The new station will act as an important interchange between the London Underground and Crossrail lines. The understanding of location inspired the idea of a ticket hall enclosure being in the form of a shell found on the river bed. The square represents the stratification of different layers that are put down over time as well as the metaphor of the different migrations of people in this area over history. Water unifies these concepts and is used as it flows and ripples and is at time.
The pure, hard and protective white outer layer itself represents enclosure and evokes thoughts of protection and calmness. The station, as a place of arrival and departure, celebrates its function as a sanctuary of encounter and dialog. The Crossrail platforms are 245m long, located in tunnels 25m below ground level oriented in an east/west direction. The plan is for 24 trains per hour in peak times in each direction through central London, and 12 trains per hour off-peak, making it easier to travel into and across the capital. More than 160,000 passengers will be carried in the morning peak period. Large shafts are located at the east and west ends of the platform tunnels for ventilation, escape & intervention. With new trains and remodeled stations, it will make it possible for more people to make more journeys, more easily.
