Crossrail’s seven tunnelling boring machines (TBMs) are approaching 25km out of 42km of new train tunnels that will link east and west London. Another 14km of new passenger, platform and service tunnels are being constructed below the new Crossrail stations.
Phyllis is the first TBM to complete her tunnel construction with another three 1,000-tonne, 150m-long TBMs due to complete tunnelling at Farringdon in 2014.
The completed tunnel was visited by chief treasury secretary Danny Alexander, infrastructure minister Lord Deighton and London’s deputy mayor Isabel Dedring (pictured below). They entered the tunnel via what will be the future Crossrail Farringdon station.
Crossrail chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme said: “Crossrail has finished construction of its first section of tunnel, showing that the UK can deliver big projects on time and on budget. In the process we are creating a new generation of tunnellers, with many of them training at the new £13m Tunnelling & Underground Construction Academy in east London, providing skills for not only Crossrail but future infrastructure projects. We have also helped more than 750 people move from unemployment into work.”
Project completion remains on course for 2018.
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