0:00:03 > 0:00:05Underneath the streets of London...
0:00:06 > 0:00:09..an army of more than 10,000 engineers
0:00:09 > 0:00:12is building a brand-new subterranean railway.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14OK!
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Crossrail.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18We've done the maths, we've checked the maths
0:00:18 > 0:00:20and we've checked them a third time.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Costing almost £15 billion, it's one of the most ambitious
0:00:24 > 0:00:27rail projects in Britain since the time of Brunel.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31I've been doing civil engineering for 35 or so years.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Even I can't appreciate the scale until I come down here.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35Head him up!
0:00:35 > 0:00:38It was a lot easier when I was five years younger
0:00:38 > 0:00:40and two stone lighter!
0:00:41 > 0:00:43This is a crucial stage of the project
0:00:43 > 0:00:47for workers digging 42 kilometres of tunnels...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51We only get one chance to build this tunnel so we have to get it right.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54When you do these things, you're building a part of history,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56it's going to be here for a couple of hundred years.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59..and constructing ten vast new stations.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03I've never build a train station before,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05never mind one in a dock, underwater.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08For almost two years, cameras have been following crews,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11working cheek-by-jowl with some of London's
0:01:11 > 0:01:13most distinguished residents.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17That's ready to start pumping!
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Facing a constant battle to keep London moving.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22This area is where the gridlock is.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Haven't been able to go up and down these streets for four years.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Is Crossrail essential?
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Be wonderful...
0:01:30 > 0:01:31when it's done.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Constructing Crossrail is like undertaking open-heart surgery
0:01:35 > 0:01:38on a patient whilst that patient is awake.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41This is the exclusive inside story of the epic endeavour
0:01:41 > 0:01:44to build London's new Underground.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57London. Home to more than eight million people.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04The key to keeping everyone moving - the Tube.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09A vast network of 270 stations and 250 miles of track.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18The London Underground handles more than a billion journeys a year.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23All you've got to do is go on the underground system
0:02:23 > 0:02:26in the morning and you can see it's very crowded.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29The forecast for London is one of continued growth,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32an extra million people in the next 10 or 15 years.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39This 150-year-old network struggles to cope with peak demand.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47The last new Tube, the Jubilee Line, was opened 35 years ago.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51So, today, engineers are building a brand-new underground railway line
0:02:51 > 0:02:53to help take the strain.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Passing right across London, it's called Crossrail.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04It will run overground, from Reading and Heathrow in the west...
0:03:08 > 0:03:11..straight underneath Central London.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15It will connect key mainline train stations
0:03:15 > 0:03:16with the historic Square Mile.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And the new business district.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Before terminating at Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29120 kilometres of railway will link to the rest
0:03:29 > 0:03:31of the Tube and open in 2018.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39will be just 28 minutes from London's West End,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42a journey that currently takes almost an hour on the Tube.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Another eight minutes will whisk you to the booming East End.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55An idea born in 1974, it's taken 40 years to get to this point.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59And the project isn't without controversy.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01It is a big job.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Probably the biggest single rail project
0:04:04 > 0:04:06that the UK has ever seen.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Pretty much everything we do has an impact on somebody.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14The budget for Crossrail is 14.8 billion.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17This is taxpayers' money, it's important to remember that.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The other thing I've got to sign here is a £21 million
0:04:20 > 0:04:23payment authorisation to one of our tunnelling contractors.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25And this one's OK.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Building Crossrail in the middle of nowhere would be a big enough
0:04:30 > 0:04:31technical challenge,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34but to do that right in the centre of London, with all of
0:04:34 > 0:04:38the neighbours above and around us, makes it more complex still.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Oxford Street - the shopping Mecca that runs through the heart
0:04:43 > 0:04:47of London, between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52It's the busiest shopping street in Europe.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56200 million people visit the high-end stores here each year.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Engineers must dig the tunnels for Crossrail
0:05:02 > 0:05:03right underneath this area.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08The new train line will soon make it easier for people to travel here.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12But building the tunnels below ground without disrupting
0:05:12 > 0:05:15the stores and shoppers above is no simple task...
0:05:18 > 0:05:21..even for tunnel construction manager Steve Parker...
0:05:21 > 0:05:22Hey, Mario!
0:05:22 > 0:05:25..who has more than 25 years' tunnelling experience.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Oh, well, another glorious day at work.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32A lot of people will say that tunnelling is boring.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34If you look up in the Yellow Pages "boring",
0:05:34 > 0:05:37it says, "See civil engineers."
0:05:37 > 0:05:38I am a civil engineer.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Steve is part of a 500-strong team.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45And this is the great picture at the Royal Oak Portal
0:05:45 > 0:05:47and there's our tunnelling team.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49A few Hollywood players in there, yes.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- Willie, where are you on this? - There you are.
0:05:53 > 0:05:54Ah, he's right in the middle!
0:05:54 > 0:05:57That's Willie Archibald, our tunnel surveyor,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01and he's got a certain height, and we use that as a unit of measure.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05One Willie Archibald is a standard tunnelling unit of measure.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09We've got the woolly hat here on the "Where's Wally?" thing,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11and we move it around from time to time.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Steve, Willie and the team oversee the running of two giant
0:06:20 > 0:06:23tunnel-boring machines - "TBMs".
0:06:25 > 0:06:28In all, there are eight of these clay-eating monsters.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Each one is a 150 metres long
0:06:32 > 0:06:34and weighs 1,000 tonnes.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41These digging demons can burrow up to 72 metres a day.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48In the future I want to be taking my family in this tunnel and say,
0:06:48 > 0:06:49"Look, I worked on this."
0:06:49 > 0:06:53I think many tunnellers like to think of themselves as kind of the unsung heroes.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Because it's all underground.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Steve's crew is about to face its toughest test yet.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05They must weave one of the tunnelling machines through
0:07:05 > 0:07:08the tightest point of the entire route,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10known as "the Eye of the Needle".
