Ellie breaks through into Stepney Green
24 June 2014Crossrail TBM Ellie has broken through into a cavern 40m beneath Stepney Green, in the East End of London. The breakthrough marks the structural completion of tunnels for Crossrail’s north east spur, between Whitechapel and Pudding Mill Lane.
It has taken Ellie some three months to complete the 2.7km journey, travelling up to 72m in a 24 hour period.
In the coming weeks Ellie will be lifted out of the cavern and taken by road to Limmo Peninsula at Canning Town. From there she will be re-assembled ahead of recommencing tunnelling towards Victoria Dock Portal.
Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail's CEO, said: "Ellie has made a safe journey from the shadow of the Olympic stadium to our site at Stepney Green. Our tunnel teams deserve congratulations for an impressive feat of engineering. Construction of the new rail tunnels for Europe's largest infrastructure project is now over 80 percent complete. Crossrail continues to be delivered on time and on budget."
