New images have been released as nearly 90% of London's Crossrail tunnels are completed, showing stunning views from underneath the streets of the capital.
New Crossrail Pictures
(01 of10)
Open Image ModalPlatform tunnels at the new Crossrail Bond Street station. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalBond Street platform tunnels (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalFrom 2018, 220,000 passengers are expected to use Bond Street London Underground and Crossrail station every day. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalSeveral hundred tunnellers have been working 24/7 for the past two years constructing the platform tunnels beneath Oxford Street. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalMachinery in the new platform tunnels for Liverpool Street station. More than 1.5 kilometres of platform and pedestrian tunnels are being created over 40 metres below ground level. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalTunnelling machine Elizabeth at Whitechapel station. The 150 metre long, thousand tonne machine is one of eight used on Crossrail. With almost 90% of tunnelling complete, Elizabeth is one of just two machines still operational. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalPlatform tunnels at the new Farringdon station. When it opens in 2018, Farringdon will be one of the busiest stations in Britain. An estimated 90,000 passengers will use the Crossrail station every day and 150,000 will use the Farringdon interchange that will also encompass London Underground and Thameslink services. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalPlatform tunnels at Tottenham Court Road. Alongside TfL’s upgrade of the existing Tube station, Crossrail is building a new station the length of three football pitches, four storeys below ground. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalMore than 200,000 passengers will use Tottenham Court Road station when Crossrail services start in 2018. (credit:Crossrail)
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Open Image ModalTrain tunnel at Paddington. The new Crossrail station is being constructed directly next to Brunel’s Grade I listed Paddington mainline station. Once complete, the station will be 250 metres long and 30 metres wide and will cater for 70,000 passengers a day (credit:Crossrail)
More than 23 miles of excavations are finished, with just three miles left to dig.
Focus now shifts to adding fixtures to the cavernous subways and expanding the stations which will be served by the new system.
The expansion of London's rail network has been ongoing since 2009, and is planned to be fully operational by 2019.
In that time, the construction has uncovered two separate burial grounds, and caused the tragic death of one worker.
These new photographs give a stark contrast to the set released last year, showing the incredible progress of the £14.8 billion rail scheme.
Crossrail
Connaught Tunnels (01 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Pudding Mill Lane tunnel portal(02 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Stepney Green Shaft (03 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Tottenham Court Road Station(04 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Wallasea Island new nature reserve (05 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Whitechapel new station (06 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Plumstead Portal (07 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Canary Wharf(08 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Finsbury Circus(09 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Paddington(10 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
O2 Arena(11 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Crossrail Tunnel Boring Machine - cutterhead being installed at Westbourne Park_ 31 January 2012(12 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Crossrail Tunnel Boring Machine - cutterhead being installed at Westbourne Park_ 31 January 2012(13 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
BBMV Crossrail C510 Finsbury Circus Grout Shaft (14 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
TBM Phyllis(15 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
Westbourne Park August 2012(16 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
TBM Elizabeth lowered into main shaft 25 October 2012(17 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
TBM Victoria lowered into Limmo Shaft 27 October 2012(18 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
TBM Victoria lowered into Limmo Shaft 27 October 2012(19 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
Western tunnels October 2012(20 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
Western tunnels November 2012(21 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
Limmo December 2012(22 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
Sprayed Concrete Lining at Hanover Square site Bond Street Crossrail station(23 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
Stepney Green shaft tunnelling 1(24 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail )
Stepney Green shaft tunnelling 3(25 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Stepney Green Shaft tunnelling works 2(26 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Tottenham Court Road Dean Street Crossrail ticket hall(27 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Tottenham Court Road Dean Street Crossrail ticket hall 2(28 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Tunnelling at Hanover Square site Bond Street Crossrail station(29 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Tunnelling machine in Crossrail eastern tunnels(30 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Tunnelling machine Phyllis Crossrail western tunnels(31 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Tunnelling works below Finsbury Circus Liverpool Street Crossrail station(32 of32)
Open Image Modal (credit:Crossrail)
Timeline from December 2014:
- May/June 2015 - First trains will run as Crossrail takes over the Shenfield to Liverpool Street service from Abellio Greater Anglia, using existing Class 315 trains
- May 2017 - Crossrail will begin to roll out brand new Class 345 trains
- December 2018 - Core section (Paddington to Abbey Wood) will open for first passenger services
- May 2019 - Service from Paddington to Shenfield will open
- December 2019 - Full services from Reading/Heathrow to Shenfield/Abbey Wood expected to begin