Crossrail - now renamed as the Elizabeth Line - is a west-east railway line in London, running from Reading and Heathrow to Abbey Wood and Shenfield. It was originally planned to open in stages with the branch including Woolwich to open in 2018. It is not now expected to open before 2022.
In 2013 the station box at Woolwich was opened to the public for the day to celebrate its completion. This station lies within the former Woolwich Arsenal and is separate from the existing mainline and DLR stations, although connections will be possible.
As the box extends beneath the water table it is watertight and meaures in at an impressive 256 metres long and 26 metres wide. The box was used as an important TBM launch site for the tunneling machines under the Thames to North Woolwich and the eastward tunnel to Plumstead.
