Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
Europe’s largest infrastructure project is now 65 per cent complete.
Prime Minister David Cameron, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin travelled 40 metres below the capital at Crossrail’s Farringdon site to thank and celebrate with the men and women who are constructing the new £14.8 billion east-west railway.
“Crossrail is an incredible feat of engineering that will help to improve the lives of working people in London and beyond. The project is a vital part of our long term plan to build a more resilient economy by helping businesses to grow, compete and create jobs right along the supply chain."Prime Minister David Cameron
Crossrail tunnelling began in the summer of 2012 and ended at Crossrail’s Farringdon site. Eight 1,000 tonne tunnelling machines were involved in the boring of 26 new miles or 42km of rail tunnels under London.
Arup has been working on the project since 1992 and has had significant design input into six of the ten new stations and has provided the project with numerous specialist services such as acoustic and fire engineering, archaeology, and sustainability consultancy.
Estimated to serve around 200 million passengers a year once opened, Crossrail will add 10% capacity to London's rail network. The city’s population is expected to grow from 8.4 million today to around 10 million by 2030. It will serve 40 stations, connecting Reading and Heathrow in the west with Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east via central London.
“It's been hugely rewarding to be a part of a project which is so integral to the future of London’s transport infrastructure. The completion of Crossrail’s tunnelling is an immense achievement and truly highlights the innovation and technical excellence of the engineers and designers involved." Duncan Wilkinson, Arup Framework Director for the Crossrail project
The Crossrail programme is now 65 per cent complete and is on schedule to be completed by 2018.