Main contractor Costain Skanska Joint Venture (CSJV) has reached its T-12 landmark meaning the station is now 12 weeks away from being ready for handover to Transport for London (TfL), who will operate the Elizabeth line.

Paddington is the third of the newly built central stations where construction works are sufficiently finished for final commissioning activities to start.

The previous two were Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road stations.

James Moloney, Senior Project Director for CSJV, said: “The Costain Skanska JV has worked hard, including under Covid-19 restrictions, to achieve this important milestone.

“Delivery of this complex project is a huge tribute to the thousands of people who have created it.  There is much still to be achieved and we will continue to work collaboratively to deliver this station which will benefit people for generations to come.”

Built below ground adjacent to the 19th Century Grade I listed building, the new Elizabeth line station, with its 120-metre-long entrance canopy on Eastbourne Terrace, is on an epic scale.

The new station extends four levels below Eastbourne Terrace and Departures Road with entrances from above via a newly pedestrianised public area that connects to the existing national rail station and it also has a direct connection to the Bakerloo line via a pedestrian tunnel.

Crossrail will move into the next major stage of the project, with the start of Trial Running and intensive testing later this year.