The first of eight Crossrail tunnelling machines is currently tunnelling under London’s Hyde Park after completing 1,000 tunnel rings. The TBM has now constructed 1,800 m of tunnel from Royal Oak via the Paddington station box. Crossrail’s second tunnel boring machine has travelled 800 m, and has entered the station box at Paddington after successfully passing under the national rail lines into Paddington station.

A total of 12,000 concrete segments, manufactured at Old Oak Common, have now been used to construct the western tunnels between Royal Oak and Farringdon.

At the end of November, another TBM started work on the 8 km section of eastern tunnels between Docklands and Farringdon in central London. A second TBM will start from the same 40 m-deep launch shaft at Limmo Peninsula, next to Canning Town station. Both are due to arrive at Farringdon in late-2014.

Click uk/40 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit www.crossrail.co.uk. 50/12.