The first of eight TBMs for London’s Crossrail project is a 140 m-long, 1,000 t machine manufactured by Herrenknecht, which is currently undergoing factory testing prior to being shipped and reassembled at Westbourne Park. It will commence tunnelling from Royal Oak in March, 2012 installing concrete segments produced by a factory at nearby Old Oak Common, with a second machine to be launched a few weeks later. Some 21 km of twin-bore, 6.2 m-diameter tunnels are required for Crossrail. The remaining TBMs will be launched from Limmo Peninsula in the Royal Docks heading towards Farringdon in late 2012; from Pudding Mill Lane and Plumstead in 2013; and from Limmo Peninsula to Victoria Dock in 2014. For the full history of Crossrail visit tunnelbuilder archive uk/40. More from www.crossrail.co.uk and www.herrenknecht.com. 51/11.