Our Plan to Complete the Elizabeth Line

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Crossrail CEO Mark Wild Progress Update Films













Crossrail Ltd plans to bring the Elizabeth line into passenger service as soon as practically possible.

Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages and is being completed at a time of great uncertainty due to the risks and potential impacts of further Covid outbreaks. Our focus is on meeting the immediate challenges posed by COVID-19 and keeping the programme moving forward. For further information, please visit Our New Ways of Working webpage.

Crossrail are increasing efforts to complete the outstanding construction and assurance activities for Trial Running. This is being supported by a 6-week construction blockade during August and September across our tunnels, shafts and portals to complete critical construction works in the routeway for Trial Running.

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We are planning to start intensive operational testing, known as Trial Running, at the earliest opportunity in 2021. From the start of Trial Running it will then take a period of time to fully test the Elizabeth line before it can open for passenger service. This includes a final phase known as Trial Operations involving people being invited onto trains and stations to test real-time service scenarios to ensure the readiness of the railway.

Following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east will be introduced. The introduction of full services will be aligned with the National Rail timetable change which occurs twice a year in May and December.

KEY STEPS TO TRIAL RUNNING

Crossrail is working to ensure that the programme is ready to commence intensive operational testing at the earliest opportunity. Once Crossrail completes the remaining programme for Trial Running, we will seek regulatory approval from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to commence intensive testing. This will see multiple trains operating in the tunnels to simulate the Elizabeth line timetable.

To commence Trial Running, Crossrail needs to complete the remaining key steps:

Complete handover of the shafts and portals to TfL

Complete Dynamic Testing of the signalling and train systems

Complete integration testing across the routeway for Trial Running

All central section stations certified as ready to support Trial Running

Handover the completed Routeway to TfL

Complete the safety and assurance process for the Elizabeth line and obtain regulatory approval from the ORR to commence Trial Running

Once Trial Running begins a period of time will be required to fully test the Elizabeth line before it can open for passenger service. This includes a final phase known as Trial Operations involving people being invited onto trains and stations to test real-time service scenarios.

RAILWAY TESTING

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Railway Testing Films





The Elizabeth line has a number of critical railway systems ranging from radio communications and power to tunnel ventilation and signalling.

The major programme focus now is on completing the software development for the signalling and train systems along with safety certification for the railway to support the programme’s entry into intensive operational testing, known as Trial Running, at the earliest opportunity.

The train and signalling software are tested both off-site and in the tunnel environment. A key purpose of testing is to identify and fix any software bugs in the train control system and to make sure everything works as planned. For further information, please visit our Signalling and Testing webpage.

Testing is being undertaken by a joint team of technical experts from Bombardier Transportation, Siemens and Crossrail. A series of software upgrades will be delivered to give the train control system its full functionality.

The latest Siemens software configuration, PD+11, was installed in the central tunnels in December, and testing resumed at the end of May following Crossrail’s safe stop in response to COVID-19.

Testing of PD+11 is nearing completion meaning that Crossrail will have a viable software product available for Trial Running.

The next evolution of software, referred to as TR2, will be ready for Trial Running and will commence testing after the construction blockade and is expected to be the software candidate for Trial Running. TR2 software will be uploaded for Dynamic Testing this autumn which will allow us to increase the number of trains that we are able to undertake testing with.

The testing on the high voltage power systems is now complete and evaluated how the network recovers following power outage. We are also making good progress with the complex routeway integration scenario testing for Trial Running, which now sits at 74% complete.

Once software testing completes later this year, Crossrail will then begin an enabling phase for Trial Running, known as Systems Integration Dynamic Testing, with testing in the tunnels undertaken with an increased number of trains. This will provide an opportunity to test how well the railway systems work in operational-like situations and will be undertaken as the extensive safety case to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to commence Trial Running is finalised.

This is the most difficult and challenging phase of the programme with significant integration and testing to complete. This must be done to the highest quality standards to ensure the reliability of the railway from day one of passenger service.

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NEW STATIONS

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Nine new Elizabeth line stations are being delivered as part of the Crossrail programme – Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich. The existing station at Abbey Wood has been extensively redeveloped by Network Rail.

