The promises of Crossrail are now one step closer to reality, after the surface works across Greater London are one third of the way to completion.

The milestone represents a total of nine million man-hours spent on the surface structures so far by Network Rail. It is an upgrade of the existing rail network at a cost of £2.3 billion.

Transport for London is preparing to take charge of running services between Shenfield and Liverpool Street from May 2015, as a prelude to the full Crossrail routes.

As part of the process, a temporary station has been opened at Abbey Wood so that the new permanent location can be built.

Thus far, the Stockley Flyover in Hillingdon has been completed, where the first of the new Crossrail tracks was laid. Work has also begun on a rail diveunder at Acton, which should be completed later in 2015. There has also been extensive works on tracks and bridges across the planned route.