NOTICES for advance engineering’ have been lodged today for five Crossrail stations planned across central London, ready for tunnelling work for the �16 billion project. It includes sinking huge shafts into the ground, lining them with diaphragm’ walling and excavating millions of tonnes of soil

By Mike Brooke

NOTICES for advance engineering’ have been lodged today for five Crossrail stations planned across central London and the East End, ready for tunnelling work for the �16 billion project.

The advance’ work includes sinking huge shafts into the ground, lining them with diaphragm’ walling and excavating millions of tonnes of soil and disposing of it. In some cases it also involves diverting mains cables and sewers.

The key station for the super tube’ connecting Heathrow with the City and Canary Wharf is at Whitechapel in London’s East End, one of the five stations listed today for advance’ engineering work.

Whitechapel is where the line splits into two going east, one branch to Canary Wharf and under the Thames to Abbey Wood, the other to Stratford and out to Essex.

It will become a major transport hub connecting Crossrail with the newly-extended East London Line and the Underground.

Two of the Crossrail stations are planned in the City square mile,’ the main hub being Liverpool Street connecting the main-line National Rail terminal for the East Coast. The other is at Farringdon. The two in the West End are Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street.

All the Crossrail stations in central London will interchange with the Underground system.

Once the station excavation work is complete, the twin tunnelling can start, burrowing deep under London from Canary Wharf through the City and West End to Paddington, where Crossrail breaks surface and continues out to Heathrow and Maidenhead.