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two twin-tunnels from Limmo to Victoria Dock ear-
lier this summer.
Crossrail will complete its rail tunnels next year
when tunnel machines Elizabeth and Victoria, cur-
rently in Whitechapel, reach Farringdon in central
London. Crossrail’s new rail tunnels are 83 per cent
complete and the project remains on time and
within budget.
AndrewWolstenholme, Crossrail Chief Executive
said:
“Huge amounts of planning go into every
tunnel drive, and this one is no different.
We are deploying some of the world’s best
engineering talent and machinery to safely
build these new tunnels.”
Ellie has already successfully completed a tunnel
from Pudding Mill Lane, near Stratford, to Stepney
Green. The tunnel machine is 150 m long and 7.1 m
in diameter and is staffed by teams of 20 people.
The concrete and steel tunnel segments are made
in Chatham, Kent and transported to Limmo by river
barge.
Joint Venture Dragados Sisk is constructing the
eastern tunnels between Pudding Mill Lane and
Stepney Green, Limmo Peninsula and Farringdon,
and Victoria Dock Portal and Limmo.
Jessica Going Strong
Crossrail’s tunnel boring machine, Jessica, has
completedanewtraintunnel fromLimmoPeninsula,
near Canning Town, breaking into Victoria Dock
Portal in east London.
The 1,000 tonne machine completed her 900
metre journey in just 9 weeks, travelling as far as
41 metres per day. It is Jessica’s second Crossrail
tunnel drive, having already created one of the two
tunnels forming the spur from Pudding Mill Lane
near Stratford to Stepney Green.
With her work completed, unlike many tunnel
boring machines in the past, she will not be buried
in a tunnel. She is to be dismantled, with parts re-
turned to manufacturer, Herrenknecht, for use on
other tunnelling projects.
Jessica is also 150 m long and 7.1 m in diameter
and was staffed by teams of 20 people. Tunnel seg-
ments were made in Chatham, Kent and transport-
ed to Limmo by river barge.
Crossrail uncovers Brunel’s railway
heritage
• Victorian-era rail infrastructure excavated near Paddington as part of the UK’s largest
archaeological programme
• Engineering marvels of the Great Western Railway are uncovered for the first time in
more than 100 years
• Remains of structures built by celebrated engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel for his
Great Western Railway have been unearthed near Paddington in west London.
TBM, Ellie, begins final 900 m drive - the shortest
but most complex tunnel due to adjacent rail
system and the Rive Lee and River Thames