0:07:13 > 0:07:15At the east end of Oxford Street
0:07:15 > 0:07:19lies London Underground's Tottenham Court Road station.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23It's where the Tube's Northern Line and Central Line intersect.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Crossrail needs to link into this super-hub.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31But digging tunnels here is not easy.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Pipes, cables and sewers crowd the ground.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38The Tube's busy Northern Line platforms...
0:07:39 > 0:07:42..and two escalators
0:07:42 > 0:07:46make the earth extremely crowded.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49The only option for Steve's team is to drive their tunnelling machine
0:07:49 > 0:07:52through the tightest of gaps.
0:07:52 > 0:07:5685 centimetres above a live, running Tube line
0:07:56 > 0:08:00and 35 centimetres below the escalators.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04It's the closest any Crossrail tunnel will come to the critical
0:08:04 > 0:08:06infrastructure that keeps London ticking.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13At the controls for the tightest drive of them all
0:08:13 > 0:08:15is shift engineer Ed Batty.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21We've been in tricky spots before but nothing where we've had
0:08:21 > 0:08:22something below us
0:08:22 > 0:08:25and above us in such a close proximity
0:08:25 > 0:08:27so, yeah, it's a first for me.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32My first job on a TBM, one year and one month I've been down here.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34The first six months was a learning curve
0:08:34 > 0:08:38and now I know what the crack is, basically.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40ALARM-LIKE SOUND
0:08:40 > 0:08:41What's going on now?
0:08:41 > 0:08:44That's the TBM belt just about to start
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and that's the belt that goes all the way out.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Four kilometres of conveyor belt transport the excavated
0:08:51 > 0:08:53London clay out to the surface.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58By the end of the project,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01the tunnelling machines will have mined over six million tonnes
0:09:01 > 0:09:05of earth - enough to fill Wembley Stadium three times.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Hey, guys. Lovely morning.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Steve and the team are meeting with London Underground.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28We need to make sure the perimeters are absolutely clear so that we avoid
0:09:28 > 0:09:30some sort of unnecessary response.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35The tunnellers can't interrupt Tube services during the 48 hours
0:09:35 > 0:09:39it will take their machine to pass through the Eye of the Needle.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42The tunnel boring machine is passing directly over a platform tunnel.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45So our customers will be able see the impact of the tunnel
0:09:45 > 0:09:47boring machine passing by.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49For example, you could have tiles falling off.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52If we had customers on the platform who started seeing
0:09:52 > 0:09:55a lot of fluid come in, they might cause a panic.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59If the worst comes to the worst, we might have to evacuate the station.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02The only thing we need to discuss is what surveillance regime
0:10:02 > 0:10:04we're going to have in place.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06The team agree to keep a close eye
0:10:06 > 0:10:09on the platform as the tunnellers pass overhead.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13I suppose the real excitement,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16if you like, or the adrenaline will start if there is an incident.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19TANNOY: Customers for all stations to Morden
0:10:19 > 0:10:23should take the next available train and change at Kennington.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Tottenham Court Road station was built in 1900,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35for the Central London Railway, now the Central Line.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39The first line to run all day on Sundays
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and nicknamed the "Twopenny Tube",
0:10:41 > 0:10:44it was affordable and proved hugely popular.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51The new link made the shops on Oxford Street easier to reach,
0:10:51 > 0:10:52boosting their profits.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00The new stations here will deliver another 120,000 shoppers a day
0:11:00 > 0:11:02to the streets.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Crossrail engineers have 40 sprawling worksites
0:11:11 > 0:11:13spread out across London.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Some are little more than shafts allowing access to the new
0:11:18 > 0:11:20train tunnels growing underground.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Others are giant holes puncturing the landscape,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28forming the outlines of ten new stations.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36The sites in Central London are hemmed in between office blocks,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39busy shops and roads that never stop.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44This makes construction work extra difficult.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49One of the pinch points
0:11:49 > 0:11:52is two stops east of Tottenham Court Road,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55the site for a new Crossrail station serving Liverpool Street.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01In four years' time, this will be a spacious new ticket hall.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04But right now there's almost no room for manoeuvre.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09We'll get cracking then, yeah? Reeeet!
0:12:10 > 0:12:14An elite squad of crane riggers is assembling to clear some space.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Right, this is me team I'll be working with,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20this is Gurg from down here, so he knows the area.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24And this is the Scouser, Lee. You've probably seen him on Crimewatch.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Cheers, Steve.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28I'll never be welcome in Liverpool again, will I?
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Well, I love me van!
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Laptop, kitchen sink, it's all in here somewhere.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I try and keep it really tidy,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38everybody takes the mick cos it's such a tidy van.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40He polishes that every day.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43When he gets home, he gives himself another hour on the time sheet
0:12:43 > 0:12:45and gives his van a good polish.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Seven years in the army, that's what it is, you're either tidy or
0:12:48 > 0:12:50you're in a lot of trouble, like.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55The huge 280-tonne crawler crane has been hauling heavy equipment
0:12:55 > 0:12:56around the site.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Steve leads the team tasked with lifting it from the cramped space
0:13:01 > 0:13:02so building work can begin.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05The lifting of the crane out of the hole,
0:13:05 > 0:13:06it's not something you do every day.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11I've been doing it 15 years now, I suppose it's never easy, like.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13The crane is so huge, and the site so small...
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Put the rest of the barriers in.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18..that first they need to close off a side street
0:13:18 > 0:13:20to lay its 60-metre-long boom arm down.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Keep moving her down, mate, keep moving her down.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Nice and steady. And hold it there, stop.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Just watch yourself, cos that's going to slam that way.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Hold it there, Norbert.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Steve now needs to bring in a big mobile crane to dismantle
0:13:48 > 0:13:50the rest of the crawler.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55The obvious place to position this
0:13:55 > 0:13:57is the empty narrow strip on site,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00from where it can easily lift out the crawler crane.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05But the world's oldest underground railway,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09the Metropolitan Line, runs less than two metres below the surface.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Putting the crane here could damage the Victorian tunnels.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18So the team has no option but to position their crane on Moorgate.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Closing off one of London's major traffic arteries.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Moorgate is an essential thoroughfare into the heart
0:14:30 > 0:14:32of the historic business district.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Over 400,000 people work in the City during the week
0:14:37 > 0:14:41but at the weekend it's relatively quiet.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44We're going to be slinging you in through the head there.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Once they close Moorgate tonight, Steve's team have just
0:14:47 > 0:14:50a single weekend to get the crawler crane off site.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57This part of London has always been busy.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00When Victorian engineers built the Metropolitan Line
0:15:00 > 0:15:03in the 1860s, they closed streets for years.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Cutting huge trenches into the ground to form Tube tunnels
0:15:09 > 0:15:10caused major disruption.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15Cor!
