With exclusive access, this returning series follows the construction workers of Crossrail as they battle to finish the final stages of the new Elizabeth Line underground railway beneath the streets of London.
Costing over fifteen billion pounds and stretching 120km across the capital, this extraordinary construction project is one of the biggest in Europe and one of the most ambitious engineering feats in Britain since the time of Brunel.
Our cameras follow the engineers, technicians and train staff who are under pressure to complete their section of the project, including building and fitting out 10 brand new stations, learning to drive the new fleet of trains, and testing the 21-km twin tunnels beneath London, in a bid to make it safe for the public.
The episode ends with the shock news that the team fail to complete the Elizabeth Line on time. With the delay costing almost three million pounds a day, every hour is critical in the race to launch the railway.
In the final part of the series, our cameras pick up immediately after the shock news that the Elizabeth Line has been delayed by over a year and will cost hundreds of millions of pounds more than planned. We’ll discover how engineers, technicians and train staff must pull together - working on borrowed time - to build and fit out 10 brand new stations, learn to operate the new trains, and test out the new 21-km twin tunnels under London, before it can open to the public. At stake are the reputation of the engineers, the reputation of the new railway, and the reputation of British engineering.
The episode ends with the a second, shock announcement that the project must delay again and that an even bigger bailout of £2 billion is needed. With station construction, tunnel fit out and train testing still incomplete, the fate of the now £17 billion-pound railway hangs in the balance...
| Series Director & Producer | Lee Reading |
| Executive Producer | Carlo Massarella |
| Production Manager | Farne Sinclair |
| Junior Production Manager | Olivia Badnell |