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PROJECTS
Construction of the Elizabeth Line was one of the largest projects ever undertaken in the United Kingdom – a 100km-plus railway that unites areas in the east and west of London with 10 new stations, 31 station upgrades, and 42km of tunnels under the capital. The railway opened on May 24, 2022. Bechtel supported Crossrail’s management of the project and Network Rail’s management of the extensive upgrades to the existing rail network to make it compatible with the new line.
The Elizabeth Line has boosted central London’s rail capacity and is one of the most reliable railways in the U.K. It also has the fastest growing ridership with more than 350 million passenger journeys in its first two years of service.
The railway has unlocked new travel opportunities, supported regeneration across London — including enhanced housing and social mobility — and contributed an estimated £42 billion to the U.K. economy.
The Elizabeth Line is London’s first full new underground line in more than 30 years.
With this project, 1.5M more people can travel to central London within 45 minutes.
The Elizabeth Line serves 40 stations, including eight new subsurface stations and two new above-ground stations.
200-meter-long trains move an average of 700,000 passengers every weekday.
Game-Changer
The Elizabeth line has been a game-changer for our city, transforming travel across London and the South East and delivering a £42bn boost to the UK economy. In just two years, more than 350 million journeys have been made and the line has directly impacted the development of 55,000 new homes and significantly supported employment growth. The Elizabeth line has played a vital role in our recovery from the pandemic and is helping to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.
Mayor of London
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visited a worksite in 2016 to celebrate progress, escorted by a Bechtel project manager. Photo credit: James O’Jenkins
Eight huge tunnel-boring machines each weighing 1,000 tonnes worked around the clock to burrow under London to construct 42km of new tunnels, moving through ground honeycombed with networks of sewer lines, water and gas mains, building foundations and London Underground tunnels dating to the 1860s.
Years of careful study, planning, and ground reinforcement efforts minimized the risk of ground movement to protect buildings and infrastructure above the tunnels. This included protecting buildings listed by Government as nationally important for architectural or historic interest, some more than 300 years old. More than 2,000 structures above the tunnels were monitored for stability using an array of techniques including automated monitoring of prisms and satellite technology. Major utility relocations also took place across London to protect vital services and keep the city moving throughout construction.
Bechtel built a moving replica of a tunnel boring machine from 50,000 LEGO bricks. The model shows all the components of a working tunnel boring machine and demonstrates how these mechanical moles dig and build tunnels all over the world. The model was created to celebrate Bechtel’s long-term support of FIRST LEGO League, an international robotics tournament for young people.
The project was the U.K.’s first infrastructure project to adopt strict emissions controls across all of its work sites. It also introduced newer, cleaner machines across London, and encouraged suppliers to upgrade their equipment to benefit the industry for the long-term.
Crossrail piloted hybrid diesel-electric excavators, hydrogen fuel cell-powered lighting and noise monitoring stations, and used LED lighting to reduce energy consumption.
Through a combination of new engine performance standards, retrofitting of particulate controls, hybrid technologies and training, Crossrail significantly reduced particulate emissions across some 40 construction sites.
The Elizabeth Line was one of the U.K.’s first major construction projects to closely monitor environmental outcomes. Now complete, the railway is forecast to save up to 225,000 tonnes of CO2 every year for its estimated 120 years in operation.
Bechtel managed the adoption of widely recognized sustainable design and construction assessment methods and accreditations.
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) — the UK standard for best practice in low carbon and low environmental impact design, construction and operation. The project was the first time the standard was applied to evaluate underground stations, establishing a benchmark for the future
Civil Engineering Environmental Quality (CEEQUAL) — a comprehensive sustainability rating system for assessing environmental, economic and social performance.
All of the new station designs achieved ‘very good’ ratings at design stage under BREEAM, and the tunnels, portals and shafts have attained an ‘excellent’ rating at design stage under CEEQUAL.
Bechtel also created an ambitious community investment program, with legacy driven objectives.
In recognition of the engineering excellence and architectural brilliance of the Elizabeth Line, our work has earned several awards.
The Bechtel Team received the Global Project Controls Megaproject of the Year award.
Bechtel, Crossrail, and Transcend representatives received the Best Infrastructure Award at Institution of Civil Engineers’ London.
In 2024, the Elizabeth Line won the U.K.’s most prestigious architecture prize, the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Stirling Prize.
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United Kingdom - France
1994
The project to build the undersea leg between England and France began in earnest in 1986. When it became clear that the project was at risk, Eurotunnel called on Bechtel to get the project back on track. Bechtel helped manage...
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