Tunnelling under London

Tunnelling under London

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A worker inspects a tunnel entrance at a construction site for Crossrail, a railway link which will cut through historic London connecting the east and west of the city.

The multi-billion pound project, which is due to open in 2018, has now reached the halfway point thanks to the work of an army of engineers, archaeologists, bomb disposal experts and eight massive tunnelling machines weighing 1,000 tonnes each.

. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

Archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of skeletons at a 16th Century burial ground in the heart of the city that once served London's most notorious psychiatric hospital, Bethlehem Royal Hospital, the original "Bedlam."

Other archaeological finds include 20 Roman skulls and a graveyard which could hold the remains of some 50,000 people killed by the plague more than 650 years ago.

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The site of the future Crossrail station at Tottenham Court Road is seen as traffic moves down Oxford Street in central London.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

The site of the future Crossrail station at Tottenham Court Road is seen as traffic moves down Oxford Street in central London.

Workers stand in the entrance to the tunnels at Limmo Peninsula.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

Workers stand in the entrance to the tunnels at Limmo Peninsula.

A man looks out from behind concrete panels at the Stepney site.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A man looks out from behind concrete panels at the Stepney site.

A welder uses a blow torch on rail segments that will carry the 1,000 tonne tunnelling machine used to bore through the earth.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A welder uses a blow torch on rail segments that will carry the 1,000 tonne tunnelling machine used to bore through the earth.

Workers survey a Victorian era tunnel which is being reconditioned at Albert Docks.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

Workers survey a Victorian era tunnel which is being reconditioned at Albert Docks.

A team of workers line up rails for the tunnelling machine at the Stepney site.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A team of workers line up rails for the tunnelling machine at the Stepney site.

A worker relaxes while riding a train car taking him out of a tunnel.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A worker relaxes while riding a train car taking him out of a tunnel.

A technician sprays concrete to support caverns built to house the converging railway tunnels.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A technician sprays concrete to support caverns built to house the converging railway tunnels.

A worker walks inside a tunnelling machine.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A worker walks inside a tunnelling machine.

A man stands on a boring machine creating the Crossrail tunnel being built between Paddington and Farringdon.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A man stands on a boring machine creating the Crossrail tunnel being built between Paddington and Farringdon.

Concrete shatters as a tunnelling machine makes the breakthrough into the station structure at Canary Wharf.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

Concrete shatters as a tunnelling machine makes the breakthrough into the station structure at Canary Wharf.

The crew of a tunnel boring machine clamber between the machine's blades.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

The crew of a tunnel boring machine clamber between the machine's blades.

Workers look on after the breakthrough.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

Workers look on after the breakthrough.

A diver prepares to enter the water to work on support structures at the Albert Dock site.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A diver prepares to enter the water to work on support structures at the Albert Dock site.

The chief officer of a bulk freighter oversees the loading of tons of earth generated by the construction of Crossrail onto his ship at a jetty on the Thames.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

The chief officer of a bulk freighter oversees the loading of tons of earth generated by the construction of Crossrail onto his ship at a jetty on the Thames.

A member of the crew prepares the ship to receive tonnes of earth.
. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

A member of the crew prepares the ship to receive tonnes of earth.