On 14 September, a significant milestone has been marked with the official completion of the permanent track for the Elizabeth line, as part of London’s Crossrail project.
UK Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling and Deputy Mayor for Transport Val Shawcross joined Crossrail Chairman Sir Terry Morgan and Chief Executive Andrew Wolstenholme 35 metres below ground, in the eastbound tunnel of the new Whitechapel Elizabeth line station – where the final rail clips were affixed to the track by Ellen McGuinness, Track Quality Control Engineer, to celebrate the milestone.
“The completion of the permanent track brings us another crucial step closer to the Elizabeth line opening in December 2018. We’re delighted to be officially marking this important milestone as it also signifies a great achievement for all the dedicated men and women who are working on the project,” Terry Morgan, Crossrail Chairman said.
With the track fully laid, the £14.8 billion (EUR 16.77 billion) project has entered a new phase as construction trains are now able to travel the full length of both new tunnels from end to end. A construction train completed the journey for the first time earlier this summer – entering at Plumstead in east London, passing through 9 new central station platforms and exiting at Royal Oak Portal in the west, with light at both ends of the tunnel.
“We are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century, creating jobs and business opportunities right around the country. The Elizabeth line will transform rail transport in London with better and faster journeys for passengers and the official completion of the track is a hugely significant milestone towards delivering this scheme on time and within available funding,” Chris Grayling said.
More than 1,000 highly skilled people have installed the 63,000 sleepers, 51,419 metres of rail and over 800 sections of Long Welded Rail (LWR) which make up the new 50+ kilometres of Elizabeth line track. Over 13,500 m3 of concrete – enough to fill several Olympic sized swimming pools, was poured by the concreting train as part of the track installation.
With just over a year to go until the Elizabeth line opens, the Crossrail project is now focused on the installation of platform screen doors, signalling, tunnel ventilation and communications systems along with the overhead lines that will power the new trains.
The Crossrail programme is 80 per cent complete and is being delivered on time and within budget.
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