"Phenomenal progress" being made on Crossrail

Date: 1/6/2011

Work on the Crossrail project continues apace, with the Mayor of London pointing to the "phenomenal progress" made by the engineers to date.

Boris Johnson made his comments as the excavation of the project's first station - at Canary Wharf - drew close to completion.

Some 300,000 tonnes of material have been removed from the site and concrete is being poured into what will become the platform level - situated 28 metres underground.

"The army of engineers working on this station have made phenomenal progress and a huge subterranean chamber has been created deep under Canary Wharf that will throng with Londoners when Crossrail is up and running," Mr Johnson said.

He added that the project will be "crucial" to the economic fortunes of the UK's capital.

Rail Minister Theresa Villiers visited Canary Wharf last week to watch the work underway at the first station and called it one of the "most exciting" public transport schemes in the city.

Full tunnelling is set to begin in spring 2012 and it is expected that trains will be running by 2018.

Plans by Crossrail and development partner Great Portland for the first above-ground structure that will sit on top of a station at Hanover Square were approved last week by Westminster City Council.

Posted by Mary Treen