When the long-held ambition of building a new railway across London finally received the go-ahead in 2008, Britain embarked on a project the likes of which it had never seen before. Vast stations and huge tunnels would be constructed through and under the centre of the capital and all with minimal disruption to the flow of everyday life.
As Europe's largest rail project at the time the scale of the engineering was jaw-dropping. Yet it was the railway systems and other clever technology needed to knit together the new infrastructure that would prove crucial to completing this multi-billion pound enterprise.
'Crossrail: How the Elizabeth line was built' is the full story of this era-defining rail programme, written by journalist Dan Harvey who had unrivalled access to the people and places that were key to the project's development. The book details everything from the planning, funding and approvals process through to construction, fit out and opening with fascinating insights into the tunnels, stations, system operators and trains that together form today's Elizabeth line.
As well as faithfully recounting how Crossrail came into existence Dan also considers the challenges faced by the programme, the future for the Elizabeth line, and what metro rail projects today can learn from the experience of Crossrail.
