15.07.16
‘Jigsaw puzzle’ platforms completed at Liverpool Street station
The platforms for Liverpool Street station, which will open as part of the Crossrail line, have now been successfully completed.
It took four months to install the two platforms, which are 240m long, around twice the length of existing London Underground platforms, to accommodate the longer Crossrail trains.
They were pre-fabricated in more than 500 pieces near Sheffield before being transported to London and assembled 30m underground.
Rohan Perin, Crossrail project manager at Liverpool Street station, said: “Assembling the two platforms piece by piece over the last few months has been a bit like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle.
“Prefabricating and then assembling the sections together on site has meant that we can get on with the job quickly and safely.”
Two Crossrail tunnelling machines, Elizabeth and Victoria, successfully broke through to Liverpool Street at the beginning of last year, allowing the works to be carried out.
The work at Liverpool Street means that platforms are now complete at all stations from Paddington to Woolwich, apart from Whitechapel.
Crossrail, officially called the Elizabeth Line after the queen, is on target and 75% complete. It is designed to join eastern and western London, enhancing the capital’s transport capacity.
Crossrail 2, a new rail network across London and the surrounding area, has also gained official permission to go ahead, although Transport for London is now applying for a £34m increase in funding to meet the needs of the project.
(Image c. Crossrail)
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