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Steve can't afford to cause gridlock here today.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23He needs everything to run like clockwork.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Yeah, it was a lot easier when I was about five years younger
0:15:27 > 0:15:28and two stone lighter!
0:15:36 > 0:15:39In the heart of the West End, Crossrail's new station
0:15:39 > 0:15:42at Tottenham Court Road will be a gateway to the shops
0:15:42 > 0:15:43of Oxford Street.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48As well as the vibrant area of Soho.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Soho is London's entertainment hub, home to hundreds of bars,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57restaurants and the West End's famous theatres.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Here we are in the middle of Soho Square.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Crossrail is building a new station directly underneath our feet here.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Our tunnel boring machine is directly under this building
0:16:10 > 0:16:11opposite us there.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Advancing on average 22 metres a day,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Crossrail's vast tunnel boring machine is
0:16:19 > 0:16:21closing in on the Eye of the Needle.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25We've got to pass under a couple of buildings before
0:16:25 > 0:16:28it gets to the Eye of the Needle, but before we get there
0:16:28 > 0:16:30obviously we've got to protect the buildings.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33We don't want to put the table-tennis table out of level.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37It's all part of keeping London moving.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Digging directly under a city is a delicate operation.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49The loose ground around freshly dug tunnels could settle unevenly,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52potentially causing buildings to tilt.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55So Crossrail's engineers use a network of lasers
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and targets to spot any movement of buildings.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06If you look closely at the buildings,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09you can see lines of these prisms that are all across the facades.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12On the far corner there, on the brackets away from the building,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15you can see an automatic station up on the end there.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17It'll know where these prisms are supposed to be,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21it'll turn the instrument to see where it last read the prism from,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24and then it'll take the shot that'll give it the exact location of the prism.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28You'll see it rotating round now, working its way around,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30and then sending all that data back to the control room
0:17:30 > 0:17:33so we know where all these prisms are in real time.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Data from thousands of targets
0:17:40 > 0:17:43installed across Central London flows back to Tunnel Control.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Simon Leavy analyses any slight change in ground level
0:17:49 > 0:17:51picked up by the instruments.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57If the ground moves either up or down, we can tell from these graphs.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59The nodes on the points are blue
0:17:59 > 0:18:02so that means they're not in any trigger area
0:18:02 > 0:18:07but if they go to a green, it's a green alert, amber and red.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Robot trackers keep check on some of the most historic buildings
0:18:13 > 0:18:16in London, 24 hours a day.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Amongst them is one of the oldest structures in Soho Square.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28The Grade I listed charity and chapel House of St Barnabas.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33This is just so 1750s.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37This building was the anchor building for the development
0:18:37 > 0:18:39of the square here in Soho.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45If we look up, this is the plasterwork installed in 1754.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49It's a classic piece of rococo work.
0:18:49 > 0:18:55The main hall and the Silk Room next door together constitute
0:18:55 > 0:18:59the last complete set of rococo plasterwork in London.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02And so the house is monitored in a variety of ways.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05There's a theodolite looking at these two faces
0:19:05 > 0:19:07and there's another theodolite at the back.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10I'm standing on top of monitoring devices,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13which are built into the floor, and there are monitoring devices
0:19:13 > 0:19:15above my head, again built into the floor.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20This broad staircase was designed to look completely floating free.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Crossrail have built a steel framework,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26which is underneath the staircase.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29It's not supporting the staircase, it's a safety net.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Were the staircase to fall apart, the steel frame would catch it
0:19:33 > 0:19:37and we would be able to rebuild it using the existing materials.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42The House of St Barnabas is bristling with gadgets.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48But, despite supporting its stairway and protecting its pillars,
0:19:48 > 0:19:49there's a problem.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56As engineers dig passages beneath Soho Square
0:19:56 > 0:19:59to link up Tottenham Court Road's two new platforms...
0:20:01 > 0:20:04..the excavations are disturbing the ground.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08In Soho Square now we have some amber triggers
0:20:08 > 0:20:09on the levelling points.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12It's not to do with the TBM, it's the new ticket hall,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16so they're actually excavating fairly deep in that area.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Sensors on the House of St Barnabas have triggered alerts.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26Reverend Scott fears cracks in his plasterwork are getting worse.
0:20:26 > 0:20:31The corner behind me has been gently moving towards the square.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37And we are watching the cracks that are forming in the plasterwork.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Now, we don't want to be panicky about this,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43but you have to keep an eye on what's going on.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46The main thing is to try to ensure that it all stays up there.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55The Reverend isn't the only Soho resident worried about the impact
0:20:55 > 0:20:57of Crossrail's construction work here.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05The Star Cafe was started in 1933 by my father.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09I personally have only been here 52 years,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12so, yeah, got a bit more to go yet.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Since work began, Mario's road has been closed to traffic
0:21:17 > 0:21:21and the cafe is now within touching distance of the building site.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Obviously it affects the amount of people that can get down to here.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29So a big bulk of our clients has gone.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35I say our trade is down, yeah, 35% without any hesitation.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Is Crossrail essential?
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Be wonderful...
0:21:40 > 0:21:41when it's done.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Two stops back east, at Liverpool Street...
0:21:56 > 0:21:59..the fight for space on the cramped site has forced the team
0:21:59 > 0:22:03to close off a side street to break up a huge crane.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07What we're going to do now, we're going to split
0:22:07 > 0:22:10the top two pins to the boom now and lay it down on the floor.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13And we'll, er, knock it to bits.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20HE SIGHS
0:22:20 > 0:22:23To be in my type of position?
