Along the endless corridors covered in dotted panels, it’s hard to imagine the thousands of tons of dirt that once occupied that space.

In its stead, some 40 meters below the most populated city in Europe, hidden under its diamond-shaped roofs of concrete, rises Farringdon Station.

The walls of the new station were built by Ferrovial as a part of the Crossrail project. This project is London’s new underground, high-speed train, and it retains traces of its history. That history is no small matter. Farringdon is one of the few stations that has remained in operation since the first subway was built in the British capital, the first in the world. Running since 1863, the Metropolitan Railway ended at Farringdon.

Crossrail, a subsidiary ofTransport for London, allowed the consortium to be shared equally by Ferrovial Construction, BAM Nuttall and Kier Construction (BFK).

Many of the station’s materials were reused in building the new terminal. Old concrete has taken on a new life as filler, rather than ending up in the landfill.

Above ground, concrete and steel have also taken on bigger roles to shape the station’s impressive ceilings. This 20-degree slope built with 425 tons of precast concrete segments has become the face of the new Farringdon. The diamond-patterned ceilings drew inspiration from the Hatton Gardens jewelry shop near the station.

The Metropolitan Railway’s history grows as the communications network of London’s underground continues to expand. In fact, when the Crossrail project is fully operational, the city’s railway transit capacity will be 10% greater. Then, Farringdon will be one of the busiest stations in the United Kingdom. 140 trains and 150,000 people will pass through it every hour, and it will connect to three of London’s five airports directly.