Transport Minister visited the construction site
at the Crossrail Canary Wharf Station today to see the progress
being made on Western Europe's largest infrastructure
project.
Canary Wharf is the first Crossrail station under construction
and the start of work was marked on 15 May this year by a joint
visit from the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and the
Mayor of London.
said:
“This project will boost the UK economy by at least £20bn and
create and support thousands of jobs, relieve congestion and
provide a high speed rail link across London. It's good news to
see that this project is well and truly underway."
“Work is on schedule, with the station foundations being laid
through a specialist 'Giken' piling method designed to minimise
noise pollution to surrounding buildings.”
Boasting independent step-free disabled access from street to
platform, Canary Wharf Station will be constructed below the
water within the West India Docks complex.
Earlier in the day the Minister had visited the newly opened
Crossrail Visitor Centre near Tottenham Court Road.
The Visitor Centre opened earlier this month to act as a
one-stop shop for local residents, businesses and anyone
interested in learning more about the redevelopment of
Tottenham Court Road Tube station and the Crossrail project in
general.
As construction progresses further centres will open along the
route, helping to ensure that people are kept informed.
Notes to editors
1. The Crossrail Visitor Centre is located at 16-18 St
Giles High Street, WC2H 8LN (opposite the junction with Denmark
Street).
2. The Centre will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from
midday until 8pm. These timings will enable Crossrail to engage
with the residents as well as the businesses in the area.
3. Crossrail will create around 14,000 jobs at the height
of construction and up to 30,000 jobs supporting the project by
2026. It will increase London's public transport network by 10%,
put 1.5m people within an hour of London's business centres and
add around £20bn to the UK economy.
4. Crossrail will run 118km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in
the west through 21.5km of new twin bore tunnels through central
London and on to Canary Wharf, Woolwich, Abbey Wood and Shenfield
in the east.
5. The new railway will be designed to initially
accommodate 10-carriage trains with provision for longer trains
in the future. Crossrail will provide new transport links with
the Tube, Thameslink, National Rail, DLR and London Overground.
It is anticipated that over 200 million passengers will use
Crossrail in the first year of operation.
6. To enable construction of the station box, 296 steel
piles measuring 18.5 metres high and 1.2 metres wide will be sunk
into the dock floor using 10 storey high piling cranes and Giken
Piling machines.
7. This is the first time this type of machinery has been
used in the UK, although it is extensively used in Japan. The
Giken piling is expected to be completed by October this year.
Water will then be pumped out of the piled structure to enable a
concrete wall to be built as part of the next stage of
construction.
