The last tunnel boring machine (TBM) – named TBM Karen – has been launched towards Euston station
The 1,624-tonne TBM digging the HS2 Euston tunnel was launched by two female drivers in honour of the machine’s namesake, Karen Harrison, one of the first female train drivers in the UK.
The resulting tunnel will be 4.5 miles long, with 11 TBM’s preceding Karen to connect Old Oak Common station to Euston.
HS2 will boost the economy in London
Once the line has been brought into Euston station, it is expected that it will contribute £41bn to the UK economy, due to regeneration and investment in creating homes and employment opportunities.
The Euston tunnel is the final machine to be launched for all the bored tunnels on the HS2 line, with the other four tunnels – Northolt, Chiltern, Long Itchington Wood, and Bromford tunnels – having been completely bored. The Northolt tunnel is the other tunnel to be dug out under London.
The TBM is 198 metres in length, and operates by excavating earth and installing concrete segments into rings as it goes, creating the tunnel. In this tunnel alone, 48,294 concrete segments will be installed and 1.5 million tonnes of soil excavated.
Rail minister, Lord Hendy, said: “Today’s launch brings HS2’s journey to Euston another step closer to reality, as this Government presses on to deliver this project and with the transformational Euston station redevelopment.
“We’re putting HS2 back on track, and taking the railway into central London is crucial to unlocking its full potential to deliver more jobs, more homes and a long-term boost to the whole British economy.”
Alan Morris, line of route delivery director, HS2 Ltd, said: “The launch of the final HS2 TBM towards Euston is significant milestone in our extensive tunnelling programme. TBM Karen will complete the second bore of the Euston Tunnel, bringing high speed train services directly in and out of the centre of the capital, enabling future economic growth and regeneration.
“While we have been working hard to reset the project, our expert teams have been focused on safely driving up productivity – and today’s final TBM launch is real evidence of that paying off.”
The last viaduct segments for a major HS2 junction have been created
Earlier this month, it was announced that the last of the 2,742 concrete segments needed to build the Delta Junction had been created at a temporary factory, Kingsbury Precast Yard, in Warwickshire.
The segments are created and stored there, where they will ultimately be transported to be put in place at the Delta Junction.
This junction is the most complex on the entire HS2 line, with over- and underpasses carrying high speed trains past and over motorways, local roads and railways, rivers, and floodplains.
HS2 Ltd’s head of delivery, Caroline Warrington, said: “Casting these enormous segments on site, close to the viaducts, helps us deliver a quality product and reduce disruption for road users. It’s great to see the final segments complete and I’d like to thank everyone involved in the manufacturing process.
“With this part of the work finished, the team can begin to focus on the deck slabs for the approach viaducts which will carry the railway into central Birmingham.”
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