0:22:23 > 0:22:25A good back and knees.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28And good with an 'ammer normally helps as well!
0:22:30 > 0:22:31That's it...
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Yeah, it's knackered, I'll get me paint.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Obviously, when you take a crane to bits, you've got to examine it
0:22:37 > 0:22:41for any damage, any defects and that, so it's safe for the next job.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45I'll mark it down, obviously someone will get a bill somewhere for it,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47cos they're not cheap.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48I'll do me tag.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52It's damaged but it's perfectly safe to work still.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Right, we'll go for the main rope now, Norbert.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- Norbert's me crane driver. - Where's he?
0:22:57 > 0:23:00He's...in the crane.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01And he loves his crane, like,
0:23:01 > 0:23:05so he's sat in there with his air conditioning and his newspaper
0:23:05 > 0:23:09and his dirty books, whatever else crane drivers read all day.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10HE LAUGHS
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Right, we'll get these pins out.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30These four here.
0:23:30 > 0:23:31Are they the damaged places?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Yeah, they're damaged, they'll have to be replaced.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37It's the brightest colour we could get, bright pink.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Look at that, bobby-dazzler.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40Innit?
0:23:42 > 0:23:44They call him King Rigger. He's not bad to work with.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48He likes the whip, getting yous to do things now and again.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Me Scouser's gone missing.
0:23:50 > 0:23:51Hey, Steve!
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Oh, he's there, it's all right, we've found him. He's not been arrested.
0:23:55 > 0:23:56Right!
0:23:59 > 0:24:04Once we're happy and the lights go red, we'll close the north side off, both lanes.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07With the boom arm down, Steve's ready to get a mobile crane
0:24:07 > 0:24:12into place on the road to lift out the rest of the crawler.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13It's time to shut down Moorgate.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19OK, mate, as soon as it's red and it's safe to do so, go for it.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23That taxi's your last one, mate - as soon as that taxi's out.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28Moorgate is now closed.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30The team only has the weekend
0:24:30 > 0:24:32to break down and remove the crawler crane
0:24:32 > 0:24:36before the road must reopen for the Monday-morning rush hour.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42But there's a hitch with the 350-tonne mobile crane
0:24:42 > 0:24:44they're calling in to lift out the crawler.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I don't know if you've heard about the crane.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49I haven't. Well, I've just had a heads-up.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52The 350-tonne crane has got damaged on another site -
0:24:52 > 0:24:54- it won't be coming here.- OK.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58There are only two of those 350-tonne cranes in the UK at the moment.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00One's committed on another job and couldn't be released
0:25:00 > 0:25:04and the other one's been damaged, so here we are trying to re-plan.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23Back west, next to the new Tottenham Court Road station site...
0:25:26 > 0:25:29..tunnelling work beneath Soho Square
0:25:29 > 0:25:31is causing the ground to settle.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38The Grade I listed House of St Barnabas has a slight tilt,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41threatening its rare rococo decor.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Engineers must stop the earth from sinking before it gets any worse.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Before works began, they created a vast subterranean protection system.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59They dug 22 unique shafts around central London
0:25:59 > 0:26:01to protect historic buildings.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Four of these shafts are in Soho Square.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11A spider's web of thin tube stretches out from each shaft.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Each tube has holes every metre.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Engineers send a special device called a packer
0:26:19 > 0:26:21to the spot where the ground is settling.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27The packer precision-injects grout to fill up any voids...
0:26:28 > 0:26:31..lifting the earth back to its original position,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34protecting plasterwork, preventing further cracks
0:26:34 > 0:26:38and keeping buildings - like the House of St Barnabas - safe.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41TAM number 46 then, yeah?
0:26:43 > 0:26:46This shaft in the southeast corner of Soho Square
0:26:46 > 0:26:49is the "office" for grouters Lloyd and Tony.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53This is what we call a packer.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55This rubber part here will inflate.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58That'll form a seal to prevent any grout coming back out.
0:26:58 > 0:27:0190 metres, a long way to push the packer,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04but you take the rough with the smooth, I think.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08- Two, six, one, five! - OK! Two, six, one, five.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Lloyd and Tony spend up to 12 hours a day down this shaft,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19packing holes under Soho Square.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25OK, that's depth, inflate the packer.
0:27:32 > 0:27:33That's ready to start pumping!
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Yeah, pumping now.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42I've been on the job for about 16 months.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Tony's been with us for about...six months?
0:27:45 > 0:27:49We generally tend to stick together as a team as well, you know.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Yeah, we do come... not too close obviously,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55you don't want to get too close in a place like this.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58You get used to talking to yourself but apart from that it's all right.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Thirteen, three, zero, seven, five!
0:28:01 > 0:28:03OK, up on the reel.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11Whoa!
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Now we're off to Crossrail in their new offices
0:28:21 > 0:28:23and we usually meet with them regularly
0:28:23 > 0:28:26to survey the monitoring, to discuss any particular
0:28:26 > 0:28:30operations that have taken place, and then we can co-ordinate.
