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| Giant tunnel boring machines ready to start Crossrail dig The Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for Transport revealed the giant 1,000 tonne tunnel boring machines that will carve Crossrail's tunnels under the capital. Almost 40 years after the new railway was proposed, this marks a significant milestone in the delivery of this major transport infrastructure project set to add £42 billion to the economy and create thousands of jobs. The first of eight enormous machines, each 150 metres long and weighing 1, 000 tonnes, will begin their journey to the Royal Oak Portal in west London from where, next week, they will start tunnelling 6.4 km (four miles) east to Farringdon via Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road. The machines are equivalent to 14 London buses end to end with enough force to lift over 2,900 London taxis. When Crossrail opens in 2018, it will increase London's rail-based transport network capacity by 10 per cent, support regeneration across the capital and the south east, help to secure London's position as a world leading financial centre, and dramatically cut journey times across the city. Latest economic forecasts suggest that Crossrail will add up to £42 bn to the economy as well as create thousands of skilled jobs and training opportunities. More than 3, 000 people are currently working directly on Crossrail, which is Europe's largest construction project, and thousands more across the UK are working to provide materials and services. Over the next three years, eight tunnel boring machines will construct a total of 21 km (13 miles) of twin-bore tunnel under the capital. The Crossrail route will pass through 37 stations and run 118 km (73 miles) from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. More than 50 UK companies are supplying materials and services for the construction of Crossrail's western tunnels between Royal Oak and Farringdon. Thirty-five of those companies are based outside London. Another 4,000 opportunities are yet to be advertised – providing huge economic opportunities for London and UK businesses to get involved in Crossrail. The first tunnel boring machine will be named Phyllis after Phyllis Pearsall who created the London A-Z. She walked 23,000 streets and a total of 3,000 miles to compile the map. The second tunnel boring machine will be named Ada after Ada Lovelace who was one of the earliest computer scientists. She worked with Charles Babbage on his "analytical engine", and is regarded as having written the first computer program. They were among the three winning pairs of names as voted by the British public. The other winners were Victoria and Elizabeth and Sophia and Mary - these names will be used to name the next four tunnel boring machines. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Construction News :: home page |