Today I was allowed to visit one of the construction sites of Crossrail.
The Crossrail project is an underground tunnel stretching across London and connecting new and existing areas together for the first time and making journey times far shorter. At a cost of over £15bn, it’s a massive engineering project that should be ready for passenger use by 2018. As I’m living near a couple of the proposed stations I’ve been interested in the engineering, science, technology and some of the improved travel times, such as Custom House to Heathrow in 43 minutes which is much better than the current 74 minutes. I also think this will add great value to the area and do wonders for house prices.
The drill head that cut under the Thames, called Sophia, had just finished its job and was awaiting removal back to Germany to be dismantled. The size and depth of the site was truly awesome and the engineering team that escorted me around were very informative and knowledgeable. This certainly wasn’t on the tourist map and I doubt anyone will ever get the chance to go on site without an engineering qualification. Also, the Crossrail team were not travel guides but that didn’t stop them being very hospitable and friendly. A very different and interesting Sunday morning.
M