26.03.13
Phyllis nears halfway point at Bond Street station
One of Crossrail’s tunnel boring machines, Phyllis, is almost halfway through its 4.3 mile journey to Farringdon.
The TBM has arrived at the new Bond Street station on Davies Street and will begin tunneling beneath the station to reach an underground chamber to undergo maintenance for the first time.
Crossrail has excavated two of five levels for the new western ticket hall and will reach tunnel level later this year.
Ada is following Phyllis along the route, and collectively the two TBMs have constructed over 5.5 kilometres (3.7 miles) of new rail tunnels. Together with three other tunnelling machines in the east nearly 7 kilometres of the 42 kilometres of new tunnels have been constructed so far.
Andy Mitchell, Crossrail programme director said: “Phyllis’ arrival at Bond Street is a significant milestone for Crossrail and within the next few weeks she will mark the half way point in her tunnel journey.
“When completed Crossrail will provide essential new links and additional transport capacity with an extra 1.5 million people able to reach Oxford Street within 45 minutes.
“These transport improvements together with the new commercial space created above the station will help boost the West End’s position as a thriving cultural and retail destination.”
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Image c. Crossrail Ltd