LIFE-SIZED mock-ups of future Crossrail stations are being built to make sure the final constructions will last.

Images were released today of the tests built at Leighton Buzzard that will be replicated at stations along the new line.

Crossrail bosses say testing is crucial as the stations – including a showpiece one at Canary Wharf – must last for the next century.

Around 200 million passengers will travel on Crossrail every year once it’s completed in 2018 and designers need to know how stations will cope with thousands of users.

They are also getting a feel for each design and allowing every station to retain its individual identity.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London said: “Crossrail will change the face of public transport in the capital forever and we need to check the station designs meet the high standards Londoners require, but also that the materials we use can withstand the rigours of being used by millions of passengers.

“Those tests mean that when work begins on the real McCoy later this year we can be confident we will be building the best possible Crossrail stations.”

Crossrail station platforms will be 250 metres in length to accommodate 200-metre trains that will pass through each station, as well as enabling longer 240-metre trains to operate in the future as passenger demand increases.

The Crossrail mock-up platform has been built at VINCI’s Technology Centre in Leighton Buzzard, employing film set design techniques to replicate the feel of actual finishes without having to go to the expense of constructing a Crossrail platform area using solely traditional construction materials.