Crossrail Bulletinwww.crossrail.co.uk0345 602 3813FREEPOST CROSSRAIL

ISSUE

25May 2012

Tunnelling beginsTunnelling on Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project, has begun. Phyllis, our first tunnel boring machine (TBM), has broken through Royal Oak portal, just west of Paddington.

Almost 40 years after the new railway was proposed, this marks a significant milestone in the delivery of the project that is set to add £42 billion to the economy and create thousands of jobs.

At a ceremony in March, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening declared Crossrail’s first two TBMs ‘Ready to Dig’ at Westbourne Park.

The Mayor and the Secretary of State spoke excitedly about Crossrail’s many benefits before they pushed the button to start the project’s first tunnel boring machine.

The first pair of 1,000 tonne burrowers have been named Phyllis and Ada following a nation wide naming competition. The TBMs were named after Phyllis Pearsall who single-handedly created the London A-Z and Ada Lovelace, one of the earliest computer scientists who is regarded as having written the first computer program.

After the ceremony Phyllis was moved a short distance to Royal Oak portal, where further preparatory work took place in order to get her ready to embark on her 6.4 kilometre underground journey. Ada will be launched from the site soon. Together they will construct the tunnels from Royal Oak, under Paddington, Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road to Farringdon.

The machines are the length of 14 London buses end to end and have enough force to lift over 2,900 London taxis. Phyllis and Ada will run 24 hours a day, building around 100 metres of tunnel per week. They are expected to arrive in Farringdon in late 2013.

Further TBMs will be launched in the east to construct the remaining Crossrail tunnels. Visit the tunnelling section of our website to see more photos and videos of our TBMs and our tunnelling strategy.

Crossing the CapitalConnecting the UK

Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening start Crossrail’s first tunnel boring machine.

Inside Crossrail’s first TBM, Phyllis, as she breaks through the headwall at Royal Oak portal and begins her underground journey.

Pre-cast concrete segments delivered to the segment feeder to construct the tunnel walls. Segments differ in shape to enable the tunnelto curve.

Excavated material from the tunnels between Royal Oak and Farringdon will be transported via freight train to our logistics hub in Northfl eet, Kent. The material will be stored here and transferred by ship to Wallasea Island and other regeneration projects.

Work to reinstate a freight rail link to Northfl eet is now complete and the hub is ready to receive tunnelled material. A new jetty at Wallasea Island, in Essex, is under construction. This jetty will receive ships, from Northfl eet, carrying a total of 4.5 million tonnes of excavated material to create a new 1,500 acre nature reserve.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserve at Wallasea will help to compensate for habitat loss elsewhere in England and combat the threats from

climate change and coastal fl ooding. Transferring excavated material via train and river considerably reduces the need for lorries in central London.

Workers reinstate a freight rail link to transport excavated material.

Crossrail Bulletin – May 2012

London’s great burrowers

Our fi rst factory has opened in Old Oak Common and has started producing some of the 250,000 concrete segments that will line Crossrail’s tunnels.

The pre-cast segments made at the factory will be loaded onto the massive tunnel boring machines that will carve their way from Royal Oak to Farringdon. As the machines drive forward the segments will be erected in rings to create the tunnel lining.

The factory employs 60 people including around 20 apprentices and trainees, many of whom have been unemployed for up to 18 months. Some of the project’s fi rst apprentices to be trained at the new Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy are now working at the factory.

Further factories will be established to produce segments for the other Crossrail tunnel drives.

Workers move tunnel segments at the Old Oak Common factory.

First tunnel segment factory opens Moving material by rail and river

A small onboard team will drive the highly complex tunnel boring machines beneath London.

This diagram shows how Phyllis and Ada will dig and build the tunnels from Royal Oak to Farringdon.

To control ground movement during tunnelling, the rate and the volume of excavated material must be kept equal to the machine’s advance. Pressure sensors, advanced belt scales, a laser scanner and a density meter continuously measure and monitor the equilibrium.

Experts will also monitor the machines in real-time around the clock from our control centres. Here, a GPS system will be used to keep the machines within 50 millimetres of their designated path.

Belt conveyor system removes earth from the machine.

Hydraulic cylinders brace themselves on the newly positioned rings to push the machine forward.

Belt conveyor system removes earth from the machine.

Rotating cutter head loosens the earth.

Screw conveyor moves earth from the cutter head.

Rotating arm places segments with millimetre precision to form a ring.

Each ring is made up of eight segments and weighs 22 tonnes.

Conveyors move earth to the tunnel portal.

Pre-cast concrete segments delivered to the segment feeder. Segments differ in shape to enable the tunnel to curve.

Naming the giantsNaming tunnel boring machines is a tradition that is practised throughout the world as a sign of good luck. Almost 4,500 public votes helped us choose the names for six of our machines.

Phyllis and Ada will build our tunnels from Royal Oak to Farringdon. Victoria and Elizabeth, named after the famous Queens will build our eastern tunnels from Limmo Penninsular to Farringdon. Mary and Sophia, named after the wife of the famous railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the wife of Marc Isambard Brunel (who built the fi rst tunnel under the Thames), will build our Thames tunnels. Thank you to everyone who took part.

keeping communities informed

Prime Minister David Cameron recently toured the UK’s first Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) in east London.

The new £13m facility will not only provide specialist skills training for Crossrail, it will also help to meet the wider construction industry demand.

The Prime Minister saw the purpose built centre, capable of training up to 150 students at any one time, and spoke to some of the Academy’s students. He also saw the simulated tunnel environment that offers hands-on teaching of what students can expect when working underground. Viewings of state of the art plant and machinery including a locomotive and a mock-up of a Crossrail tunnel platform were also included in the tour.

