CRACKING ON AT CHRISTMAS
Festive works: track panels are laid in at Shenfield over Christmas 2016. Courtesy Network Rail
A £45 million programme of Christmas and New Year engineering works for Crossrail has concluded with the opening of two of the most significant pieces of new overground rail infrastructure required by the Elizabeth Line.
More than 4,000 Network Rail workers were out on the railway over the 10-day festive period carrying out more than 330,000 hours of work that will ultimately integrate the new Crossrail tunnels beneath London with the existing rail network. Three-quarters of the route – to be known as the Elizabeth Line from 2018 – will run above ground in outer London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Essex, bringing 1.5 million more people within 45 minutes of central London.
