The Connaught rail tunnel beneath the Royal Docks in east London has been exposed to the light of day for the first time in 135 years as part of the Crossrail tunnelling works. 

A hole has been drilled in the exposed crown of the Victorian tunnel which runs beneath the Royal Victoria Dock following work to drain 13M litres of water from a section of the docks that lie above.

Work will now continue to open up a hole that will eventually measure approximately 20m metres long and 10m wide to allow for the engineering equivalent of open heart surgery to strengthen, deepen and widen the central section of the tunnel so that it can accommodate Crossrail’s trains.

Sections of the tunnel are in a poor condition and parts of it were narrowed during the 1930s so that the dock could be deepened to accommodate larger ships with brickwork removed and steel segments installed. The hole in the crown of the tunnel will allow Crossrail’s contractor for the dock project Vinci Construction to remove much of this material and to continue with the process of ensuring that the tunnel is safe and ready for the arrival of the new trains.

Over the last few months a cofferdam measuring 1300m² has been put in place to allow a section of the Royal Victoria Dock to be drained so that workers can access the tunnel from above. 

The tunnel was built in 1878 and has not been in passenger use since December 2006. It is the only existing tunnel that will be re-used for Crossrail.

As well as widening and deepening the central section of the tunnel, the work at the site will include laying new tracks, waterproofing, installing water pumps and cleaning the 135 years of coal and soot from the bricks.

(Photo: Crossrail)

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