Crossrail (Elizabeth Line), London

Research aims and scope

Dr Mehdi Kashani played a critical structural engineering role within the ∼£19 billion Crossrail (Elizabeth Line) programme in London. His overarching scope across the project encompassed preliminary and detailed structural design, rigorous capacity assessments, and independent Category III verification for several high-value station packages. The primary aim of these engineering efforts was to ensure the structural integrity of major station boxes and cut-and-cover tunnels, validate safe construction staging, and develop alternative construction methodologies and complex temporary steelworks for deep shafts in highly restricted urban environments.

Main body of work

Dr Kashani’s contributions were spread across four major station developments on the Crossrail network.

Station packages

• Paddington Station (Package C130 — £220 million)Executed the preliminary and detailed design for cut-and-cover tunnels, station box elements, temporary works, and construction staging.
• Royal Arsenal Woolwich Station (£100 million)Conducted Independent Category III structural analysis and capacity assessments to verify the safety and resilience of the primary station box.
• Bond Street Station East Ticket Hall (Package C132 — £300 million)Performed extensive independent structural checks, including complex load take-downs, finite-element (FE) modelling of slabs and columns, and meticulous construction stage verification.
• Farringdon Station (Package C136 — £200 million)Designed complex temporary steelworks to safely support deep shafts and assessed alternative construction methodologies to navigate the station's challenging conditions.

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