Is Molley The Runt Of The Litter?
I don’t know what the collective noun is for tunnel boring machines. But if it is litter, then surely Molley is the runt. According to this article in Construction Index she is the smallest machine used in the construction of Crossrail.
TBM Molley will build a new Thames Water sewer in west London. She is just 1.45m in diameter and 3.3m long. The main TBMs digging the train tunnels, by contrast, are 7.1m diameter and 150m long. Molley is too small to carry workers on board so is controlled remotely from the surface.
Molley is being used to build a new sewer, as the current one will be in the way of construction works for the tracks.
SS Canary Wharf Is Approaching Launch
Canary Wharf station is starting to resemble a large cruise liner, as more and more of it gets completed, in the dock beside the towers of Canary Wharf.
Although, Crossrail will not open until 2018, I have read that some of the shopping centre on top, will open earlier in May 2015 according to this information.
I suspect too, that the walkway to the Docklands Light Railway at Poplar station will be in place before 2018.
The Viaduct At Stockley Coming From Heathrow
I took these pictures coming back.
Such an impressive structure, is one of those that can’t be photographed too many times.
Note that coming back around midday the Heathrow Connect train was almost empty until it pickedup passengers in the Ealing area.
The Viaduct At Stockley Going To Heathrow
I mentioned in this post, that one of my reasons for using Heathrow Connect was to get pictures of the new viaduct at Stockley that carries the Heathrow branch of Crossrail over the Great Western Main Line.
The pictures were taken going to Heathrow.
It looks to be a very substantial viaduct. But then news reports are saving it is one of the largest bridges in the area since Brunel built the Great Western.
What Are The Retail Implications Of Crossrail?
The title of this post is from an article in Retail Week.
This article is typical of what we will see in the coming months, as commentators and analysts realise what effects Crossrail is going to have on London and the South East.
The enormity of the project is summed up by this paragraph in the article in Retail Week.
There are 40 construction sites in total and 1,700 companies involved – all the major developers are in on the act, and Transport for London is leading. London will be the greatest beneficiary, but the potential value of the Crossrail project to the wider UK economy is estimated at £42bn.
I think that most Londoners don’t know the effect that Crossrail will have on the city.
If you compare the figures with the Olympics, this article on the BBC says the 2012 Olympics cost £9bn and the UK economy received a boost in trade and investment of £9.9bn. For comparison purposes, the budget for Crossrail is £14.8bn.
It will be interesting to see what the true audited figures for Crossrail are in about 2020.
If they are this good, then we should be looking for more projects like this, all over the country.
Will The Northern Line Extension Open Before Crossrail?
That is what this article in Global Rail News is saying.
It looks to me like some clever project manager has examined the critical path and found a way to build it quicker.
Or could it be, that Crossrail has shown that digging tunnels through London has got a lot easier since they built the Jubilee Line Extension, as tunnel boring machines are now much bigger and faster? Crossrail have also shown how stations can be built independently of the actual railway, as commercial projects, at the same time as the railway is being dug or fitted out.
From Wikipedia too, it would appear that both station sites are not cramped and hemmed in by existing buildings.
So are we going to have a race between the Northern Line Extension and Crossrail, to see which opens first?
I think that Crossrail will open first, as it is a big project that has almost got successfully past the difficult parts and there are still questions to be asked of the Northern Line Extension, before construction can start.
One thing that might delay the Northern Line Extension is to build the line to Clapham Junction station in the first phase, rather than as a second one.
Upgrades Are Starting At West Hampstead Station
I found this article about the installation of lifts at West Hampstead station in the Ham and High. In addition they do say this about the station.
It will form part of a wider redevelopment of the entire station which starts next year.
But the bad news is that it won’t be finished until the end of 2019.
More Assembled Concrete At Custom House Station
Every time I go to have a look at the new Custom House Station for Crossrail, there is a lot of evidence of progress.
If they do organise a site visit in Open House, this could be one to view.
Not Long Now For The New Pudding Mill Lane Station
The Wharf is reporting that the Stratford top Bow Church section of the DLR will be closed over the weekend.
The DLR has is not running between Stratford and Bow Church from Friday 18 April until Friday 25 April due to Crossrail works at Pudding Mill Lane.
The completion next week will see the opening of the new Puddling Mill Lane station, 100metres from the original.
So it looks like it won’t be long before access to the Olympic Park, the Greenway and the ViewTube is a lot easier.
Inside The New London Bridge Station
The first two completed platforms, 14 and 15, of the new London Bridge station opened today.
Thery’ve now closed platforms, 12 and 13, so they can be refurbished.
It’ll be interesting to watch as the new station appears platform by platform!
The Anonymous Widower 