29.07.14
Connaught Tunnel refurbishment works complete
Crossrail has completed work to refurbish a disused tunnel in Docklands.
The 550m-long Connaught Tunnel, under the Royal Docks next to ExCeL London, has not been in passenger use since December 2006, but has now been deepened, strengthened and widened to allow up to 12 Crossrail trains an hour to run through it.
The Crossrail team said that 135 years’ worth of soot and coal had to be cleaned out of the tunnel, too, some of it a remnant of the steam trains that originally used the tunnel, built in 1878.
About 13 million litres of water had to be drained from the dock above to allow access to the structure, which is the only existing tunnel that will be re-used for Crossrail
Find out more about the project in the final episode of BBC2’s ‘The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway’ at 9pm tomorrow night.
Linda Miller, Connaught Tunnel project manager said: “It’s great to know that, thanks to our work, this 135 year old tunnel will once again have a vital role to play in London’s transport network. Once Crossrail opens in 2018, up to 12 trains an hour will pass through the tunnel beneath the Royal Docks, hugely improving links between southeast London and the rest of the capital.”
The tracks, overhead cables and communications systems required to run the trains will begin to be installed next year.
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