TUCA will become a centre of excellence in soft-ground tunnelling skills and will train at least 3,500 people to work on Crossrail. With Europe’s only other tunnelling training centre being located in Switzerland (which specialises in hard-rock tunnelling), TUCA is helping to secure the UK’s position as a world leader in the industry.

The Academy will be operated as an independent organisation and will become a long-term provider of tunnelling skills to the construction industry. It will also collaborate internationally on improvements to underground construction safety.

A week after visiting TUCA, the Prime Minister was joined by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to meet workers and to hear more about tunnelling preparations at our Westbourne Park worksite.

Prime Minister visits Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy

Prime Minister David Cameron at the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy.

His Royal Highness, The Duke of York, recently visited the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week and meet apprentices working on Crossrail.

The Duke heard about Crossrail’s pledge to train the next generation of apprentices by delivering at least 400 through its supply chain over the project’s lifetime. He also met some of the 73 apprentices currently working on the project, including several who were previously unemployed.

The Duke spoke positively about the project’s investment in apprenticeships and the importance of formalising the training given to this learning route.

Apprenticeships on Crossrail are offered in a variety of subjects including vocational training in construction, craft and office based roles. Priority is given to candidates from London boroughs.

We are working in partnership with the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to recruit suitable candidates and support contractors with the delivery of apprenticeships.

Duke of York meets project apprentices

The Duke of York meets apprentices at the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy examine the first tunnel boring machines.

keeping communities informedkeeping communities informed

Four of our worksites have won Considerate Constructors Scheme National Awards for their exceptional consideration towards the public, the workforce and the environment.

The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) is an independent, industry run scheme that assesses and monitors sites against a code of practice and commits them to being clean, respectful, safe, environmentally conscious, responsible, accountable and overall, a good neighbour.

Our Connaught Tunnel and Canary Wharf sites scooped silver awards and Westbourne Park and Royal Oak portal sites won bronze after assessments scored them in the top 7.5% of all worksites registered in the UK.

All Crossrail contractors must register with the CCS or a similar scheme run by the borough where the worksite is located.

Considerate sites win national awards

Paddington’s new taxi facility, the first major piece of infrastructure completed for Crossrail, has opened.

The new rank provides considerable improvements to benefit passengers and taxi drivers alike. The facility includes step-free access with new lifts between the station concourse and the taxi pick up and drop off points. The rank’s glass canopy provides protection from bad weather and complements the adjacent station’s Edwardian roof. Final cosmetic works on the rank will be completed by summer.

The old taxi rank has become part of the worksite to build Paddington’s new Crossrail station. Here, parallel to the existing mainline station, our contractors have begun constructing the new 260 metre long, 25 metre wide underground station box.

When Crossrail opens, passengers from Paddington will be able to reach Tottenham Court Road in four minutes, Liverpool Street in nine minutes and Canary Wharf in 16 minutes.

First infrastructure opens

The new taxi facilities at Paddington station.

We are working with the Police to organise ‘exchanging places’ cyclists awareness events near our worksites.

Lorry requirements to improve cycle safety

Lorries that do not meet strict standards are banned from all Crossrail sites in a campaign to protect cyclists and help improve lorry safety across the construction industry.

Crossrail has been working with contractors to fit lorries with additional safety devices to alert drivers of cyclists since construction started. Now, as intensive construction gets underway, we are enforcing the requirement and any non-compliant vehicles are being turned away from worksites.

We require that all lorries are fitted with blind spot detection sensors, Fresnel lenses andside under-run guards to prevent cyclists from coming into contact with lorry wheels. Vehicles must also carry signs to warn cyclists and pedestrians.

As our contractors often work on multiple projects, these new safety measures will help improve lorry safety across the industry, delivering benefits for cyclists across London.

We have also been working with Transport for London to install trixi mirrors on left-turn traffic signals in close proximity to our major central London sites. The convex shape of the mirrors help reduce lorry drivers’ blind spots by allowing them to see cyclists on the left hand side of their vehicles.

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Delivering a world-class affordable railway safely through effective partnerships Printed on 100% recycled paper

Crossrail’s initiative to support community projects and local charities is the fi rst of its kind for a major infrastructure project. Our ambitious Community Investment Programme, now up and running, will set the standard for future construction projects.

The programme requires our contractors to donate skills, time, money and expertise to bring lasting benefi t to the community. The Crossrail led approach helps to deliver consistent and meaningful benefi t alongside construction and beyond the life of the project.

One of our contractors, Laing O’Rourke Strabag Joint Venture (LORS), who is piling for the new station at Farringdon, recently began their commitment to the programme. They have made a signifi cant donation of £10,000 to kick-start Islington’s Word2012, aimed at improving literacy and employability in south Islington.

Word2012 is a three month programme of engagement to encourage and support local residents to rediscover the joy of reading and writing and fi nd new, creative ways of expressing themselves. This programme will culminate in a three week festival this month. LORS funding is vital for the festival to take place.

Another great example of community investment in action is shown by Costain Skanska joint venture, the contactors carrying out the piling works for the new Crossrail Bond Street station. They have partnered with St. Martin-in-the-Fields and are donating one hundred staff hours preparing lunch for the homeless of Westminster. Costain Skanska joint venture also plans to make a donation towards advice sessions or computer classes for homeless people.

We will highlight further initiatives in the Community Investment Programme in upcoming editions of the Bulletin.

Crossrail Farringdon Project Manager, Tim Grimshaw and Laing O’Rourke Strabag Project Director, Mick Lee make a donation to London Borough of Islington Councillor, Paul Convery, to support Word2012.

Investing in communities

Costain Skanska joint venture is helping Westminster’s homeless.