One of GGR’s UNIC mini spider cranes which worked on Crossrail’s Canary Wharf station project featured on last night’s “The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway” BBC Two documentary.

In the third and final episode in the series, “Platforms and Plague Pits”, a UNIC URW-706 spider crane was shown helping to install the three ventilation units which will allow hot air to escape from the rail tunnels below when the 120km long line from Heathrow airport to central London is up and running.

Click here to watch GGR’s UNIC mini spider crane in action at Canary Wharf for Crossrail.

Crossrail is the biggest engineering project in Europe and ten new stations are being built along the line. Canary Wharf will be the largest Crossrail station, with £500 million being spent on the development of this new transport hub for workers travelling to the city’s booming financial district.

The red mini crane shown working at Canary Wharf was hired from GGR Group to lift 1.3 tonne louvre ventilation units into position. Working at a 13 metre maximum lifting height, the UNIC URW-706 lifted and installed the £75,000 stainless steel louvre units in six halves.

Operated by one of GGR’s skilled operators, the mini crane had to lift with accuracy underneath the building’s deep overhang and hold the units at a 54° angle so they could be fixed into position. The red spider crane on the Crossrail project was positioned on a temporary platform on the dockland waters to get access to the lifting location.

For more information about the Network Rail approved mini cranes and lifting solutions that GGR Rail provide for the rail industry, visit our website.