Construction
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Construction began in 1993. The principal works were the construction of a 5-mile tunnel and underground stations at Heathrow, and electrification of the Great Western Main Line between Paddington and Airport Junction. A flying junction known as Stockley Flyover was constructed to connect the tunnel to the GWML fast lines.
On 21 October 1994 one of the partially constructed tunnels carrying the line into the Terminal 1,2,3 complex collapsed with only minutes of warning. An office building and a car park were consumed by the huge crater which opened up between Heathrow's two parallel runways. The principal contractor, Balfour Beatty, was found guilty of negligence in February 1999 and fined £1.2 million. The collapse had far-reaching consequences, since it also held up construction of the extended Jubilee Line of the London Underground, where contractors were using similar tunnelling methods.
Beginning in January 1998, an interim service called Heathrow FastTrain ran to a temporary station called Heathrow Junction, where a coach took passengers the rest of the way. The full service opened on 23 June 1998.
Read more about this topic: Heathrow Express
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