Photo Gallery: Crossrail

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and London Mayor Boris Johnson were among the speakers as piling work began at the site of Canary Wharf's Crossrail station on Friday. The event marked the official start of construction on the transport project.

The £500million station will be built by Canary Wharf Group, and will be part of the east-west London rail link scheduled for launch in 2017. The ambitious £15.9billion scheme will provide better connections between destinations such as Heathrow, the City, Canary Wharf and Woolwich.

Scroll down for images of Friday's ceremony, and to get a glimpse of what Canary Wharf Crossrail station will look like in 2017.