Crossrail: New images show a near complete Tottenham Court Road station

As Crossrail fast approaches the finish line and draws closer to a December completion date, Transport for London has revealed the latest images showing the progress made at one of the line’s central stations.

With more than 200 million passengers expected to use the service every year, thousands of commuters will be heading to Tottenham Court Road every day and the station will play a major role in increasing central London’s rail capacity by 10%. 

The £14.8bn project is expected to support 90,000 new homes along the route by 2021, doubling to 180,000 by 2026. Over 360,000 new jobs are also predicted by 2021, boosting the UK economy by £42bn. 

Images released by London’s transport body show how the station in its final stages as signs for the lines get installed. Stretching across nearly a kilometre, the station will feature a new plaza with asymmetrical glass-and-steel canopy entrances in front of the Grade II listed Centre Point tower westwards towards Dean Street in Soho. 

Work has also involved the transformation from its cramped Victorian origins and the existing ticket hall enlarged to six times its original size. Passengers descending on the station will line along 234m long platforms that have been constructed.

While Laing O’Rourke is the principal contractor for Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station, transport bosses have hailed the impact made by UK suppliers and subcontractors. TfL says 96% of contracts for the Elizabeth line have been awarded to companies based within the UK, supporting the equivalent of 55,000 full-time jobs, 62% of which are outside of London.

Mark Wild, London Underground and Elizabeth line managing director, said: “The Elizabeth line will redefine our city for a new generation. At Tottenham Court Road, our staff are busy preparing for a 50% increase in passengers each day, which has been made possible through extraordinary feats of civil engineering and an impressive supply chain that stretches from Inverness to the Isle of Wight.”

Some of the UK suppliers involved in the delivery of the Elizabeth line have been Independent Glass, based in Glasgow, who have manufactured Tottenham Court Road’s bespoke architectural glass panels, Northern Ireland firm Environmental Fabrications, which manufactured the structural steel during construction and AJ Wells & Sons, based on the Isle of Wight, responsible for the station’s iconic signage and Elizabeth line roundels.

Commenting on supplier contributions, Sir Terry Morgan, Crossrail chairman, said: “The construction of the Elizabeth line through the heart of London is one of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Europe. It has been made possible thanks to the skill and dedication of suppliers from every corner of the UK, who are not only using their expertise to deliver this project, but also other projects here in the UK and abroad.”