Prime MInister David Cameron celebrates completion of 26 miles of tunnelling under London. Image: Crossrail

The Prime Minister and Mayor of London Boris Johnson have marked the completion of 26 miles of Crossrail’s tunnels by going 40 metres below the capital to thank the men and women who are constructing the new £14.8 billion east-west railway.

Prime Minister David Cameron said:

Crossrail is an incredible feat of engineering that will help to improve the lives of working people in London and beyond. The project is a vital part of our long term plan to build a more resilient economy by helping businesses to grow, compete and create jobs right along the supply chain.

Crossrail tunnelling began in the summer of 2012 and ended at Farringdon with the break through of tunnelling machine Victoria.

Eight 1,000 tonne tunnelling machines have bored 26 miles or 42 km of new 6.2m diameter rail tunnels under London.

Construction is also advancing on the ten new Crossrail stations and on works above ground west of Paddington and east of Stratford.

Over 10,000 people are currently working on Crossrail, including over 450 apprentices.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

This is a landmark moment for London that puts us a gigantic step closer to the launch of an absolutely vital new railway, which will hugely improve our ability to speedily move people across our city. Crossrail has already created tens of thousands of jobs and helped boost the skills of many thousands of people not just in the capital, but all around our great nation.

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