
“"This has been a momentous week for Crossrail, Arup and all involved in the project so far. The appointment of the Arup/Atkins team builds on a number of major rail projects across the world where we have successfully collaborated with Atkins. Meanwhile groundbreaking at the new Canary Wharf Station, of which Arup is lead designer, demonstrates that the project is now truly gathering momentum. We look forward to contributing our knowledge and skills in making the Crossrail vision a reality." Duncan Wilkinson, Arup Project Director
The scope of work includes detailed design of the tunnels, design of the segmental linings, track systems and construction planning. In addition the team are responsible for the coordination of overall ground movement assessments from bored tunnels, stations, other SCL tunnels and shafts including assessments of severity of impacts on 4,410 buildings (of which 250 are listed), 243 major infrastructure assets (for example other rail, utility and service tunnels) and thousands of other smaller scale utilities.
“"Crossrail is set to become one of the world’s most prestigious new rail links and that demands engineers of the highest calibre and experience. Atkins brings a wealth of expertise from other successful international metro-style projects such as the Dubai Metro, South Africa’s Gautrain, Copenhagen metro, and numerous projects for Hong Kong’s MTRC and KCRC." David Tonkin, Managing Director of Atkins rail business
Above ground, the team will also undertake assessment and the design of protection measures for almost 4500 buildings that might be affected by settlement from the tunnelling work, of which around 250 are listed.
Peak resourcing during the 18 month design period will reach over 150 staff working in a collaborative design environment within CRL's Canary Wharf offices.
Arup and Atkins have a long established partnership on projects around the world and the collaboration has already been successful on earlier Crossrail design works. As a result, the companies were able to bring together a highly experienced and professional team to work closely on developing a successful submission.