After years of knockbacks and fights over funding, this amazing feat of engineering is ready to open

• Timeline: Elizabeth line is almost 50 years in the making

Almost four decades elapsed between the first official proposals for an east-west “Crossrail” line under London, and the start of construction works for what would eventually become the Elizabeth line. After the knockbacks and political fights over who should pay for such an ambitious scheme, the actual physical work – above and below ground – would take only a relatively short 13 years.

The feats of engineering required quickly grabbed public imagination – mainly positively. The first official building work was in May 2009, when piles were driven into the ground at Canary Wharf, and excavation started for one of the first huge box-stations. Less popular was the demolition of the Astoria music venue in the heart of the West End, as Tottenham Court Road was cleared for redevelopment.

Construction workers on the early Crossrail construction site at Tottenham Court Road tube station 27 October 2009. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images