0:28:31 > 0:28:36Welcome to the House of Barnabas periodic meeting.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40The team will meet once a month for the next four years to keep check
0:28:40 > 0:28:43on Soho's historic buildings.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45I did report that everything was fine.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Then the summary sheet won't have any triggers,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53unless we get realignments. THEY ALL LAUGH
0:28:53 > 0:28:56They'll keep a close eye on the House of St Barnabas,
0:28:56 > 0:28:59and its exquisite rococo plasterwork.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04The charming lady here has survived to keep us entertained
0:29:04 > 0:29:07in the 21st century, and I hope for many more.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21One stop west of Tottenham Court Road, in the heart of Mayfair,
0:29:21 > 0:29:25engineers are building Crossrail's new Bond Street station.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30New Bond Street is one of the most expensive streets in Europe
0:29:30 > 0:29:33so it's definitely one of the poshest parts of London.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Any settlement that's generated in this area
0:29:36 > 0:29:39could potentially cause damage to buildings, so we spend a huge amount
0:29:39 > 0:29:43of time, money and effort making sure that doesn't happen.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45We've established a network of grout shafts
0:29:45 > 0:29:50and by doing that we can physically lift whole buildings,
0:29:50 > 0:29:51the whole area if need be,
0:29:51 > 0:29:55and we can make sure there's no damage to any buildings.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Building grout shafts in the congested heart
0:29:58 > 0:30:01of London's swankiest district solves one problem,
0:30:01 > 0:30:04but means compromises must be made.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09This shaft sits right next door to Bonhams -
0:30:09 > 0:30:12a fine art auctioneers established over 200 years ago.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Lot number 36, ladies and gentlemen.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17A splendid Imperial vase.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Start the bidding here at £400,000.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22400,000 is offered. 420.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26As you can see, it's a very tight site here, there's very little room.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31And you can see how close Bonhams' building is.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34It's only a metre or so away from the edge of our grout shaft.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36£700,000.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39750.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41800.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42850.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Attending an auction is incredibly exciting.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48I've been in the business for 30-odd years and,
0:30:48 > 0:30:52yeah, your adrenaline goes, it's an exciting spectacle, if you like.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It is like putting on a show.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56One million pounds. There's the bid.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59£1,250,000, I'll take.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Quite sure, no more for you?
0:31:02 > 0:31:06I'm selling for £1,250,000.
0:31:06 > 0:31:07All done?
0:31:10 > 0:31:14The priceless, the fragile, the unique -
0:31:14 > 0:31:18items for sale must be carefully exhibited in Bonhams gallery.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21We've got a very special sale coming up
0:31:21 > 0:31:25where we're going to have about 34 select motorcars.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30The sale content value is around about 13, 14 million pounds.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33James needs to get 14 vintage cars through Bonhams'
0:31:33 > 0:31:36back alley and into the showroom for sale.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41This is where Crossrail's grout shaft is
0:31:41 > 0:31:46and they've put these metal plates on top of the circle
0:31:46 > 0:31:50so that we can get our motorcars over the grout shaft.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53We've not yet tested getting a car in here,
0:31:53 > 0:31:58so getting the first car over that plate will be one of those
0:31:58 > 0:32:02sort of moments that you have your heart in your mouth.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06So this is the pinch point here, 230 centimetres,
0:32:06 > 0:32:11but realistically you've got about 210 centimetres, with a little
0:32:11 > 0:32:13bit of contingency either side.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17The slightest scratch is going to affect them visually
0:32:17 > 0:32:19and affect their value as well.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22On paper it works but we all know on paper is not necessarily
0:32:22 > 0:32:24what it's like in reality.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33Across town, in London's financial heart, lift supervisor Steve
0:32:33 > 0:32:35is fuelling up for the day ahead.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40You can't beat a good cup of coffee in the morning, can you?
0:32:40 > 0:32:42Bit expensive down here, though.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47Well, up north I could get about four cups, a night out with me whippets,
0:32:47 > 0:32:51maybe buy a couple of pigeons and still have a tanner left.
0:32:51 > 0:32:52Right, lads, come on then.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57The crane originally booked for this lift has been
0:32:57 > 0:33:00damaged on another site.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02They've hired in the biggest replacement they could find,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05but it might not be big enough.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08The crane's turned up and he's only got 52 tonnes of ballast
0:33:08 > 0:33:11with him, which is adequate to do all but the last lift.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16Without enough ballast to stabilise the mobile crane,
0:33:16 > 0:33:18the heavy load could cause it to topple.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27Steve's team must source extra ballast for the biggest lift - fast.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Obviously what he's got on now isn't sufficient for the heavier lifts
0:33:37 > 0:33:39later on in the day,
0:33:39 > 0:33:44but it's good enough for what we've got to load out this morning.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49Start taking her up, mate, we'll get it over the section.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50All the way.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56The team make headway, hauling the lighter parts
0:33:56 > 0:33:57of the crawler off site.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Right, mate, start taking her up.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Leaving the 44-tonne base section until last.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05That's lovely that, mate, no bother.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14You've just got to be careful of the buildings,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16people walking underneath.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23The heaviest load we've got today is the car body of the crane,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25it's 44 tonnes all up,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28we need the full 96 tonnes of ballast on the crane to lift that.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34They urgently need the extra ballast to arrive on site
0:34:34 > 0:34:36to finish the job and reopen Moorgate
0:34:36 > 0:34:39in time for the Monday-morning rush hour.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48CAR HORNS
0:34:48 > 0:34:52Crossrail's road closures in the city are a bane for motorists,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56especially London's 23,000 cab drivers.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Cabbies'll moan about everything.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03But you've got to have a good moan if you want to live in London.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07Mike Zihni has been a cab driver for 12 years.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Crossrail's made all the roads rotten.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15This area is where the gridlock is.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20Haven't been able to go up and down these streets for four years.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22You can't do the rat runs any more,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26so they've messed up what we call the dirty dozen - dozen streets
0:35:26 > 0:35:30that get you through the north part of Soho, to get out of it.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33They're like little arteries into a heart.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35One or two of them start shutting, boom, boom, boom.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37CAR HORN
0:35:37 > 0:35:42I've seen cabbies, like, pulling their hair out, foaming at the mouth,
0:35:42 > 0:35:44crying almost on the dashboard.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48DELUGE OF CAR HORNS
0:35:48 > 0:35:52You've just got to keep your cool and just go with the flow and
0:35:52 > 0:35:56not get too stressed out about it all, you'll just drive yourself mad.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59If you want to work in it, you've got to put up with it.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06Underneath Oxford Street,
0:36:06 > 0:36:08the tunnel boring machine
0:36:08 > 0:36:10is marching towards Tottenham Court Road.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16It's a critical time for Tim Morrison,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19who heads London Underground's engineering team.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Constructing Crossrail is like
0:36:22 > 0:36:26undertaking open-heart surgery on a patient whilst that patient is awake
0:36:26 > 0:36:28because we're trying to maintain
0:36:28 > 0:36:31the operation of the railway as it is without disrupting it at all.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34There are 31 locations where Crossrail are doing something
0:36:34 > 0:36:37that has the potential to affect London Underground.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40It could be that they're digging a very large hole close to us,
0:36:40 > 0:36:42it could be that they are doing some demolition work,
0:36:42 > 0:36:44for example, near to our railway.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52Each generation of engineers faces the same challenge
0:36:52 > 0:36:55upgrading London's transport networks
0:36:55 > 0:36:56to keep the city moving.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02Back in the '60s, it was building the new Victoria Line that
0:37:02 > 0:37:04threatened to clog vital arteries.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07NEWSREEL: Ten-and-a-half miles of route, twelve stations,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11eleven of them at intersections with one or more existing lines.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15And the biggest engineering enterprise is at Oxford Circus.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Oxford Circus is just a stone's throw away from Tim's office.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24We're standing on the junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28Probably one of the busiest interchanges in the whole of London, I would think.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32In 1963, engineers had to build a new ticket hall
0:37:32 > 0:37:35for Oxford Circus, directly underneath this busy junction.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40It would take almost five years to construct.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44So instead of closing the road they built a giant bridge across it,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48to keep traffic moving while they dug underneath.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51NEWSREEL: The intention was to erect the bridge in one long weekend -
0:37:51 > 0:37:54the August Bank Holiday weekend, 1963.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00The area took on a beleaguered look as D-Day came nearer.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05Buses re-routed and traffic diverted, policemen deployed
0:38:05 > 0:38:07and essential services endangered.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14And so zero hour arrived, 1.30 on the Saturday afternoon.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16And it was raining - of course(!)
