Crossrail tunneling enters final stage

Crossrail's 26 mile journey tunneling underneath London is coming to an end, as two tunneling machines enter the final 750 metre stretch between Liverpool Street and Farringdon.

The Mayor was on hand to inspect Victoria, one of the giant machines, today, as it began its final journey 42 metres below ground underneath Liverpool Street.

The tunneling has taken three years, and once it is complete, the thousand-tonne machines will have moved around six million tonnes of earth.

Crossrail services are due to begin transporting passengers in 2018. The route will serve 40 stations between Reading and Heathrow in the west, through central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.