Construction of the �15bn Crossrail project has taken another step forward with the assembling of a tunnel boring machine near Canning Town station.

Elizabeth, which weighs 1,000 tonnes will take four months to be put together at Limmo Peninsula before being lowered in sections into two huge shafts.

Once fully assembled below ground, Elizabeth will begin constructing the first of Crossrail’s two eastern running tunnels between Docklands and central London.

Workers have reached the temporary bottom of the two huge launch shafts and have commenced work on sprayed concrete lined tunnels to connect the two shafts.

The machines will construct Crossrail’s longest tunnel section, running 8.3 km (5.16 miles) to Farringdon station via Canary Wharf, Whitechapel and Liverpool Street.

Four of the eight Crossrail tunnel boring machines have now been built.

Project Manager Peter Main added: “These machines will carve some 1.2 million tonnes of excavated material from under London and help build a rail line that will transform rail transport in the capital.”