0:38:22 > 0:38:24Then the hardware started arriving.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27The largest of the girders was 35 feet long
0:38:27 > 0:38:30and weighed just over five tonnes, but the iron fighters were
0:38:30 > 0:38:34tossing them around as though this was the Braemar Games!
0:38:34 > 0:38:37There's no bolting down, which saved time. And bolts.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40And they can't shift because the whole structure interlocks.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43So it went on for the rest of Sunday.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46And we were still waiting for the bit that didn't fit.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50There was something like 245 individual steel elements
0:38:50 > 0:38:53that were slowly assembled and they got it right first time.
0:38:53 > 0:38:59And right on the dot, 6.30am, Tuesday the 6th of August, 1963,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02with all services functioning, the first traffic crossed.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08Keeping the buses moving, keeping cars moving, and that's allowed them
0:39:08 > 0:39:12to be progressively excavating the soil below the Circus itself.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14If we don't learn lessons from the past,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17we won't be able to do the more challenging projects of the future.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19So, 50 years ago almost to the day,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22we had this incredible feat of engineering,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26and 50 years later we're about to send a tunnelling machine
0:39:26 > 0:39:29through a very congested part of Tottenham Court Road station.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38There are now just two days to go
0:39:38 > 0:39:41before Crossrail's tunnelling machine
0:39:41 > 0:39:43goes through the Eye of the Needle.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51It's going to get a lot of attention from everybody
0:39:51 > 0:39:52and we want to get it right.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Do you know how expensive this photoshoot is?
0:39:58 > 0:40:00It's going to be a very close encounter.
0:40:00 > 0:40:05The ruler's showing how close this 7.1-metre, 900-tonne
0:40:05 > 0:40:10tunnelling machine is going to LU operational infrastructure.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13This is our TBM and this is the pile bottom.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16- Wow, that it tight, isn't it? - It's unbelievable.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18That's how good we are.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20If we actually hit the Northern Line platform,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24then London Underground would have to close the station.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27We've looked at where all the different structures are and we've
0:40:27 > 0:40:31convinced ourselves that there is an eye that we can go through.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41There's just five centimetres' margin for error as Willie lines up
0:40:41 > 0:40:44his tunnel boring machine with the Eye of the Needle.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Yep, OK!
0:40:53 > 0:40:58His eyes and ears on-board is graduate shift engineer Ed Batty.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04We're now in the TBM control cabin, and from this little room
0:41:04 > 0:41:07we can control all the systems on the machine.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10It's also where we control the navigation from as well.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12And the steering's here, basically.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16These represent the rams, there's 22 rams, these numbers,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19so if you want to go down you put more pressure on the top.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Although the team can fine-tune the direction of their tunnel,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28as they pass through the Eye of the Needle they need to be sure
0:41:28 > 0:41:32they're lined up precisely with the tunnel's intended route.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37We're coming up to the Northern Line and it's under a metre below us.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39That line will still be operating,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42so there's going to be the day-to-day commuters whizzing
0:41:42 > 0:41:45underneath us while we tunnel over the top, unnoticed.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48We'll even be able to hear the trains as we pass over,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50it's that close.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52And we only get one chance to build this tunnel
0:41:52 > 0:41:53so we have to get it right.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58The team must know exactly where they are at all times.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01And, crucially, where they're headed.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03To guide them,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06they've rigged a clever device behind the head of the machine.
0:42:06 > 0:42:11It constantly fires a laser towards prisms - in front and behind -
0:42:11 > 0:42:15telling them if they're staying on track or veering off course.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20They reposition this guiding light at each bend in the tunnel.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24This laser precision is critical to steering the tunnelling machine
0:42:24 > 0:42:26through the Eye of the Needle.
0:42:33 > 0:42:34So when we reach that position
0:42:34 > 0:42:37we need to be super good at what we're doing.
0:42:37 > 0:42:38There's no room for error.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40We've got a series of targets in the tunnel,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43they keep being built as we build the rings,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46so this machine fires a laser at that position, it knows where it is.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48If you're on a straight bit of tunnel,
0:42:48 > 0:42:51the laser can go quite a distance without hitting anything.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54If you imagine we're on a curve, we need to move this quite often.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56There's a team of surveyors that come down here
0:42:56 > 0:43:00and their sole job is to make sure that bit of kit
0:43:00 > 0:43:03is in the right place and it's working accurately.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08THEY SPEAK SPANISH
0:43:16 > 0:43:19The driver is just constantly keeping an eye, making sure
0:43:19 > 0:43:23he's in the centre of the target and taking the machine forward.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27No steering wheel, but it's all done more like a computer game,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29if you like, where he's trying to keep
0:43:29 > 0:43:31the arrow in the centre of the target screen.
