Major work is under way at several sites in London to prepare for the start of Crossrail tunnel boring next year.

Boring will begin at Royal Oak and continue to Farringdon, while four other sections of twin-bore tunnel will be constructed to create an east-west rail route through the centre of London.

Excavated material will be taken by train from Royal Oak to Northfleet, Kent, where it will loaded into ships. A short stretch of disused rail line is being reinstated to allow the trains access to a deep-water wharf from the North Kent line.

Some of the excavated material will be used at Wallasea island, eight miles from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, to create a new 1,500 acre bird reserve, where a new jetty is being built to accept 4.5 million tonnes of Crossrail material.

It is expected that, during the peak tunnelling period, five ships a day will be arriving at Wallasea, to avoid the use of lorries in London.
 
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is aiming to create a large new wetland nature reserve made up of mudflats, saltmarsh, lagoons and pasture. It will help to compensate for the loss of such tidal habitats elsewhere in England.   
  
Shaun Thomas of the RSPB said: “It’s not just wildlife that will benefit from this partnership. Local communities, families, tourists and nature lovers will be able to visit and enjoy Wallasea Island for generations to come.”
 
Freight trains will travel from Westbourne Park to Northfleet via the Great Western main line, the Greenford loop, the West London line, Clapham and Lewisham.

Up to five freight trains will operate from Westbourne Park on Mondays to Saturdays with up to four trains on Sundays. To enable these freight trains to operate, additional sidings will be constructed at Westbourne Park with improvement work undertaken to track and embankments on the Greenford loop.
 
Excavated material from Crossrail’s eastern tunnels will emerge from the Limmo shaft at Bow Creek where it will be transported via conveyor belts to Instone Wharf on the River Lea for direct loading on to ships for Wallasea island.
 
Crossrail is expected to open in 2018, a year later than planned, following cuts imposed on the project by the coalition government.

Information from Crossrail Crossrail