Crossrail tunnels complete

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Prime Minister David Cameron has gone underground to celebrate the end of the Crossrail tunnelling programme.

More than two years since the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) broke ground at Canary Wharf, the tunnelling programme has now come to an end at Farringdon.

Crossrail’s TBMs have constructed 42 kilometres of new rail tunnel beneath the city. Attention now turns to fit out and systems integration.

The tunnelling programme has created thousands of jobs and led to the construction of a dedicated tunnelling academy in Ilford.

David Cameron said: “Crossrail is an incredible feat of engineering that will help to improve the lives of working people in London and beyond.

“The project is a vital part of our long term plan to build a more resilient economy by helping businesses to grow, compete and create jobs right along the supply chain.”

Crossing from Reading in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, £14.8 billion railway will serve 40 stations across London, adding an estimated 10 per cent to the capitals rail capacity.

Crossrail services technically started on May 31 when Transport for London took over services between Liverpool Street and Shenfield.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This is a landmark moment for London that puts us a gigantic step closer to the launch of an absolutely vital new railway, which will hugely improve our ability to speedily move people across our city.

He added: “It is a wonderful example of our nation’s talent for engineering, a talent that must not be allowed to founder and that I hope will eventually be put to use on the construction of Crossrail 2.”

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