Crossrail Completes 26 miles Of Tunnelling

Workers on Crossrail – described as Europe’s biggest construction project – have finished 26 miles of tunnelling under the Capital.

Tunnelling began in 2012 and continued 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Eight tunnel boring machines were used to create the 6.2 m (20 ft) diameter tunnels.

Crossrail will eventually connect Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east to form a new 73-mile rail route. There will be with 40 stations; an expected 200 million passengers every year are expected to use Crossrail.

Services through central London are due to begin in December 2018.

HS2 Will ‘Go Ahead’

Construction on the new high speed rail line – HS2 – from London to Manchester will go ahead, the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, has vowed. He said construction would begin in two years.

Mr McLoughlin also promised HS3 – linking between Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and Hull.

The Minister said the new rail infrastructure would mean the north could shape its own future by developing powers away from Whitehall.

Mr McLoughlin also said that the full ‘Y’ network HS2 will be built – from London to Birmingham and Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds.

Parliamentary scrutiny of the bill for phase one between London and Birmingham will begin shortly.

Sydney Light Railway Construction To Begin

Construction of Sydney’s South East Light Rail system is to start in October. Connecting up with Circular Quay and Central railway stations, the new rail network will stretch for 12 kilometres around the city centre.

The railway will also include Sydney Football Stadium, the Moore Park sporting and entertainment precinct, the University of New South Wales, Randwick Racecourse, and Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick.

The project will be spread across 31 different construction zones. Major civil works will be completed in April 2018.