0:43:31 > 0:43:36We'll be in tight control, so what's going on in here will be
0:43:36 > 0:43:40very precise and we have to be absolutely spot on.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43Oh...
0:43:43 > 0:43:45Yep, OK.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48They use the lasers to line the tunnelling machine up
0:43:48 > 0:43:52to pass over the Northern Line platforms and under the escalators.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56This is the closest a machine of this size has ever got
0:43:56 > 0:43:58to an operational railway tunnel.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02It's tight, it's going to be interesting, the next four or five shifts.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04It's not far off, it's all getting very exciting now.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09One stop west, over at Bond Street...
0:44:14 > 0:44:17We've got a layout of the plan of where the cars are going
0:44:17 > 0:44:19to get positioned.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23..Crossrail's engineers have modified their grout shaft here,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26so Bonhams can get 14 vintage cars into their saleroom
0:44:26 > 0:44:28for a multi-million-pound auction.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31It's the first time we've done something like this.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33We'll bring them down in here into Haunch of Venison Yard,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36which as you know is the back entrance of Bonhams.
0:44:36 > 0:44:37Whoa, whoa, whoa!
0:44:40 > 0:44:43It's pretty cool. It's a prestigious car, it's amazing.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45I would like to know how old it is
0:44:45 > 0:44:48and how it's in such good condition, it's amazing.
0:44:57 > 0:44:58As you are!
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Come on, boys!
0:45:05 > 0:45:06This is ridiculously tight down here.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15This is the bit where we get very, very close to Crossrail.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18Anyway, we were going to use the cheapest car first off to see
0:45:18 > 0:45:20whether it worked, but anyway, we've got
0:45:20 > 0:45:22a £300,000 Clement as a test case.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28It's a 1903 Clement Talbot that's 110 years old
0:45:28 > 0:45:31and it's the oldest motor car in the sale.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38First one in, yes!
0:45:38 > 0:45:41So far, so good. We've got a one-car sale at the moment.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51As you can see, we've got a bit of a Rolls-Royce traffic jam behind us.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54We've got a Rolls-Royce 20 horsepower,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56which is a car from the late 1920s.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06It's good, keep it like that.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10Straighten up, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming... Straight.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12And the Rolls-Royce Phantom 1.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17With a combined value of almost £1 million,
0:46:17 > 0:46:21the first three cars make it through the pinch point without a scratch.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23Very, very heavy.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Two and a half tonnes.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29- You must have had your Weetabix this morning!- Yeah, I did, yeah!
0:46:33 > 0:46:35It's quite nice, that - wouldn't mind it myself.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37If I had a chauffeur, I suppose.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57One, two three! It's very close.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01The Bentley S1 Fastback was the one that was most pressing on us
0:47:01 > 0:47:03with the width where the Crossrail gantry is.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07In their day, they were the fastest four-seater motor cars
0:47:07 > 0:47:11on the planet, so they were really quite an important motor car.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22OK, you're in.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24Jeez!
0:47:25 > 0:47:28Watch your back, here comes the Aston Martin DB6...
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Right, has it got brakes?
0:47:31 > 0:47:33The last few cars finally arrive.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44It was a case of working with one another.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46You've got to suffer some pain for the gain.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49You can land at Heathrow and literally get to us
0:47:49 > 0:47:53at New Bond Street in an obscenely short amount of time.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58If Crossrail didn't undertake this construction here,
0:47:58 > 0:48:00we wouldn't see the benefit.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03After a quick polish,
0:48:03 > 0:48:06the vintage vehicles are ready to go under the hammer.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10They sell for the grand sum of almost £17 million.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20C'mon, Tubsy, let's get down there.
0:48:20 > 0:48:21All right then, la.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24Over at the Liverpool Street site,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28Steve's keeping a close eye on two teams this afternoon.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30We were winning 3-0 at half-time.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34I've got a bit of a shrine to me team in the front of the van,
0:48:34 > 0:48:36the mighty Wolverhampton Wanderers.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40That's me monkey - he goes everywhere with me. Done some miles, he has.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44He's a big Wolves supporter and I'm a big Liverpool supporter, and
0:48:44 > 0:48:48he's very, very bitter, over anyone else who's in the Premiership.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50The ladies see this badge in your front window
0:48:50 > 0:48:53and they just flock to it and they can't help 'emselves.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57It's like a magnet for women. Yeah.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Don't tell me missus.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10The extra 44 tonnes of ballast finally arrives.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21Steve can now disconnect and lift out the two giant tracks...
0:49:27 > 0:49:30Everything's going tickety-boo.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34Look at that, thing of beauty!
0:49:35 > 0:49:38He just needs one more thing to go his way.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42You'd have known if they'd have lost,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44cos your phone would've been going like mad.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47- Everyone else would let you know.- Yeah.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50I'm in a good mood now. Wolves have won 4-0 today.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52What more can you ask for, eh?
0:49:52 > 0:49:544-0! Get in, my son!
0:49:59 > 0:50:03This is the right crane, isn't it? It's not the other one?
0:50:03 > 0:50:07It's final lift of the day, lads. Obviously it's the machine now.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11We're going to spin her in the hole so she's the right way round
0:50:11 > 0:50:14when she comes to going on the back of the wagon.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17We'll get this up and on, like.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20- Let's do it, lads. - Let's do it, let's fall in love?
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Me arse ain't hanging out, is it?
0:50:30 > 0:50:33The delays mean Steve can't start the biggest lift
0:50:33 > 0:50:36until the very end of the day.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Right, you got the front end here
0:50:39 > 0:50:41just starting to come off the deck now.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43We might have to just inch it up
0:50:43 > 0:50:46to get over this cherry picker, mate, all right?
