Work on the new Crossrail station at Custom House gets under way next week in east London, the company announced today (Fri).

It is being assembled on the site of the former North London Line station which closed in 2006 and includes a new ticket hall, interchange with the DLR and step-free access between the platforms and street level.

The station is being manufactured in sections in Sheffield, then transported 200 miles to Custom House and re-assembled on the construction site in Victoria Dock Road, next to the ExCel complex, to save time and keep disruption to residents and the DLR to a minimum. The roof is being made from transparent plastic, similar to the Eden Project in Cornwall.

The new station opens when Crossrail starts running in 2018, with up to 12 trains an hour linking Custom House directly to Canary Wharf, Whitechapel, the City, West End and Heathrow Airport to the west, and to Woolwich and Abbey Wood to the east. Passengers travelling to Heathrow will save 35 minutes on their journey.