Crossrail’s final tunnelling machine, Victoria, is being dismantled 40m below Farringdon in central London following the completion of Crossrail tunnelling.
Victoria’s 130m trailer is being removed via the shaft at Stepney Green and returned to manufacturer Herrenknecht, with parts recycled for future tunnelling projects. The cutter head is being cut into small pieces and removed from Farringdon.
Roger Mears, Crossrail Eastern Tunnels Project Manager said: “Crossrail’s last tunnelling machine, Victoria, has finished her journey and is being dismantled and recycled. Thanks to the quality of these marvellous machines and skill of the teams who operated them, Crossrail’s tunnels are now complete, ready for the complex task of fitting out the railway.”
TBM Victoria, named after Queen Victoria who oversaw the birth of modern railways, completed tunnelling when she successfully broke into Farringdon Crossrail station in May 2015.
Over the last three years, eight 1,000 tonne tunnelling machines have bored 42km or 26 miles of new 6.2m diameter rail tunnels under London. The tunnels weave their way between existing underground lines, sewers, utility tunnels and building foundations from station to station at depths of up to 42m.
The total funding available to deliver Crossrail is £14.8bn. The Crossrail route will pass through 40 stations and run from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21 km (13 miles) tunnels to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
When Crossrail opens it will increase central London’s rail-based transport network capacity by 10%, supporting regeneration and cutting journey times across the city. Crossrail services are due to commence through central London in 2018.
Crossrail is being delivered by Crossrail Limited (CRL). CRL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London. Crossrail is jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport and Transport for London.
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