01.04.16
£30m Crossrail improvements completed over Easter weekend
Crossrail successfully received £30m of improvements as part of the Easter weekend upgrades.
Half of the £60m Network Rail spent on upgrades went to Crossrail-related projects, with more than 3,000 workers completing more than 100,000 hours on 16 different sites to carry out work which will integrate the new Crossrail tunnels with the existing rail network.
The improvements included work to electrify the railway in west London and Berkshire, improvements to the infrastructure in Essex near Brentwood and Gidea Park, platform extensions at West Ealing, Southall and Hayes & Harlington and major trackwork at Maidenhead, Old Oak Common, Stockley and Shenfield to increase capacity and improve the reliability of the railway.
Matthew Steele, Crossrail programme director at Network Rail, said: “I would like to thank passengers and our lineside neighbours for their patience and our team of staff and contractors for their dedication during the Easter period. Our orange army worked tirelessly over the Easter weekend to deliver a staggering amount of complex work.”
Three-quarters of the Crossrail network, which will be named the Elizabeth line, will run above ground through outer London, Berkshire and Essex.