0:50:46 > 0:50:47Just pinch her up mate,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50just so it's going over the top of that Harris fencing.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Hand you over to them lads, Nick, while I come up to the top...
0:51:11 > 0:51:13Whoa! Whoa!
0:51:14 > 0:51:16Just hang fire there.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20Yeah, spot on, mate, keep going down, keep going down.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22Weight's off, weight's off, Steve.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Good man, sound job that, Nick, beautiful.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30All me lads are safe,
0:51:30 > 0:51:31no damage to any equipment,
0:51:31 > 0:51:34you can't ask more than that, can you?
0:51:34 > 0:51:36And Wolves have won 4-0 today.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Win here for all this and a win for Wolves.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43Cheers, lads, thank you very much. High-five, Lee.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47C'mon, let's get up to t'North.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54With the site clear, work can now begin digging out
0:51:54 > 0:51:58the 40-metre-deep hole that will form Liverpool Street Station's
0:51:58 > 0:52:00new ticket hall.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03In four years' time,
0:52:03 > 0:52:06it will be packed with up to 70,000 commuters each day.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Job done, the team can open Moorgate
0:52:13 > 0:52:16in time for the Monday-morning rush hour.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Right, Craig, I'm going to open my side now.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Right, your first cars are coming through.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36At Tottenham Court Road,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39the 1,000-tonne tunnel-building monster is finally entering
0:52:39 > 0:52:41the Eye of the Needle.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50Welcome, everyone, to Sunday morning, the 8th.
0:52:50 > 0:52:55This is the day Steve and Willie's team has been working towards.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57That's where we are at the moment,
0:52:57 > 0:52:59just touching the side of Charing Cross Road.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03- We're under the site of the old Astoria Theatre, aren't we, Willie? - Yep.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Today, the tunnel boring machine
0:53:06 > 0:53:09will reach the narrowest point of its route across London.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13So the crossing starts on back shift this afternoon
0:53:13 > 0:53:15- and I think we're going to be there. - Yep.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18Today is the critical day, it's the start of passing over
0:53:18 > 0:53:21the Northern Line and so this is the critical point.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25The culmination of a lot of work over the last couple of months.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29So people getting off the train in the next hour or so
0:53:29 > 0:53:34will not realise that above their head is a 900-tonne,
0:53:34 > 0:53:377.1-metre-diameter tunnelling machine.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42It's vital the crossing goes unnoticed,
0:53:42 > 0:53:47or passengers on the Tube platform below could panic.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51General comment just to say be aware of proximity of LU assets.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53I mean, I would like Ed to keep an eye on the belt.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56Yeah, just extra vigilance.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01So over the next 20 rings
0:54:01 > 0:54:05we're directly above the Northern Line platform.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10The Eye of the Needle. We're just about to go through it.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12PHONE RINGS
0:54:12 > 0:54:13Hello?
0:54:13 > 0:54:16- Is that Ed? - Hi, Steve, how you doing?
0:54:16 > 0:54:19We've got one more ring to go before the cutter head gets in line
0:54:19 > 0:54:22with the angle of the northbound line.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25Tim Morrison of LU said he was down this morning.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29He was there and he said he could hear the TBM and hear the miners.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36We're that close, so he can actually hear what we're doing here?
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Yes, he could hear, but that was with no trains running.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Our one concern is that there are cracks within London clay,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46some of the water could ease out and find the simplest
0:54:46 > 0:54:50path of travel, which could be the big platform tunnel.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12The TBM cutter head is now directly above the Northern Line
0:55:12 > 0:55:17northbound station platform, so about 850mm below my feet
0:55:17 > 0:55:21is the crown of their tunnel, so not a big distance at all.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24You see where there's a blockwork wall here,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26just behind the tiled edge -
0:55:26 > 0:55:29that is pretty much the centre line where the tunnelling machine
0:55:29 > 0:55:31is actually crossing this structure.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Sam is one of the guys who's been based down on the platform.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37He's specifically looking for any fluid ingress from the tunnelling machine
0:55:37 > 0:55:40because that's something that we are concerned is a possibility.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44The tunnelling machine at the moment is quite literally above the tunnel crown.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47There is that apprehension because there is a small risk
0:55:47 > 0:55:49that we could see some ingress,
0:55:49 > 0:55:51and so I guess that makes it more exciting.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01With the tunnelling machine now inside the Eye of the Needle,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04the team must continue their vigil throughout the night.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24As London sleeps...
0:56:26 > 0:56:29..the 150-metre-long earth-eating giant
0:56:29 > 0:56:31continues its relentless drive.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Willie, got an update where we are?
0:56:42 > 0:56:45Yep, we're building 3024 just now.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53The team - and machine - make it through the tight spot.
0:56:53 > 0:56:54Yep, OK!
0:56:54 > 0:56:58No passengers panicked, no platforms evacuated.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01We've passed over two platform tunnels
0:57:01 > 0:57:04with a 900-tonne tunnelling machine.
0:57:04 > 0:57:05That's even a first, I think.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07- Yes, it is, yeah.- Cheers.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11The lads have been working down here really hard
0:57:11 > 0:57:14and so have the guys up in the control room.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17A big relief. I'm chuffed that we've done it so well
0:57:17 > 0:57:19and we've had such good results.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21We've done it, yeah, got through the tricky spot.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23The trains have kept running,
0:57:23 > 0:57:26passengers haven't known that we've been there.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31It's been a great achievement and I'm glad to be part of that team.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36The team leaves a perfectly formed Tube tunnel in their wake.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44There are still two huge jobs to complete.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Finish digging the 42 kilometres of tunnels...
0:57:49 > 0:57:51You can't be normal if you go underground, can you,
0:57:51 > 0:57:54earn your living in the bowels of the earth.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58..and construct ten new stations,
0:57:58 > 0:58:01each the size of a cathedral, before the trains can run.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05It's difficult to appreciate the scale of it.
0:58:05 > 0:58:10The station is designed to deal with 32,000 people per hour.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12It's absolutely huge.