All tunnels for Crossrail in Docklands and south east London are now structurally complete following the breakthrough of tunnel boring machine (TBM) Ellie at Victoria Dock Portal this week.

Ellie’s 900m drive from Limmo Peninsula near Canning Town was one of the shortest but most complex tunnelling journeys on the £14.8Bn project.

The TBM had to successfully navigate the Docklands Light Railway, Jubilee Line and utility services, all in close proximity to the rivers Thames and Lea.

Ellie’s breakthrough completes a set of Crossrail tunnels in east and south east London that stretch from Plumstead to Whitechapel, with an additional spur between Stepney Green and Stratford.

TBM Ellie has now completed two tunnelling drives on the project and will be dismantled and returned to the manufacturer, with the parts recycled for future projects.

Crossrail’s tunnels east of Farringdon are being built by a Dragados Sisk joint venture. Six of the eight TBMs on the project have now completed their journeys under London.

Also this week Crossrail announced that TBM Elizabeth has begun a final push west from Whitechapel that will see it and TBM Victoria complete Crossrail’s train tunnels at Farringdon next year.

Crossrail programme director Simon Wright said: “The end is in sight for Crossrail’s tunnelling marathon. Having successfully delivered all bored tunnels west of Farringdon and east of Whitechapel, we now begin the final push to complete tunnelling at Farringdon next year.

“The next challenge is to fit out the tunnels and stations with systems to run Crossrail trains through central London in 2018.”

(Photo: Crossrail)

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