Search Results: 'crossrail'

Back and forth
29 December, 2023
Let’s look back and then, considering lessons, information and data available, take some view on stepping forward, onward into further developments of underground space.

Being realistic
24 June, 2022
Using London’s newly-opened Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) is a wonderful experience. How marvellous when everything is fresh and operates seamlessly. Congratulations to all teams and crews involved.

Looking Ahead
21 April, 2020

Left foot forward
20 January, 2020
After a tumultuous and tiring few years for the British electorate, a towering majority for the Conservative Party makes it very likely that Britain will leave the European Union in short order.

HS2 under review
16 September, 2019
It is understood that HS2 is at the starting blocks and ready to go. The visible evidence of this can be seen across the county, with major demolition and enabling works around Euston and along the route. The long term effects on spreading wealth northwards can also be seen with development being undertaken in Birmingham and Manchester.

Wisdom of the Faroes
08 July, 2019
As I write, the Tunnels and Tunnelling team is preparing to leave for the Rapid Excavation and Tunnelling Conference in the USA, the world’s richest, and one of its largest countries. It always seems to have a megaproject underway or in the pipeline.

Hard to miss
12 February, 2019
In this issue of Tunnels and Tunnelling International we have devoted the majority of the magazine to a paper by Dr Barry New of the Geotechnical Consulting Group (GCG). In it, New explores tunnelling impact assessments with a view to protecting existing underground assets. The work has been guided by investigations into failures and studies of the geoenvironment of cities and examines present approaches to the issue, while also making suggestions of how the industry might progress in future.

Bigger isn’t always bad
18 October, 2017
The global tunnelling industry is worth USD 1.5tr, according to a new report released in August by Timetric. Leading the pack is Europe, with a project pipeline of almost USD 575bn, surpassing Asia-Pacifi c by a mere USD 10bn. The report attributes this economic success for the region to mega-projects for high-speed and metro rail system expansion.

Everything in moderation
05 July, 2017

National institution
03 July, 2017
In the UK the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has been running a tunnelling exhibition. It follows on the heels of an exhibition for bridges, which was rumoured to have attracted 15,000 visitors. The challenge given to the engineers of the British Tunnelling Society by the institution was to promote the event enough to beat this goal by the time the exhibit closes in November.

Enter the nimby
17 February, 2016
A public consultation has opened for a new road crossing of London's River Thames. The idea is for a new tunnel to the east of the city to relieve the enormous traffic strain on the existing Dartford Crossing.

Another hurdle
29 October, 2015
In a trip to China, the UK’s chancellor George Osborne has been trying to spark interest in High Speed Two (HS2) investment opportunities. Some GBP 24bn (USD 36.5bn) was laid out for the consideration of potential spenders at an event in Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan province. Osborne tweeted from the event: “Today we open bidding process for HS2 construction with contracts worth 11.8bn. A milestone in a project key to Britain's future.”

Fortune telling
13 October, 2015
In the Tunnels and Tunnelling Offices we keep heavy, hardback copies of every issue going back to the first edition in 1969. And it's interesting to look back and see how the tunnelling industry, as well as the wider world, has changed through the decades. One Editor's Comment from the 1980s prophesises that manufacturing in the US is finished because of a strong dollar; another from the late 1990s asks how long the West can continue to financeAsia. And earlier than that there's a lot of ink spent in fearful speculation about the fate of the Channel Tunnel.

Give a voice to future tech
25 June, 2015
In a previous comment I wrote about ITA president Soren Eskesen's progress with bringing tunnelling to the attention of the UN bodies studying ways to mitigate the effects of flooding and other natural disasters caused by climate change. He has had some success in this, but talking about innovations and actually putting them in place are sometimes a world apart.

Closing the gender gap
24 June, 2015
Last December, the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering hosted a very well-attended family fair showcasing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Children as young as two years old built bridges out of marshmallows and toothpicks, as part of the civil engineering exhibit, and wide range of other activities designed by student across the various departments captivated the attention of of children of all ages.

It's later than you think
26 August, 2014
AS the tunnelling community plans to descend upon London for the British Tunnelling Society conference next month, Mayor Boris Johnson has set out a GBP 1.3 trillion (USD 2.2 trillion) development plan that lays down a treasure trove of underground opportunities for the city. The plan outlines the infrastructure developments needed to keep pace with London's growth.

London swings
10 October, 2013
Tunnellers are coming to London this autumn. The excitement of major tunnel projects in the city has caught the attention of conference organisers and the speculation of further major projects in and around London is making the rest of the world take note.

150 years of the London underground
17 January, 2013
Railway construction in Great Britain began in the early 19th Century. A network of lines crisscrossed over the country and six terminals were built on the outskirts of London’s city centre. Permission to build a central terminal was refused and just one terminal, Fenchurch Street, serving the counties east of London, was ever built within the city limits.

London crawling
27 August, 2012
As T&TI goes to press in its London offices, and the world watches the city prepare for the Olympics, locals are bemused at the prospect of inviting 5.3 million guests from all over the world to fight for a seat on the aging, and massively over-capacity infrastructure in the UK capital.

Talking tunnels
16 April, 2012
In ‘his’ first appearance for some years Drifter, the old T&T favourite, returns on page 58 to urge tunnellers to be more talkative. He calls for everyone to become more vocal in his or her support of the industry and in educating others on the importance of underground infrastructure. In a similar vein, the incoming and outgoing chairs of the British Tunnelling Society (BTS) argue the importance of raising tunnelling awareness with politicians and clients. Damian McGirr and Bob Ibell argue that a steady future workload can be achieved by ensuring each city planner has the use of underground space firmly on the agenda. McGirr says the BTS will be central in making this happen.