Crossrail update

[ffutures]

I just found an artist's impression of the Crossrail portal on line, which makes its location and layout clearer. It looks like the actual tunnel entrance (at the back of the curved bit, next to the front of the red underground train) is located more or less opposite my house, but trains won't actually be visible until they have come out of the cutting further to the west. This is annoying from the viewpoint of not being able to train-watch, but probably a good thing from the noise point of view.



Having built the deep retaining walls, they're now excavating the big underground "box" which will be the starting point for the tunnelling machinery later this year - they've also set up the travelling crane that will remove a few kilotons of soil as the tunnel is built, but I don't think it's ready for use yet, I think they have to lay more track or something. At the moment the view from my flat is a bit dull, I think that for the next couple of years most of the activity will be to the East and West, not directly opposite.

More (sporadically) as it happens.

Later = I was wrong about the big crane, it's moved a couple of times today though I haven't seen it lifting anything. I was also wrong about nothing much happening opposite me - there seem to be several excavators in the "box" area now. I think that as they go deeper most of the soil will be coming to the surface there, to be loaded onto trucks. I really don't understand why getting it out by rail isn't an option, presumably it would disrupt the railway too much.

Comments

[willplant.livejournal.com]

I use the mainline into Paddington every week and there is certainly an impressive amount of work going on.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

They're really getting into it now, apparently the mega-tunnelling machine of doom starts work later this year so they have to have everything ready first.