Completed… the other London marathon

Phyllis and Ada were dismantled after their tunnelling journeys were completed. Their 130m-long trailer systems were removed from the tunnels via the Fisher Street shaft, leaving only the front ‘can’ and cutterhead 30m below the ground in Farringdon.

Victoria and Elizabeth will also be dismantled. Their trailers will be removed from the tunnel via the Stepney Green shaft and returned to their manufacturer in Germany, where some parts will be recycled for future tunnelling projects. 

The cutterheads will be cut into small pieces and removed via the Farringdon shaft, and the front ‘cans’ will be left in the tunnel, where Crossrail trains will pass through them when they begin running in 2018.

Mary, Sophia, Jessica and Ellie were dismantled and also returned to Germany, where parts will be re-used.

And it’s not just parts of the TBMs that are being recycled. So far 3.4 million tonnes of spoil have been excavated from the tunnels (that figure will grow to seven million by the end of the project). Three million tonnes of it has been shipped to Wallasea Island in Essex, to create a new wetland nature reserve twice the size of the City of London (RAIL 769).

But while this is a massive achievement to celebrate, it is by no means the end of Crossrail’s hard work. Engineers are still working round the clock, and work is continuing apace to get the stations and fit-out work within the tunnels ready for the 2018 start of services. 

Let a new marathon commence - onwards to the finish line! 

• This feature was published in RAIL 777 on June 24 2015