A new three-part documentary taking viewers behind the scenes of Crossrail starts next week on UK television channel BBC Two. The “Fifteen Billion Pound Railway” series starts on July 16th at 9pm and follows the project’s development and progress over a two year period.
The first episode, Urban Heart Surgery, follows the team of workers as they drive the 1,000-tonne TBM “Ada”, through Tottenham Court Road station within 800mm of the operating Northern line. It also looks at how Crossrail has ensured Bonhams auction house in Mayfair is able to receive its vintage cars for auction.
Episode two, Tunnels Under the Thames, sees the Bermingham father and son team build new train tunnels under the River Thames in southeast London. Meanwhile, Project Manager Linda Miller is rebuilding the Victorian Connaught Tunnel under the Royal Docks.
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The final episode, Platforms and Plague Pits, tracks the team as they construct the cathedral-sized new station at Canary Wharf. The cameras join engineers as they carve out the underground caverns that will become the new stations at Liverpool Street and Whitechapel. And, it follows archaeologists as they uncover a 14th Century emergency burial ground, established ahead of the plague.
Crossrail Chief Executive Andrew Wolstenholme said: “The documentary series provides a unique insight into the complexity and challenges of delivering Europe’s biggest construction project through the very heart of London.”
When fully operational in 2018, Crossrail will link Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, and cut journey times into and within the capital. The scheme is Europe’s largest infrastructure project and involves building dozens of new stations to serve an estimated 200 million passengers each year.
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