It’s 11,000 tonnes, weighs more than the Eiffel Tower and is a first for UK engineering.
Last month we pushed this huge curved concrete box under one of Britain’s busiest railway lines, near Peterborough. Actually, we pushed this concrete box inside guide tunnels – at just 150cm an hour.
What for and why?
这个令人兴奋的项目是一部分£1.2亿英镑东海岸升级允许更多列车在英格兰和苏格兰之间运行并提供更快的旅程。
我们度过了九天彼得伯勒北部的Werrington, building a new tunnel so we could separate slower local services and freight trains from fast main line routes.
Watch this video to see our trial push:
分离线被称为grade separation。它将使移动的货运火车速度较慢，以便在下面潜水East Coast Main Line并使用邻近的北方。有点像在繁忙的道路下面建造一个行人地下通道，所以你可以走在交通不足而不是穿过它。
以传统的方式建立东海岸主线下面的隧道不是我们的选择。
不可能安全地钻到足够大的隧道，以适应两条线，并仍然保持铁路在它上面开放的火车。
The East Coast Main Line is one of the country’s busiest lines, linking London with the North of England and Scotland. We would potentially have had to close it for over a month, instead of just nine days.
我们是怎么做的？
Building this way was much less disruptive to train services, which were able to run while we had the tunnel cast in sections over a 10-month period next to the line.
在九月从1月16日起，我们删除了东海岸主线的轨道，挖掘了地球，将隧道推到位。
我们有两个导向隧道，这是圆形的，更小，让我们与传统风格的隧道镗床钻孔。与此同时，以上东海岸的主要线仍然开放。
这些引导隧道的唯一目的是具有引导板装配在主隧道的一个底角处。
然后我们使用液压千斤顶推动155米长的隧道。我们一次做了5.4米，每个周期花了三到四个小时。
Watch this how to video:
As we pushed in the main tunnel, we smashed open the tops of the two guide tunnels. This revealed the guide plates inside, which we used to slide the main tunnel into position.
We backfilled the tunnel and covered it back up, then replaced the tracks. What’s left of the guide tunnels is now buried forever beneath the main tunnel.
这种方法很少见，并且在英国之前只用了一条直隧道。弯曲的隧道是我国工程的巨大成就。
从空中看项目：
什么正在发生的东海岸Upgrade?
一旦完成，更广泛的项目将使一个小时进入伦敦的额外两个长距离服务。它还将提高列车服务可靠性。
The area around伦敦国王的十字架是此升级的重要网站。
TheKing’s Cross Remodelling projectdramatically improve travel to and from London through a multi-million pound investment in renewing track, signalling (basically the traffic lights of the railway) and overhead line equipment (which powers electric trains) at King’s Cross.
This, combined with other East Coast Upgrade projects and the introduction of new trains on the route, will also help ease congestion and cut journey times.
Gallery: the Werrington guide tunnels and aerial views of the project near Peterborough
Track and overhead line equipment
我们在2012年现代化了该站本身，但轨道和信号设备的大量服务于40多年，因此它越来越难以维护。
The work will simplify the layout of tracks leading to this iconic station, improving reliability by making it easier for trains to arrive and leave.
- 我们在四个平台中取代了曲目，并在车站外的隧道内安装了新的点。这将使在车站外立即轨道的复杂缠结在3月和6月初的两个阶段简化。
- This has also required the installation of new overhead line masts to ensure they’re in the right place when we install the new track layout.
- 我们继续替换架空电线和组件，并在6月6日之前安装新的项目，直到重塑项目结束。
Camden下水道
Over Christmas, we completed our work to redesign and rebuild the Camden Sewer, which runs directly beneath the tracks outside the station. Trains had to run at a reduced speed over the Victorian sewer, which was very close to the surface.
We started work in Spring last year to rebuild the sewer at either side of the tracks and used a six-day closure of the station at Christmas to install a new, larger sewer and re-lay the tracks. Rebuilding the sewer means trains starting their journeys can accelerate earlier and more quickly.
Gasworks Tunnel
We’re also re-opening the third Gasworks Tunnel, which was closed in the 1970s, so that we can add two extra tracks on the approach to King’s Cross. This means more capacity and greater flexibility for services coming in and out of the station.
So far, we’ve excavated and re-laid solid foundations. We’ve also completed installing the tracks and signals into the tunnel. We’re using something called ‘slab track’ which doesn’t use ballast (the stones on the track bed); this has a much longer life span and doesn’t require as much maintenance, which is handy with a busy hard-to-reach tunnel.
We’re also currently installing the overhead line equipment in the tunnel and plan to reopen it to trains on 26 April.
Signalling
我们现代化的信号在国王的Cross. Meanwhile, we’re transferring the entiresignalling system between King’s Cross and Peterborough from the signal box at King’s Cross to the state-of-the-art Railway Operations Centre in York.
现代信令将帮助我们更快地恢复服务，如果中断。这种变化还将允许我们拆除King's Cross的信号盒，为新轨道创造更多空间。
阅读更多：
From plot to platform: how fast can we build a railway station?