Gallery: Step Inside London's Cavernous New Train Tunnels
Crossrail01Charlie Fawell
These tunnels, officially completed this month, are for Crossrail, the under-construction, $23 billion railway that will run through east-west through the metropolitan area.
Crossrail02Frank Jenkins
"Huge tunnel-boring machines have been chewing up London's earth around the clock, moving through ground that's honeycombed with networks of sewer lines, water and gas mains, foundations of buildings, and even some London Underground tunnels dating to the 1860s," says one project leader.
Crossrail03John Zammit
These machines, each weighing 1,100 tons and bearing names like Elizabeth, Victoria, Phyllis, and Ada, gouged out 20-foot diameter holes under the city.
Crossrail04Robbie Whitfield
All told, the machines dug out 3.3 million tons of earth, which is being used to create a wetland nature reserve at Wallasea Island in Essex.
Crossrail05Robby Whitfield
Over 10,000 people are currently working on the project.
Crossrail06161407
Now that the tunnels are complete, they will be fitted with the necessary tracks and electronics. Work on the new stations continues, and the first Crossrail trains are expected to begin running in 2018.