At many stations, work is underway to complete the final fit-out and testing of key systems. Each Elizabeth line station has over 50 km of communications cabling, 200 CCTV cameras, 66 information displays, 200 radio antennas, 750 loudspeakers and 50 help points. All this technology needs to be fully installed, tested and integrated. All stations, except Bond Street, are now certified as ready to support Trial Running.

Paddington (Costain Skanska Joint Venture): Work underway to complete the mechanical and electrical and systems installation + testing and commissioning activities + final fit-out

(Costain Skanska Joint Venture): Work underway to complete the mechanical and electrical and systems installation + testing and commissioning activities + final fit-out Bond Street : Heavy mechanical and electrical systems installation + start of testing & commissioning activities

: Heavy mechanical and electrical systems installation + start of testing & commissioning activities Tottenham Court Road (Laing O’Rourke): Testing & commissioning + assurance handover activities

(Laing O’Rourke): Testing & commissioning + assurance handover activities Farringdon (Bam Ferrovial Kier Joint Venture): Testing & commissioning + assurance handover activities

(Bam Ferrovial Kier Joint Venture): Testing & commissioning + assurance handover activities Liverpool Street (Laing O’Rourke): testing & commissioning activities + f assurance handover activities

(Laing O’Rourke): testing & commissioning activities + f assurance handover activities Whitechapel (Balfour Beatty Morgan Sindall Vinci Joint Venture): Work underway to complete the mechanical and electrical and system installation + testing & commissioning activities (Crossrail areas)

(Balfour Beatty Morgan Sindall Vinci Joint Venture): Work underway to complete the mechanical and electrical and system installation + testing & commissioning activities (Crossrail areas) Canary Wharf : Work underway to complete mechanical and electrical systems installation + testing & commissioning activities

: Work underway to complete mechanical and electrical systems installation + testing & commissioning activities Custom House (Laing O’Rourke): Handed over to Transport for London (TfL)

(Laing O’Rourke): Handed over to Transport for London (TfL) Woolwich (Balfour Beatty): Testing & commissioning + assurance handover activities

For up-to-date information on construction activity for all 41 stations, please visit the Near You webpage.

All central section stations, except Bond Street, have now been certified as ready to support Trial Running. Bond Street is uniquely affected by the new COVID-19 world due to the volume of work remaining and the number of people required on site to complete the station. This meant that the work remaining at Bond Street for Trial Running needed to be re-planned. As a result, Crossrail Ltd and Costain Skanska Joint Venture mutually agreed to conclude the existing contract on 24 June. Crossrail Ltd will oversee completion of the remaining works at Bond Street which will allow to re-plan and complete the work for Trial Running.

Much of the central section infrastructure is now complete and fit-out is nearing completion at many stations. We have now handed over ten of the 30 big engineering structures to Transport for London (TfL): Custom House station; Royal Oak, Victoria Dock, Pudding Mill Lane North Woolwich and Plumstead Portals; and Fisher Street, Mile End, Limmo, and Eleanor Street Shafts.

All of our shafts and portals except Stepney Green Shaft have reached either full handover to the Infrastructure Manager or are under Staged Completion for Familiarisation.

Staged Completion for Familiarisation is the step before full handover and means that the safety critical works have been completed with only minor works and assurance documentation left to complete. This will be managed with dedicated resource and allows Rail for London to start familiarising itself with the asset.

Much of the remaining work for the Elizabeth line is complex involving hooking up, integrating and testing the completed infrastructure and railway systems along with the finalisation of the extensive safety case to the ORR who will give the go-ahead to commence Trial Running.

The Crossrail programme is progressing assurance of the railway, which is required for entry into the Trial Running stage remains a priority. For further information, please visit our Assurance and Handover webpage.

OPERATIONAL READINESS

The full-length Class 345 trains (9 car units) are now operating on services out of Paddington and Heathrow. This is a significant milestone as it uses the ETCS signalling system and means that we continue to build mileage on the Class 345 fleet that will be used on the full Elizabeth line.

Operational and maintenance training has restarted, both using safe, social distancing procedures. TfL teams continue to work with Crossrail colleagues on handover of the shafts and portals, progressing the complex assurance including the digital asset data and preparing for the intensive Trial Running phase of the project.